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Intuition
Read it and weep
The bestseller list says a lot about our culture’s lack of literacy.
By Karen Heller
Strolling through an airport, a contemporary cathedral more dedicated to consumption than travel, I overheard a businessman, crowing so that anyone might hear, "I never read books, but for Grisham I'll make an exception."
Say it loud, I'm dumb and I'm proud.
A suited citizen of one of Earth's most literate countries ought to be ashamed that he's aliterate, chosing not to read when he can. But clearly that's not the case.
Almost 60 percent of Americans read 10 books a year or fewer, according to a 1999 Gallup Poll. Thirteen percent read none. A second survey shows that 55 percent of adults spend less than a half-hour a day reading any printed materials at all - books, newspapers, the National Enquirer.
This means that from sunrise to sunrise, more than half the nation spends more time in bathrooms, in traffic, in grocery lines (where they undoubtedly spy the Enquirer) than holding the printed word in their hands, ingesting something that might enrich their lives.
Not that the books most readers buy are great art. The best-seller list has long been such a frightening document, as Gore Vidal has periodically observed, it's a mixed blessing for a writer to roost there: a pleasure to dispense so many books in the age of aliteracy, a scourge to be in such questionable company. Consider these titles from a recent roster.
• The Prayer of Jabez. By Walk Thru the Bible Ministries president Bruce H. Wilkinson, Jabez has sold 4.4 million copies since November. Distinguishing features: brevity - 96 pages about a 36-word prayer - and vagueness. The Old Testament's Book of Chronicles entreaty has been variously translated so that its intent is mutable. The suppliant's request to "enlarge my territory" can refer to anything from "tax blessings for pastor and wife" to "college tuition paid by wealthy benefactor," according to testimonials on - where else? - www.prayerofjabez.com .
• Secrets of the Vine. The sequel to Jabez, also by Wilkinson, is on the list, too, but selling less well. Perhaps because it's longer. At 128 pages.
• Who Moved My Cheese? A motivational workbook by the authors of The One-Minute Manager, an indication of the time readers are willing to spend culling wisdom. Distinguishing features: dumb title, 94 pages.
• Napalm & Silly Putty by George Carlin. Distinguishing features: jokes, no need to read chronologically or finish, suitable for any bathroom.
• Body for Life by Some Fit Guy. (OK, so his real name is Bill Phillips.) Distinguishing features: promises a buff physique in 12 weeks, though not by lifting the 203-page book. Intentional padding: photos, testimonials and exhortations to buy Fit Guy's $36 nutritional supplement. At 20 doses a bottle, that's $144 and change for the program.
• Foley Is Good by wrestler Mick Foley. A book by an "athlete" defending the World Wrestling Federation. Let us pray for the republic.
• Suzanne Somers' Eat, Cheat and Melt the Fat Away. Distinguishing features: Since publication, recovering starlet has acknowledged resorting to liposuction. Intentional padding: 100 pages of recipes.
• An Album of Memories: Personal Histories From the Greatest Generation by Some News Anchor. Photos and letters in response to first two GG tomes. Distinguishing features: Tom Brokaw hits pay dirt again thanks to Pearl Harbor, Father's Day, and nostalgia for a war the United States won.
• Tuesdays With Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man and Life's Greatest Lesson by Mitch Albom. Distinguishing features: inspirational story, aphorisms, under 200 pages, safe gift for distant relatives. Already three years old, it's destined to be on the list through Jenna Bush's presidency.
Mankind has been reading for 5,000 years. Movable type has been around for 500.
This is not progress. This is not reading. These are not books. They're feel-happy lists clotting pages.
From The Philadelphia Inquirer
Read it and weep
The bestseller list says a lot about our culture’s lack of literacy.
By Karen Heller
Strolling through an airport, a contemporary cathedral more dedicated to consumption than travel, I overheard a businessman, crowing so that anyone might hear, "I never read books, but for Grisham I'll make an exception."
Say it loud, I'm dumb and I'm proud.
A suited citizen of one of Earth's most literate countries ought to be ashamed that he's aliterate, chosing not to read when he can. But clearly that's not the case.
Almost 60 percent of Americans read 10 books a year or fewer, according to a 1999 Gallup Poll. Thirteen percent read none. A second survey shows that 55 percent of adults spend less than a half-hour a day reading any printed materials at all - books, newspapers, the National Enquirer.
This means that from sunrise to sunrise, more than half the nation spends more time in bathrooms, in traffic, in grocery lines (where they undoubtedly spy the Enquirer) than holding the printed word in their hands, ingesting something that might enrich their lives.
Not that the books most readers buy are great art. The best-seller list has long been such a frightening document, as Gore Vidal has periodically observed, it's a mixed blessing for a writer to roost there: a pleasure to dispense so many books in the age of aliteracy, a scourge to be in such questionable company. Consider these titles from a recent roster.
• The Prayer of Jabez. By Walk Thru the Bible Ministries president Bruce H. Wilkinson, Jabez has sold 4.4 million copies since November. Distinguishing features: brevity - 96 pages about a 36-word prayer - and vagueness. The Old Testament's Book of Chronicles entreaty has been variously translated so that its intent is mutable. The suppliant's request to "enlarge my territory" can refer to anything from "tax blessings for pastor and wife" to "college tuition paid by wealthy benefactor," according to testimonials on - where else? - www.prayerofjabez.com .
• Secrets of the Vine. The sequel to Jabez, also by Wilkinson, is on the list, too, but selling less well. Perhaps because it's longer. At 128 pages.
• Who Moved My Cheese? A motivational workbook by the authors of The One-Minute Manager, an indication of the time readers are willing to spend culling wisdom. Distinguishing features: dumb title, 94 pages.
• Napalm & Silly Putty by George Carlin. Distinguishing features: jokes, no need to read chronologically or finish, suitable for any bathroom.
• Body for Life by Some Fit Guy. (OK, so his real name is Bill Phillips.) Distinguishing features: promises a buff physique in 12 weeks, though not by lifting the 203-page book. Intentional padding: photos, testimonials and exhortations to buy Fit Guy's $36 nutritional supplement. At 20 doses a bottle, that's $144 and change for the program.
• Foley Is Good by wrestler Mick Foley. A book by an "athlete" defending the World Wrestling Federation. Let us pray for the republic.
• Suzanne Somers' Eat, Cheat and Melt the Fat Away. Distinguishing features: Since publication, recovering starlet has acknowledged resorting to liposuction. Intentional padding: 100 pages of recipes.
• An Album of Memories: Personal Histories From the Greatest Generation by Some News Anchor. Photos and letters in response to first two GG tomes. Distinguishing features: Tom Brokaw hits pay dirt again thanks to Pearl Harbor, Father's Day, and nostalgia for a war the United States won.
• Tuesdays With Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man and Life's Greatest Lesson by Mitch Albom. Distinguishing features: inspirational story, aphorisms, under 200 pages, safe gift for distant relatives. Already three years old, it's destined to be on the list through Jenna Bush's presidency.
Mankind has been reading for 5,000 years. Movable type has been around for 500.
This is not progress. This is not reading. These are not books. They're feel-happy lists clotting pages.
From The Philadelphia Inquirer
