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THE IOY OF READINGIS READING FOR PLEASURE AN.OUTDATED IDEA?

1-d,u-i'i*'at-t iii'=!,!.fir;ii'. 'iig.*itit$+ A11: lneyreto,rutffiffi*',r rztn.

ffi ',i'o i,,iar'*-rf -vrrtff srrA N ,,i.t'ig*f'.t'-ffi e.;aaffi tr@n;.,i.,1

a'a'1a-rtainil,"nti,f"iiffirir'"' ", ':, *;lag6h ir-fi ,iii6 i.ii.ii'i;ih i;Cp* *gz ,

l,A,lPLATOON.gE LETHAL,COMPUTER.'DES,fyATMS MA-Y'frQBm..,*t rurceniafe,of functionally i]lit .,,,THE AXIS or UVtl THAT DESTROYS LITERARY READING. erateadultsisstaggeringlyhigh,Ac-

' : :,: r r-: .."" - :-- -:THATIS oNE coNctusloN You coULD REAGH AFTER PERus- cording.rto

1 national ,a"ft f1u1"1y

ING THE READING AT RISK STUDY PUBLISHED IN zoo4,BY,THE , gurvey conducted in 1993, a fuli 48

NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR TI{E ARTS. TIIE STUDY POINTS percent of the adult population was

groupls qxtraorairr"ry'.o*rnitrnent to that 'nnnt culture affor{s,irreplacel I :p]""trr" matters is indicated in the

' el-ectronic andlnrcrnet related forrns able foas 3f

folWe'd atteiltion a10 ya s!Y.l, t,:"r-t,lurders'par,trcipale

i ,r, ttre:scapegoatinf of technol .o**,rrri.",ions 'and insrghts ]por- ""r" moreiikeiy to contribute tiroe and

i ogr is hardly the point: The survey sible, To ibse such intelJectual capa- I ideas to its well-being. Readers also

:showed that serious readers watch bility -, :.would constitut-e a,vast'cul- tend to vote. The link between read-

l,almost as much tele.rision-about turaiimporrurrrh*"rti I ing and democratic'pa4icipation is

thr"" 'horrc a daV-al nonreaders. The main question the NEAraises ciear, Groia says. Authoritarianism,rther, the'larger issue is .whether is whether reading for pJeasure will,

mericans can:mal5e room for the continue to be a major partrof .A,lher-

:r, the larger issue is.whether is whether reading for pleasure will, as scholars of both the'Reformation-icans can *ake room for the continue to,be a major partrof .A,rirer- andiof,?oliti.cal tyranny will ,teil you,

of extendedi sustained.intellec ican life, If i1 is in deciine,(the corl, , fs:always

helped bVr'l1ry doses of

ipiiiXiiufti*=#,i 1,i*.;'1ib",b?iri.i;a1itt.. -.'....:... :,.... : .. - , ' , .,. ".1:i

' ,: - -.-...

-tualexperiencbthatbooksoffer.One's group of bogk readers,has.leneained 'rmorangg, Povertl and, t{ilgracy, So

;brain 'is not similarty massaged by static at roupfirly 9g milho1 people in , ge{ng boolts,into ,th.9"

hands of the

-trawting,for web site Sesi{ue, a habit iboui the past 20 years, despftela iii- - ,ioung; and hel.ninS them le4,r4.to lovelfamiliar to the millions of Americans abie jump in the overa! populationi; thesebOks, has,str.ategrqimportance:

iiifi61'1n'iO*rt,..ffift,ui "s:,,r,ase;jit .a!t$-ffia+;.'a;ii;t;iiu1,u,i!1;ffi eqifi.ciiilp'fiairE.1 ... ;r1ai,qa;;$;ijdaffi

. rti:, "'.iti.,...';.

:i . 1::,r.,..both the

;ilili+a;a;-ra:fi,i!l '-#b -a?,ui ;Inre!i,',

irCm speat<s,trurh when h-e'aiairns"-.IpAii.thah',ih,tne.u, a s1"1"s1"n'd',,'.$ 1',v1w&ua..;ro;ipj,,ii'. ,:.,-,t

;";;.;; ;A;;;, ;o;i.*rio; what can'b" a;n"r , ,i ' ' ' .. .o.,st1"r,gaore'or aig erotner in the

";;t ,.*;r, ;Jir-.r;a;J"ioi ,ir*g It doesi matter,-and we should r.rrt*eryJu,"orta, at:tr," "*v r"rlr,.rp , *rrt,r"l'fund portfolio. If I want

' care, Foiget for a moment' :aloui hetp kids apprgciate Hansel trndGretel,

.to thipk Cbout the things that mat- whether it's I'literaly'i or, not. LesF _ . :, +, i ,, ; .' ,,,, , n-fO fnlnK aDOUf Ine lllII]Ps {-IIaL IIraL- I WIICUTEI lLb lllLeIdIV {JI' 11u1. LtrJD 1'r

Itea tlte friendship, Ioru,"o, my spin reaaing overail iowerq our collel il:iffi1::Ltfi*:Xj;:"#13;-,, -trral lath

of 'enlightenmelt,. t fon't tive ]Q

r:ner1 are. ro. Tol"

,lf.r.l" il#;,"db#;iJiiirr.'ro:,*,;,;---,consult LexisNexis. NEA chair Dana speakers and writers of English in from35E.Wacke'D.,Srire2g0qCh;caeo, lL

Nov-ord 'q,,,itne''87