Amanda over at Pandagon comments and indirectly links to this study from the National Endowment for the Arts, which highlights the decline in reading among Americans.

According to this study’s statistics, in 2002, only about half of Americans 18-24 read a book that wasn’t required by work or school. Getting up into my age bracket (ages 25-34), that percentage only rises slightly, from 52% to 59%.

Setting aside the biases of this study (it’s in the interest of the NEA for people to appreciate artistic endeavors, and if they can show lots of people don’t, those that do are more likely to give them money) and some problems with the methodology (they’re only concerned with fiction and literature – non-fiction books don’t count), these numbers are still pretty sad.

I guess it’s just one more way my household out of step with a good chunk of America; anyone who’s been in my house has seen the sheer number of books lying about, straining our bookshelves to bursting (and we’ve read them all as well, multiple times, usually). Colleen and I love few things more than spending hours poking around in bookstores; and the kids are well on their way to contracting their parents’ bibliophilia affliction…

And that’s a good thing. I don’t imagine Andrew would have hit such high baseline reading skills scores (there was a teacher conference this week), and Mary wouldn’t be reading so far out of her level if the house wasn’t filled with books and the adults around them didn’t always have our noses stuffed into them.

It’s reasonably clear that reading is tied to intelligence on some level, at least in the sense of increasing vocabulary and character recognition. If this is the case, why the heck don’t people read more? I’m sure part of it has to do with so many people having to work so damned much to feed and shelter themselves that they don’t have time to open a book.

Also, there’s the observed fact that intellectualism and being seen as “smart” (symbolized by reading books, apparently) is, sadly, still on the outs in this country. One occasionally sees glimmers of the contrary out there, but they’re quickly overshadowed by reality TV ratings, and the fact that even 25 percent of Americans polled continue to believe that George W. Bush is an admirable fellow (this point ties back to the preceding paragraph).

I’m sure the conclusions I’m reaching for are reasonably obvious: if you can read this (and no, reading stuff on the internet wasn’t counted by the NEA study either), go read a book now and then, it’s good for you, and for your kids.

Oh – in the interest of science, I’m going to keep a running total of the number of books I read this year over at the bottom of the “reading” box to your left. I’m curious to see. Counting back over the last 30 days, I’m pretty sure I’m at six so far for 2008.

What do your reading habits look like?