WHO WE ARE: It's not <em>what</em> you read, or how, but whether | Who We Are

Wednesday May 9, 2007 04:08 PM

Who We Are

WHO WE ARE: It's not what you read, or how, but whether

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A column about Australia by David Dale, published in The Sun-Herald, 1/3/2009
Does anybody actually read any more -- in the sense of taking pleasure in turning the pages of a printed object, as opposed to scanning a computer screen? Amazingly, the answer might be yes, if we're to believe the latest reports of the Audit Bureau of Circulations and ACNeilsen Bookscan. It seems that accounts of the death of print have been somewhat exaggerated.

Check out Australia's main reading habits in the past 12 months:

Books: 4 Ingredients by Kim McCosker and Rachel Bermingham, sold 288,000 copies in 2008 (bringing total sales to 800,000); Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer, 235,000; New Moon, by Stephenie Meyer, 217,000; Tales of Beedle the Bard, by J. K. Rowling, 201,000; Underbelly: The Gangland War, by John Silvester and Andrew Rule, 176,000 copies.

Newspapers: The Sunday Telegraph 653,000 a week; The Sunday Herald-Sun, Melbourne, 607,000; The Sunday Mail, Brisbane, 551,000; The Herald-Sun Monday to Friday 515,000; The Sun-Herald 473,000.

Magazines: Women's Weekly 491,000 a month; Woman's Day 406,000 a week; Better Homes and Gardens 380,000 a month; Readers Digest 345,000 a month; New Idea 320,000 a week.

The Audit Bureau reveals that the sales of Better Homes and Gardens rose 9 per cent in the past 12 months, while Health Smart rose 19 per cent, Women's Health rose 15 per cent, and Men's Health rose 11 per cent. In addition, Top Gear mag was launched, with sales of 85,000 a month, and new Grazia is selling 65,000 a week.

Sounds pretty optimistic, doesn't it? Well, to be completely honest, there's more bad news than good on the literacy front. Over the past five years total newspaper sales have been declining at the rate of two per cent a year, and magazine sales at the rate of six per cent. In the past 12 months, capital city newspapers lost 193,000 regular buyers, and magazines lost 561,000 regular buyers.

The biggest losers are the weekly scandal sheets (NW is down 16 per cent and New Idea is down 15 per cent) and the lads mags (FHM is down 24 per cent and Ralph is down 22 per cent). It seems we're no longer interested in gossip and cleavages. Or we've found a more consistent source of titillation.

Just for comparison, here's the latest data I can find on Australia's internet usage. A Roy Morgan Single Source survey conducted in the second half of 2008 found these were the websites most visited by Australians: Google Search, with 11.98 million visitors a month (up 12 per cent in a year); Ninemsn 8.33 million (up 9 per cent); Telstra Bigpond 5.68 million (up 16 per cent); Yahoo!7 4.42m (up 14); Fairfax Digital 4.03m (up 11).

Should literacy-lovers panic? Of course not. If the answer to the question "What do Australians mainly read?" turns out to be Google, that sounds quite a bit better than the answer I'd have given ten years ago, which would have been "the gossip weeklies".

When they use Google, Australians are seeking the answer to a question -- an admirable process that used to be called scholarship. It involves a more active form of reading than 4 Ingredients or Better Homes and Gardens or the mating habits of Lindsay Lohan. Who knew we had become such serious souls?

Is print dying, and if so, does it matter? Tell us at Comments

What Australians read
1 The Sunday Telegraph 653,000 a week (down 2.5 per cent))
2 The Sunday Herald-Sun (Melbourne) 606,500 (down 3%)
3 The Sunday Mail (Brisbane) 551,000 a week (down 5%)
4 The Herald-Sun (Melbourne) 515,500 a day (down 3)
5 The Herald-Sun Saturday 502,000 (down 1.5)
6 Women's Weekly 491,500 a month (down 14)
7 The Sun-Herald 473,000 a week (down 5)
8 Woman's Day 406,000 a week (down 13)
9 Better Homes and Gardens 380,000 a month (up 9)
10 The Daily Telegraph 369,000 a day (down 2)
11 The Sydney Morning Herald Saturday 360,000 (unchanged)
12 The West Australian Saturday 336,000 (down 2)
13 New Idea 330,000 a week (down 15)
14 The Daily Telegraph Saturday 325,000 a week (down 2)
15 Readers Digest 345,000 a month (down 2)
16 The Sunday Times (Perth) 322,000 (down 6)
17 That's Life! 310,000 a week (down 4)
18 The Weekend Australian 309,000 a week (up 3)
19 The Sunday Mail (Adelaide) 304,000 a week (down 5)
20 The Age (Melbourne) Saturday 297,000 (same)
21 The Courier-Mail Sat 296,000 a week (down 3)
22 Super Food Ideas 271,000 a month (down 10)
23 Take 5 260,000 a week (down 3)
24 The Advertiser (Adelaide) Saturday 254,000 (down 3)
25 The Sunday Age 227,000 a week (up 1)
26 TV Week 226,000 a week (down 5)
27 The Courier-Mail 215,000 a day (down 2)
28 The Age 204,000 a day (unchanged)
29 The West Australian 193,000 a day (down 3)
30 The Advertiser 182,000 a day (down 4)
31 Cosmopolitan 166,000 (down 6)

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). For daily updates on Australian attitudes, bookmark http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

COMMENTS

Australians are reading online. Even novels. I serialised a novel over eight months called ED Day (about a virus wiping out millions in Sydney), and with almost no publicity it still managed to pull in about 5000 regular readers, some of whom were extremly anger when I was late posting the latest chapter. I thought I might find a few hundred readers, at the most, but they just kept coming and coming, and it was almost all word of mouth. But if you want lots of people to read fiction online, you have to give it away. This is the future of publishing fiction in Australia.

DD wonders: So how are you paid for your work?

by Darryl Mason on March 01, 2009 at 01:36 AM

We may be reading print but it is hardly Oedipus Rex, more like The Simpsons on paper.

by a snob on March 01, 2009 at 07:30 AM

Sorry, but I read.
I read everything from novels with complex storylines and multi-faceted characters, or short stories that have the ability to freak me out no end.
And I absolutely HATE the Twillight series.
I often wonder why girls put that rubbish into their brains when there are plenty of other, better novels out there (Bram Stoker, H. P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe...)
Does this make me a freak?
The fact that I hate Twilight with a passion, I don't read magazines (except Gothic Beauty, Fiend and the occasional Revolver, Blunt or Kerrang) and that I read things that actually take the mental capacity of an 18-year-old to read?

by Lilth on March 01, 2009 at 07:38 AM

Australians still read, in my current experience. New members keep steadily joining and turning up at our Sydney Online Book Club - we can be found at the social site meetup.com.
We had a spike in new members in the last two months - New Year's resolutions? A flow-on from the economic crisis and its impact on social budgets? - and have a group of involved and enthusiastic regular readers at our monthly turn-outs.
This month we're tackling the classics, by popular request.
Teresa

by Teresa on March 01, 2009 at 08:03 AM

I think more Australians would read if it didnt cost at least $20 a book! An expensive habit for someone who goes through 2 or 3 a week. The library just doesnt cut it either, no new books and the others are seriously tattered.

by Becks on March 01, 2009 at 09:24 AM

That list is rubbish. A cook book does not count as reading, and neither does the Telegraph, or Woman's Day. Twilight, much like the Harry Potter books, are written for an adolescent mind, even though many adults read them. Most so called "readers" among my friends are posers- its looks cool. From my immediate experience, reading is a dying art.

DD asks: So what would count as reading?

by Jimbo on March 01, 2009 at 09:48 AM

as long as they read.
people seem to forget what a miracle the written word is. that someone from another time or place can use words to express thoughts and feelings to another, to educate, elucidate, entertain. and maybe along the way a little serendipity occurs and a pathway to another life opens up with just a word.
nothing, beats a book. the smell, the size, the ease of the print. the kindle is getting better but it's got a ways to go in price and style.
ebooks and project gutenberg are great for those that can't afford to buy. and google is a way to find those ebooks.

by blogsprog on March 01, 2009 at 10:04 AM

I borrow books from my local library approx. every 2 weeks, & buy books from Dymocks when a work by one of my favourite authors is published.

DD asks: And who are they?

by Avid reader on March 01, 2009 at 10:09 AM

I'm Gen Y but I've read my whole life and have the makings of a library at home. I will read almost anything (Twilight discounted, sorry that's for adolescents who can't appreciate good writing), including mags. Specifically I prefer to read more "literary" books but love a good sci-fi/fantasy story. I also work in IT as a programmer but absolutely detest reading onscreen. To me there is nothing as satisfying as turning the pages of a book (not to mention better for your eyes?)!!
Someone here said books are ridiculously expensive. I wholeheartedly agree but I always manage to source mine for under $15 on eBay or bargain shops. Libraries are useless to me - the late fines I end up paying aren't worth it :).

by Bookworm on March 01, 2009 at 11:08 AM

I still read, lots! And one only needs to wander into a Dymocks or other book store to see how popular buying a book to read is, especially at sales time. The price of $20/book is cheap! Have a look in some stores and see the $45-$50 price tags on some books.
Libraries are my other source of material, sometimes you need to be patient to grab hold of the latest releases, but libraries are good for exploring new authors. I'm unemployed now, so the library is going to be my main source for a while.
So many good authors out there. Reading is terrific escapism and a great way to relax and let your imagination wander where it will.

by Desertgirl on March 01, 2009 at 11:32 AM

I read every day without fail, and I spend hundreds of dollars every year on books both new and second hand.
Both of my daughters constantly raid my library and are both avid readers.
I will read till I go blind.

by Kara on March 01, 2009 at 12:04 PM

Well for the most part arent u previous posters precious... eg: bookworm: "Twilight discounted, sorry thats for adolescents who can't appreciate good writing", and Lilith, who doesnt read magazines, then lists half a dozen she does, all of which are obscure - does that make u cooler than me?
I read - anything I can get my hands on, including the dreaded Twilight series and trashy romance novels *gasp!* as well as the classics and the occasional magazine.
Why has reading become a p***ing contest? As blogsprog said " As long as they read" who cares what it is, reading ANYTHING expands the vocabulary and mind of anyone and I dont much care if my child reads a book on physics or a period romance novel, as long as they enjoy the written word Im happy!

by Janet on March 01, 2009 at 12:24 PM

They do read, but there's a even more competition for reading time. Browsing the net has become a major hobby.
On the ebook/electronic publishing front, my publisher released my first (print) novel as a free ebook, and it's been downloaded over 50,000 times in the past 7-8 months. That's a fair amount of demand, so someone's happy to read novels electronically.

DD asks: But how do you earn a living?

by Simon Haynes on March 01, 2009 at 12:45 PM

Children still seem to be reading as much as ever. I've recently come across Alphabet Soup magazine, which is a magazine for kids about books and writing. You would think that kids wouldn't be interested in that sort of thing anymore (anyone remember Puffinalia magazine?) but apparently the magazine is doing really well.

by interloper on March 01, 2009 at 12:52 PM

Any list which only counts sales of books in country is going to be out of line with reality and not reflect the reality. Those of us who read professionally as well as for enjoyment often source books from overseas.
Books here are comaparatively expensive- and if you're not buying discounted titles pushed by the publishers- its usually far cheaper to buy overseas and pay the postage rather than buying locally. Don't believe me? Check out www.Addall.com
That said, our local Borders is the only place where I have seen all the novels of Robertson Davies altogether in one shelf. But then look at the prices- AUS$54.49 from the Nile in Australia, vs AUS$36.65 from Amazon (including postage).
If anyone wants to encourage reading, it seems hard to combine that with a commitment to buy from local suppliers.

by Bababenja on March 01, 2009 at 01:02 PM

As someone who spends a fair chunk of her full time salary on books and swaps books with friends on a frequent basis, people still read. Whilst online reading is an option, (and at 22 years old, I'm the audience it targets), I find it hurts my eyes and I prefer to have a book that I can take anywhere - beach, read in the bath, on the train and I can share it. There is a great bargain bookstore at Central station and I've saved some money by diving into the Penguin classics at $8 a book. Reading is about imagination and hence not dead.

by Sara Allen on March 01, 2009 at 01:15 PM

As long as people are reading - there will always be differences in opinion as to what is quality reading material. As long as people are enjoying reading something, and it inspires them to read something else - instead of passively sitting in front of a screen (like many of us making comments here might be doing!) - then it's worthwhile. We all have different tastes - after more than a decade working in the book trade, I worked out that the 80-20 rule is in play - 80% of what gets published is material I'd never touch. But others will.

by John on March 01, 2009 at 01:30 PM

I work in electronic document management so for work I usually (and strongly) encourage people to work electronically and not use the print button, go the (mostly) paperless office. However I believe print will be around for a while yet; taking your laptop for an extended visit to the toilet is not the best idea. My wife's a book nut, my kids love books and drawing in both the electronic and paper medium. Sadly my reading is limited mostly to books like 'Fox in Socks' and 'The Gruffalo', if I'm lucky I get to read the weekend paper while having a coffee or Asian Geo & IT Mags while in the WC. However I'm living overseas so I have to read SMH online.

by Jason on March 01, 2009 at 01:58 PM

I'm a pretty dedicated reader, however a lot of my fellow gen-y friends don't. I've had friends tell me that its just too daunting for them to go into a bookshop because they don't know where to start. Plus, when you get people telling them what they 'should' be reading, it can turn them off completely. So what if they're reading Twilight (not my cup of tea) or Harry Potter or Nora Roberts even. Just like with movies, everyones taste is different. Reading one book can lead you to a whole new genre, the most important thing is that they are reading and enjoying it.
The cost issue is also a turn off. Its ridiculous that I can buy books on amazon with postage and still get them cheaper than a bookstore in Australia. When you're young and starting out on a low salary, it can be hard to justify an expense like that. The best solution for me though was to buy penguin classics. They're usually cheaper than a magazine.

by Kaz on March 01, 2009 at 02:01 PM

I haven't borrowed from a library in years (I sometimes take more than the "allocated" time to read a novel) but I have so many books waiting to be read courtesy of Op shops. Go to a biggish Op shop (such as Salvos at Tempe) and there is a huge range to choose from at a fraction of the retail price. The latest stuff might not be there, but give it a month or so and it usually turns up. Besides, part of the fun is in the discovery.

by kensomark on March 01, 2009 at 02:10 PM

As a seventeen year-old in year 12, I would love to say that everyone reads as much as I do. I average 4 or 5 books a week (when my assessments don't build up), and love books by every author from Gerald Durrell to David Gemmell (emphatically excluding both J.K Rowling and Stephanie Meyer).
It would be great if everyone at my school read at least half as much. Unfortunately, however, I am a real outlier. The average student at my school will be hard-pressed to name more than 10 books they've read outside the compulsory school reading list, and most of them shun even those. Even magazines and websites seem rather excluded, or have very little literary value anyway.
Reading really does underpin our society in that through reading, one can speak and write more articulately, to a greater degree of sophistication, and can read more widely due to an expanded vocabulary. Nobody can get through life in Australia without speaking, writing or reading, and any of these things will improve the other two.
In my mind, the quality of print is gradually degrading, the volume deteriorating, the value depreciating, and eventual extinction inevitable.

by Jimmy on March 01, 2009 at 02:28 PM

Call me a romantic but nothing can beat the idea of seating on the grass by the shade of a perfect 'backrest' tree, with kids laughter or waves crashing background noise and only concerned about not spilling my coffee while reaching my pocket for a 'battery free' 2nd hand paperback... Hmmm... Off I go.

by tchacca on March 01, 2009 at 02:45 PM

What can you say about the consumption of text and media? Does reading a magazine rate on the level of a classic novel whereby those literary elitists would barely classify as reading? Possibly, so here's my list.
Wheels, MOTOR and Men's Health Magazines once a month, been meaning to get a subscription.
I prefer Sydney Morning Herald, of course, though I'm not to picky as I don't tend to buy newspapers these days, instead going to the local fast food joint during my lunch break and swiping whatever's available, whether it be The Australian or god forbid The Daily Telegraph. I snag any mX papers on the train home.
I don't watch television, rather I spend most of my time online when I get home lurking forums and smh.com.au.
Before starting on Twilight, the only other text I read before it was Harry Potter. Why? I guess I like high school romances and dramas. I attempted to read Paradise Lost but the convoluted vocabulary was too much for me. In an age of too many choices, it's far easier to consume what many would see as crap like Twilight. Still, it's entertaining, and that's what matters.

by Sade on March 01, 2009 at 02:55 PM

Why don't all you eager readers go to used bookshops? Great way to acquire the latest books for a fraction of the cost.

by Lara on March 01, 2009 at 03:09 PM

I've been into reading right from childhood. I think one of the sublime pleasures of life is "to curl up with a good book", with unlimited tea at hand.
It always felt like I could see in my mind the things I was reading about. In that sense, I was creating my own mental movie of whatever I was reading. I'd imagine that most avid book readers read books in a similar way. They go beyond the words to experience the story in their minds.
Considering this, people who grew up watching TV but doing little or no reading may find it difficult to develop a love for reading at a later age. The constant imagery on TV leaves little to the imagination, and it is possible that these people's "imaginative ability" would have got atrophied from long years of disuse. If suddenly confronted with a book devoid of pictures, these people would not be able to transform those words into mental images -- they may not even be aware that such a thing is possible -- and hence their reading experience would be less than satisfactory. In that sense, adults need to "learn" how to read; how to transform words into images and not merely recognise them.
I feel sorry for those kids whose idea of pleasure is to play mindless shooting games on electronic hand-held gaming machines. I can't help thinking that the "R" of reading is turning into the new "F" word for younger generations.
It is up to parents to inculcate a love for reading among their children. They could do this by reading aloud to them, by reading books themselves, by making visits to public libraries and bookshops, etc. Otherwise the kids may grow up never fully developing a faculty of their brains.

by Sharan on March 01, 2009 at 03:35 PM

i hope people still read, i'm about to buy a bookshop!!

by tan on March 01, 2009 at 03:36 PM

Newspaper and magazine sales are decreasing as more people are reading news articles online (e.g. smh.com.au). As a Gen Y, I have no idea why people would bother wasting their money paying $1.20 per issue per day for a newspaper when everything is online for free.

DD remarks: But if other people didn't keep buying the paper, your free read each day would cease to exist.

by daniel on March 01, 2009 at 04:06 PM

I really hope print isn't dying - I desperately want to become a journalist working at a newspaper or a top magazine when I'm older and out of school but I don't want the salaries to decrease and a demand for journalists to be lowered. I am aware that a decrease in journalists for print would simply be replaced with online journalism or blogging, however the idea of writing online doesn't appeal to me as much...
As for reading myself, personally I read! smh.com is my homepage and I log on every morning and read before school. I severly detest the Twilight series despite all my fellow classmates loving the series giving them the nickname "Twihards" which I think is well fitted :) However there are so many students at my school who do not read only but magazines and some stray from any reading material completely altogether. I wonder if this lack of reading will deteriorate our future working citizens and send the future generations of our children into a low level spiral of mediocrity and "dumbenning" ?
Although I pride myself as being a reader I would not label myself as an 'avid' reader because I don't read as much as I probably should. My local libraries are severly lacking in novels that interest me and my school library is filled with books that are popular with most children and teenagers however not popular with me :( And as somebody mentioned the cost of so many books these days is outrageous. Maybe I should check out Amazon or go to a used bookshop which I am yet to stumble upon...

by Maya on March 01, 2009 at 04:20 PM

I consider myself very lucky to live in Glebe, near my favourite bookshop, Gleebooks, repeatedly voted Best Bookseller of the Year. Because I buy and read so many books, I often go to their second hand bookshop. It makes a huge difference to my budget during the course of a year. Sappho Books is another great 2nd hand bookshop in Glebe, and of course King St, Newtown, the home of 2nd hand bookshops, is only a short walk or bus ride away. If I ever left Glebe, it would have to be for a place with at least as many bookshops as Glebe has.

by Mona on March 01, 2009 at 04:29 PM

I'm an avid reader of many mediums, but the written word printed and bound is a timeless invention where you can enter a totally different world with just a turn of a flimsy page.
I don't have a problem with Twlight as many people seem to have here; goodness, if anything gets kids away from the idiot box it gets the big thumbs up from me!
You don't have to spend $20 these days for a great read. The great guys from Penguin now sell the classics such as The Great Gastby, Pride and Predjudice and Wuthering Heights for $9.95.

by Wildharmony on March 01, 2009 at 04:57 PM

DD remarks: But if other people didn't keep buying the paper, your free read each day would cease to exist.
Hmm, perhaps, perhaps not. The online version still has ads so it does have revenue coming in. Especially those annoying pop up ads with high volume!
I personally read online as for the most part, I just want news not necessarily the opinion columns and the other fillers. I can also get a range of papers online such as the New York Times & The Guardian as well as the SMH to name a few so get the news from more than one country and from more than one perspective.
I like to read but find the cost of new books a little too high so I frequent second-hand book stores, a great one in Newtown and remainder book stores ( a great one at Central)
I've found my local library is very disappointing, not its fault as it is so obviously underfunded, but recently been recommended a library in the city which I am keen to try as I am told it actually has a budget to spend on new books. It is not free but then much cheaper than buying books new...
I rarely buy magazines as too expensive for what they provide and often so full of ads that the articles are few and far between. Never buy women's mags as so full of gossip which may or may not be true but who really cares whether some socialite had her toe nails cut off in a pedicure and then the wrong nail polish was applied.. A made up example of gossip published in those mags (or is it?)

by Kate on March 01, 2009 at 05:00 PM

I love to read so much that I turned my passion into a business. Like the others this passion for reading takes a toll on the bank balance and there are only so many book shelves one can place...
I am happy to say there are many that feel the same way and they are now members of Slim Ink Book Rental - your premium library on the internet :)

by Marjorie on March 01, 2009 at 05:02 PM

I'm in my early 60's and I confess I'm a compulsive reader. I will read anything except horror and westerns - it's a personal choice. I have hundreds of books on my shelfs, can usually find at least 20-30 books at the library (I use my hubby's card)and have raised 2 children,and 7 grandchildren - all are massive readers. Am I out of step? I don't think so - I help run a book stall at my local hospital, get plenty of donations and sell most.

by catdragon on March 01, 2009 at 05:29 PM

In terms of Newspapers and Magazines, people are still reading but they are moving to the internet to do it. I still buy newspapers and mags but alot less than before.
In terms of books, I still buy books (fiction, history, political, etc etc) but most of my shopping tends to be from Amazon for a couple of reasons -
1. Price - I can buy a hardcover novel from the US including shipping for the same price as buying the paperback in a bookstore in Sydney. Buying the paperback version will typically be 40-50% cheaper via Amazon than in Sydney. Check out the price Steve Toltz's Fraction of the Whole on Amazon and compare what it costs in Australia.
2. Selection - The amount of books available from online vendors will never be able to be matched by a physical store. As good as Borders and Gleebooks (Dymocks is just crap) are you can't compete against the economies of scale the online vendors are getting. In saying that I still do buy at physical stores sometimes because sometimes you just need the experience of looking through shelves. This is where coffee shops inside bookstores are a good idea too.
3. Information - the other thing online book vendors do well is the wealth of information at your fingertips when considering buying the book. They include user reviews, recommendations, buying patterns etc etc. For example I was recommended a book on Afro-Peruvian music after i'd bought a book on Salsa in Cali Colombia. I can't get either book here in Oz and the Afro-Peruvian book has been a surprisingly rich and rewarding read on a subject matter which has very little public attention even in Peru itself.
The market is still there but it would be very interesting to know how many Australians are buying their books from overseas online vendors. I think the figures would surprise many. Australian bookstores and publishers remind me of the music industry and it's time they came to the party... theres a new world and consumers are becoming more sophisticated and have more options for entertainment. If they don't want to keep losing customers to overseas online stores and other forms of entertainment they should
1. Decrease the price of the books they are selling. $50 for a paperback novel you will likely read only once is expensive to say the least. Especially when people barely want to pay $20 for music they will listen to over and over again.
2. I believe either superstores or smaller specialist bookstores are the models of the future. It was ok to have the Dymocks and Angus Robertson with its medium selection over 10 years ago before the internet opened everyones eyes to the variety of books and authors from all over the world, but now... either you have a Borders which has a massive selection or you have a small bookstore which concentrates on your niche market (kind of like a Gleebooks). I don't think the middle ground can survive (Twilight and Harry Potter readers are just as likely to buy at Big W, they don't need Dymocks).
3. Extra experiences need to be added: Coffee shops, literature nights, etc are a great idea. One to keep your current customers coming back but also to get the casual coffee brigade who don't read much but may like the idea of having coffee in a bookstore and may actually buy a book or magazine while there.

by Daniel F on March 01, 2009 at 06:01 PM

Wow, that list of top sellers is suppose to prove Australian still read? It may prove the death of print but not the death of intellect.

by S on March 01, 2009 at 06:04 PM

I love reading good books, but don't really know what to buy. After buying too many duds (I can't stand post modernist stuff) I figured the easiest thing is to buy the 6 Booker shortlist books. They may not be what would leap out at me in a bookshop or a review, but they're invariably good and thought provoking/life enriching in some way. Day to day is SMH online, Guardian Weekly print and The Monthly magazine. And gazillions of science papers for work and uni. And "The little yellow digger", "slinky malinky" etc (NZ kids writers are brilliant!)

by lennydar on March 01, 2009 at 06:20 PM

It's not about reading or literacy, it's about waht medium you use to you read. Magazines and books are ecologically backward ways of reading that limit the experience to static text and images.
I would say that the Web has increased literacy more than we can imagine given its reliance on text. It provides new forms of creative expression through colour, sound and other media. The limited form of the book and magazine are surely not enough to keep us stimulated into the future.
Oh and they're expensive!

by NewGuy on March 01, 2009 at 06:29 PM

I love reading, whatever and where ever words are printed I read them.
I have an aweful tendency to read signs and advertisments.
Whenever I see statistics two things pop into my head; "Overpopulation" and "Advancing Technology".
With more people, there is a greater variety in tastes. And this is accentuated by the technology in which we satisfy those tastes. 50 years ago, you either read or your didn't, because only books satified your passions. If you read a book then for the thrill of adventure, today you might find it in an xBox game.
Point is, literacy isn't on the blink and there aren't less "readers", they're just occupied with something else equal to reading.
On a materialistic point of view, I like to have a big, fat book in my hand and to own it for the main purpose of saying that "I own a book". Of course as I stated before I love to read, but if that was the only factor then I would just read a book that was uploaded on the internet.
Also I think the general population are just so overwhelmed with all the new authors and starting novels that they don't know where to start. This is particularly annoying when books by different authors have practically the same plot. Which author is better? Personally, I'm writing my own story,but I don't see it ever going on market.
Long hackel short, the selling of hard copy books are like the selling of CDs and DVDs. Think about it.

by Mimic on March 01, 2009 at 07:28 PM

I read, although erratically. I'm tired of people bagging the Twilight series - to be honest, I think it's become fashionable to bag them, just as those who actually give a damn about their tv viewing image say they only watch the ABC. I know an English Literature teacher who enjoyed Twilight just as much as the next person and it is a gripping story no matter how 'adolescent'.
That aside I can't see reading dying out. I've already read five books this year and for my record during my childbearing years, that's wonderful! There a great UK website I order from as the books are very cheap. I think Australia needs to relax some taxing of books and people will read more. I agree about local libraries simply not being able to keep up.

by Susie on March 01, 2009 at 09:09 PM

The reading level in this country is abysmal. Most adults I see on the train read books that my 12 yr old daughter read ages ago. Myself, I have my own library of over 3,000 books in 4 languages and read at least 3 books weekly. As for reading online, no thanks....we already have a medium that's proven to store data for over 3,000 years (books)...what electronic format do you think will be readable 3,000 years from now? Computers may be able to store more data but until they have proven that they can do it for thousands of years and the data is still usable, they'll always be inferior to books. Studies have shown that humans retain information from books at a rate approximately 20% higher than from computer screens.

by daz on March 01, 2009 at 11:31 PM

I read, all the time. Nothing I like better than curling up with a good book. But I do mean GOOD books and not some crap pulp fiction thing. And my local Borders is always doing a brisk trade so I would say that people are still obviously reading.
But I do have to say that the price of books is getting very high. Yesterday I was browsing in Borders and noticed that the price for most books was well over the $30 mark. So these day I do go to second hand and discount bookstores for a lot of my reading material.
But I have pretty much given up buying newspapers and mags. Magazines are full of ads and just rubbish. I get my news online or ABC news so don't buy papers too often. I do buy the Sun Herald on Sundays as I like to read the paper over a lesuirely Sunday breakfast.

DD asks: And do you read this column in the printed paper (and then go online to comment) or do you read this column only in the online version?

by em on March 02, 2009 at 07:34 AM

From those stats you'd have to say print's not dying but maybe the adult brain is. I've not read the 'Twilight' series or 'Harry Potter' and have nothing against them, but they're books for young adults. It's great that they're getting kids into books but you'd hope they'd move on to something meatier.
And are books really that expensive? $20 for a copy of something that took months or years to write (and blood, sweat and tears) seems pretty reasonable to me.
The ecological arguement doesn't hold up either. Ever heard of plantations? And it's not as if computers run on fairy dust. The resources and cost (ecologically) of making and running computers and Kindles and e-books etc needs to be taken into account. It may be cheaper to publish online but not necessarily for the environment.

by darren on March 02, 2009 at 11:28 AM

Hey DD, I usually only read it online. But I do catch the printed version sometimes too then go online to comment.

by em on March 03, 2009 at 10:31 AM

There's a printed version of this blog?
No, but seriously, I don't buy newspapers anymore because I don't have time to read 6 every morning and you need to to sort through the biased guff we get fed these days. I'd rather read the NYT, ABC News, BBC News, the Guardian and Al Jazeera online than wade through blatantly-biased local newspapers that have decided to keep their audiences by "localising", which translates as concentrating on pointless trivia.
I didn't mean for this post to be such a rant.
As for books, I love books and love buying books but I use the library judiciously and only buy a book after I've read and enjoyed it at least twice. Then I know I'll read it again.

by genfie on March 03, 2009 at 01:39 PM

I'm an English teacher, so I've usually got a good 5 or 6 on the go - teaching Romeo and Juliet, Taming of the Shrew, Heart of Darkness right now. I'm currently reading Twilight series as my extension kids are studying the Gothic as popular culture - enjoying it for what it is. I would like to defend Twilight: I love books that encourage kids to read. I love that I can walk past kids while i'm on playground duty and they are sitting around in circles, reading the books or having impromptu book clubs. They love that I have read them too so we bond on a very different level. If you are an adult, you don't have to read it, you are not part of the target audience! She's a teen writer! You don't need to slag it off because it's beneath you! Again, she's aiming it at girls who are 13-18. She also in each book mentions a classic (eg New Moon she makes comparisons to Romeo and Juliet, Eclipse she makes comparisons with Wuthering Heights) - Meyer is hoping that by mentioning the classics, she will encouage these young readers to stretch themselves.
SO - you don't have to read it, you don't have to like it. But if you want to encourage kids to read, at least give it the kudos it deserves!

by Beckala on March 04, 2009 at 12:29 PM

Hello everyone, my name is tqd and I am a compulsive bookbuyer. (And reader, but that takes more time.)
In the last week-and-a-bit I have bought five books second hand (Honore de Balzac's "Cousin Bette"; short stories & poems by Edgar Allen Poe; "The Forsythe Saga" by John Galsworthy; the first in the "Burglar Who..." series by Lawrence Block; Graham Greene's "The Honorary Consul"), one new book ("Von Gobstopper's Arcade" by Alexandra Adornetto), and picked up a handful of books from the library (including "The Golden Notebook" by Doris Lessing, "A Child's Book of True Crime" by Chloe Hooper, and "The Swimming Pool Library" by Alan Hollingshurst).
I am currently reading "Anna Karenina" (in bed), "The Leopard" (on public transport), and Poe's short stories (on the sofa). My to-be-read piles next to the bed include "Twilight" (reading is about entertainment as much as it's about edification), various graphic novels, and a fair few sci-fi/fantasy novels amongst the classics.
My online book addictions are bookcrossing.com (leaving books "in the wild" - if you see a book lying around with a yellow post-it note, pick it up!!! you'll make someone's day!), librarything.com, and bookmooch.com (a bookswap website).
If you're concerned about books not being green: swap books (bookmooch and bookcrossing to a lesser extent), buy second hand, visit the library, borrow from friends/family (and return them!), and donate to eco-libris (ecolibris.net).
I love the *idea* of an electronic reader, but love browsing in bookshops too much to ever give up the old version. And I'm perfectly happy to spend my disposable income on my local bookshop so it'll still be there when the craving to browse some bookshelves hits, rather than the soulless experience of amazon.com.
I tend to do my book chatting online because of the kids: it's harder to get out nowadays (although I have been an active member of bookclubs in the past). But I do spend every second Tuesday at the pub with the local Sydney bookcrossers, and many books (and, strangely enough, DVDs of downloaded TV shows) change hands each time. (We all swear we won't go home with any, but one or two always end up being tucked into the backpack...)
So while I know "everyone *I* know reads" isn't much of an argument (I only hang around with readers, really), well, everyone *I* know reads. :)

by tqd on March 04, 2009 at 12:45 PM

I read newspapers (print version of SMH every day as well as online version) magazines (subscribe to rolling stone and Who weekly) and books - mainly fiction and mainly crime or thriller - share with family and friends - I can lose myself in a book quite happily. I have about 14 or more books on my bedside table to read - main problem is I keep buying more! And I have read Twilight and Tales of Beedle the bard too although I am way outside the demographic. I will also go back and read some of the classics - Shakespeare, Austen Tolkien etc (and the Princess Bride - if you are a fan of the movie I recommend the book - brilliant!)
Plus most people I know read - one of my friends uses second hand bookshops and Vinnies to source her addiction

by Cathy on March 06, 2009 at 03:00 PM

My reading list for the next two years is set as Borders last year had coupons on a weekly basis and I bought fiction and non-fiction including technical materials in such numbers I had to stop buying till I have space on my shelves again. Except when my favourite authors issue their latest I will stick with reading what I already have for the foreseeable future.
Worryingly though this year Borders has stopped offering the coupons which suggest that they were costing them more than they were gaining them in extra sales. I am concerned about their viability in what will be a crap economy for quite some time. I just hope there are still some decent book stores around at the end of the recession. Kmart and Big W simply cannot cover all my reading needs.

by Cat on March 09, 2009 at 09:52 AM

The Sun-Herald

Who We Are

WHO WE ARE: It's not what you read, or how, but whether

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