From: Regina Pauly <paulyr>
Date: Mon, 26 Jul 2004 09:33:48 -0500

This may be a little off the topic of popular culture but I've suspected that why there are readers and non-readers has somewhat to do with with our personalities. I am thinking in particular of extroversion and introversion. That a person who is introvert finds it natural to be a reader because this internal reflective state perfectly suits reading. Others however who are extroverts, often find their reflections by bouncing ideas off others, with the exchange being important. Books with strong characterizations, or simply factual books because a person wants to learn something, may suit extroverts, however they would probably go first to a live person to learn about the world, or for pleasure.
  It appears to me that our society is valuing the extrovert more and more as pop stars become our heroes, rather than people with noble qualities. I am hesitant to say reading is on a decline but it also seems to me that reading is still highly valued and the book industry is contining to publish more each year. What I will venture to put forward is that reading is changing, thus the rise of graphic novels, and perhaps children's literature will grow in popularity among adults who want a good story in a short time with less depth. And the rise of these popular culture tie-ins. A person can feel good about having said they read a book, since society values reading, even if the book is only condensed version of the Disney movie they already saw. It makes for a quick read with little thought being needed. It can however provide a topic for discussion, which I believe is what the extrovert values, whereas the introvert receives pleasure from the act of reading more than a discussion about the book.
  I've never tested this introversion/extroversion reading theory but it does seem true to me.

Regina Pauly Curriculum Librarian UW-Platteville paulyr at uwplatt.edu
Received on Mon 26 Jul 2004 09:33:48 AM CDT