Comments by "ncwordman" (@ncwordman) on "Americans basically don't read, and it's embarrassing" video.

Oh stop it with the education system! Who didn't read those books? The people, not the education system! Put the responsibility where it belongs. Do you expect the education system to go door-to-door, making sure you're reading, learning, exercising your intellect? Even if people volunteered to do that, how would they force the people to read and learn? Once you're done with formal education (no matter what grade, level, or degree), it is up to the individual to continue educating themselves, not their 9th grade English teacher.
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Audio books are great too. You can find a ton of them on Youtube: pretty much anything you want to find.
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@carrieon1 Thank you, especially if you're a teacher.
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@bradleygerber7317 Have you tried nonfiction? Depending on what you read in the news and sports sections, you could get something even better from books on the history of those subjects. History is crazy! And fun!
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@scotchbarrel4429 Reading requires silence and focus. It cultivates imagination. All of those things are exercises for your brain. It also teaches you things you don't know, expanding your mind and perception. Nothing else will give this to you. Also, reading is a matter of health. It balances the humility of how small you are with the understanding of how unique, and therefore important you are. It teaches you that heroes can be villains, and vice versa--so you will never lose hope, or be too arrogant.
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You need something that won't make you sleepy, then. Hmm, something engaging, that'll knock your socks off. Get Alex Haley's "Autobiography of Malcolm X." No way will Malcolm put you to sleep.
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Reading will help with that. And you'll be better off tackling the problem now. Reading is healthy. It calms you down, asks you to focus on nothing but words on a page. You have to use your imagination, and stick with the book for a week or two. But you can read about all kinds of stuff! Blackbeard, Billy the Kid, black holes, subatomic particles (which are really weird), or stories about dinosaurs, time travel, or British secret agents! Eskimos! You could learn about Eskimos!
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That list is hilarious. I'm a liberal, and have never read what your liberals read, except for fiction. You're making conservatives out to be intellectuals! "...prefer primary sources." That when 46% haven't read a book all year. Anyway, I got a good laugh from that. Thanks.
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Having parents who read really helps. Also, I can't see the whole world, or learn about people from other times. With reading, I get to learn about all the cool stuff I'd never do, but in my wildest dreams, imagine myself capable of doing: being a pirate, an Eskimo, a Sioux warrior at Little Big Horn, fighting in the World Wars, or discovery Relativity. It helps me to have empathy for all kinds of people. And it keeps my mind sharp.
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No. Books teach you to focus your intellect on what you're reading. Plus reading slows your heart rate, calms you down. It's just you, silence, words, and your brain. Depending on what you read, you can be learning new things, being taught by the greatest minds in the history of the world.
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@tthomas501 Hmm. Good point. Everyone has a different learning style style. @NYCHFAN is right, audio books might be better. But if you are a visual person, they might put you to sleep faster. Those are your two choices though. Maybe make a cup of coffee, and read during the day time?
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Who is "they"? That seems like an important detail.
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Sitting Bull was awesome! Native American history is bad to the bone. If you liked Sitting Bull, I suggest Crazy Horse, Billy the Kid, maybe getting into the pirates. Dude! Golden Age of Piracy! History is really fun and weird, no matter what. Fiction can be touch and go.
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I'm not a fan of Proust either. Can't blame you. Without knowing more about you, hard to recommend something. But, if you're at all like me, and are fascinated by things you'd never do in a million years, but still find those things amazing: maybe start there. For example no way would I go on a boat on the ocean. But I absolutely love all maritime stuff: pirates, navy, crazy storms, sunken treasure.
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Age probably has something to do with it. By now, books have been replaced in society by electronic whatchamacallits, and fancy doo-dads. I'm in my mid-50s too, and books are what I'm familiar with.
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@scotchbarrel4429 The incidental reading you're talking about doesn't demand much focus or imagination, or any of the other things I talked about. It's like comparing a basketball video game to actually playing basketball. Learning new languages is great exercise for your brain. But reading is necessary for your health too. You don't have to pick the most complicated books. Seeing your list from 10 years ago, I recommend you start with Douglas Adams: He's hilarious, a good writer, and his stories are real page turners.
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Explains a lot. Doesn't it?
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@Leo-yx7rk Oh, you know about them? I'm reading about their history right now, how they used to go whaling in single-person boats...! Good grief, man.
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@ahoythere4 Yes. When teachers make you read "the classics," it's like when your dad tries to make you listen to the music he grew up with. They aren't bad or anything. It's just that they're forced on you. Once I grew up, and read them on my own, I learned to appreciate them. But with reading and learning, you have to "follow your bliss," read what excites you, makes you want to turn one more page.
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You make time for what's important. Reading is healthy. It's good for your health: You sit still, heart rate slows; you calm down. You focus, and use your intellect, your imagination. Depending on what you're reading, you could be learning new things about science, or the ocean, or the history of the Apache(!!), or the inquisitions, crusades, other cultures, the golden age of piracy(!!). There's so much to learn, you'll never learn it all: That's how much there is! And there are amazing story tellers, the best writers, the best minds in the history of the world. Reading is worth making time for.
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It says 46% haven't read a book in a year. If you binge, then you ostensibly make up for lost time, so that it evens out by the end of a year. Yes? Or, by "long periods" do you mean more than a year?
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You decide what to do with your time.
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100 pages per day is great. That's awesome.
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@t0dd000 I said, it's up to us to study on our own, after we complete formal education, throughout our adult lives. How is that incorrect? You didn't say: just went off on some strawman, that has nothing to do with my point. A person can be poorly educated in school, but read, study, and learn on their own, as an adult. I did. When people don't do that, they fail to maintain a healthy, robust intellect. I see it everywhere.
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@t0dd000 What I see everywhere is people not studying and reading ON THEIR OWN. They can't even comprehend what's wrong. Knowledge doesn't stay intact in your memory forever. You have to reinforce it, practice, study: just like any activity.
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@t0dd000 Tell you what else I see everywhere: People blaming teachers, the education system, the government. They just don't want to accept the responsibility for their own well being. "It's someone else's fault!" How many books you think people are reading per week? Study shows less than 1% of adults in the U.S. read more than 5 books PER YEAR, on their own, for their own pleasure or learning.
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@piros44 I agree. And thank you for being a teacher. Most people don't even understand how learning happens, let alone how to teach. While I was a terrible student in high school, and thought poorly of my teachers, I realized that, through them, I had learned how to learn. So, if your students ever seem to be unreachable, I hope you keep reaching, because you're planting the seed. Don't always get to see it, but some people are deeply moved by teachers who care enough to reach out to them. Good luck. Bless you.
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@brianm7109 Get something challenging and enjoyable. I could recommend something, if you don't mind? If you're a guy, get some Henry Miller or Kurt Vonnegut. Honestly, start with Vonnegut, maybe "Breakfast of Champions." It's hilarious, easy to read, and Vonnegut is a great story teller. Audio books are great too, and there are plenty for free on Youtube: though you might be tempted to surf the net while listening, which ruins your concentration. Focus is a big part of reading. So pay a few bucks, get a Vonnegut book.
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@scotchbarrel4429 My advice is start with the audio book of Douglas Adams' "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." It's free here on Youtube, along with pretty much any audio book you'd want. Try to keep yourself from surfing the web while you listen. Just sit there, breathe, and take it in.
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It's awesome you have a favorite writer this month. :)
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@serinatang4184 You make time for what's important. Reading is healthy. It's good for your health: You sit still, heart rate slows; you calm down. You focus, and use your intellect, your imagination. Depending on what you're reading, you could be learning new things about science, or the ocean, or the history of the Apache(!!), or the inquisitions, crusades, other cultures, the golden age of piracy(!!). There's so much to learn, you'll never learn it all: That's how much there is! And there are amazing story tellers, the best writers, the best minds in the history of the world. Reading is worth making time for.
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Books also require you to use your imagination. At the very least, you have to get beyond the suspension of disbelief needed to think of it more than just words on a page.
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@GreyRock100 The focus required to read a books is light years beyond watching even a documentary about that book. The silence, without junk blowing up in your ears, or canned music playing, and having to use your imagination and the words to see, hear, and feel: YT content doesn't come close.
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@tthomas501 "I'm good reading something I need to learn, but not for recreation!" There it is! Now the only trick is what you mean by "something I need to learn." I'd argue that a person needs to learn as much as they can. But if there's something that appeals to you above other things, then learn all about it. Dogs, animals, boating, music, or stuff you always wanted to learn, but haven't yet. Science, maybe? Don't know much, thought you'd never learn? Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" will blow you out of the water. Try just one hour of the audio book. Please!
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