John Miedema

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Studies of Voluntary Slow Reading

The previous posts in the series looked at more conceptual material on Voluntary Slow Reading (VSR). This post is the first of six that looks at studies on VSR.

Literary Reading

A number of concerning statistics have recently been reported on literary reading in the United States. While literary works can be read quickly, they generally offer more of reading challenge than, say, reading an MSN message. Even an advanced reader might be compelled to slow down because of the material itself, e.g., Milton’s Paradise Lost. There is a voluntary nature to the selection of materials in this case, and so offers some insight into VSR.

In 2004, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) released a report, Reading at Risk, a study that investigated literary reading trends in the United States. The study measured literary reading by asking Americans if “during the previous twelve months, they had read any novels, short stories, plays, or poetry in their leisure time (not for work or school)” (ix). It found that “literary reading in America is not only declining rapidly among all groups, but the rate of decline has accelerated, especially among the young” (vii). A follow-up report in 2007, To Read or Not To Read, showed a similar pattern for reading in general. Both reports note with concern that it is the literary readers who are more likely to participate in cultural and civic events. The disappearance of literary reading implies a loss of these positive social benefits.

In response to the reports, some critics, e.g., Kirschenbaum (2007), complained that the definition of reading was simplistic, failing to measure other widespread forms of reading taking place on computers and the Internet. Bauerlein, overseer of the 2004 report, in an interview with Williams (2005), discussed some additional studies that speak to the difference between on-line reading and literary reading of books. One survey indicated that only eleven percent of young people go on-line for information; it is usually for entertainment. Another study showed that most Web users only scan pages (see additional discussion in the section on Media Studies). Bauerlein advised: “Like the slow food movement that’s catching on, we need a slow reading movement” (163).

A similar pattern of declining literary reading is described in The Nation’s Report Card 2003, put out by the US Department of Education. In this case, literary reading is defined as that which “involves the reader in exploring themes, events, characters, settings, plots, actions, and the language of literary works” (4). Material types included novels, short stories, poems, plays, legends, biographies, myths, and folktales. This definition of literary reading sounds very much like the practice of close reading, and the report explicitly distinguishes literary reading from reading for information or to perform a task; both items suggest a tight connection between literary reading and VSR.

Canadian figures do not confirm the same pattern. In 2005, Canadian Heritage released a report, Reading and Buying Books for Pleasure. The finding was that “reading for pleasure remains a solidly established and widespread habit with little or no change over the last 15 years” (4). Furthermore, respondents showed a marked preference for literary materials: “Seventy-nine per cent of the total sample have read at least one book belonging to the ‘literary’ genre and 44 per cent state they read mainly / most often literary works” (45). The pattern is not consistently different. A 2006 survey of household spending by Statistics Canada showed that spending on reading materials decreased by five percent since the previous year, though Alberta households spent eight percent more on reading materials in 2005. Certainly it is important to continue watching these trends in the United States and Canada. The findings on literary reading will continue to be of importance toward the understanding of VSR.

References

Canadian Heritage (2005). Reading and buying books for pleasure. Retrieved from http://www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/pc-ch/pubs/lalpd-rbbp/exec/cont_e.cfm.

Kirschenbaum, Matthew (2007, December). How reading is being reimagined. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 54(15).

National Endowment for the Arts (2007). To read or not to read. Retrieved from http://www.nea.gov/research/toread.pdf.

National Endowment for the Arts (2004). Reading at risk. Retrieved from http://www.nea.gov/pub/ReadingAtRisk.pdf.

Statistics Canada (2006). Survey of household spending. Retrieved from http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/080226/d080226a.htm.

US Department of Education. The nation’s report card 2003. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/main2003/2005453.pdf.

Williams, Jeffrey J. (2005). Culture and Policy: An Interview with Mark Bauerlein. Minnesota Review, 63/64, pp. 159-177.