It seems like every year we read reports which state that fewer and fewer people are reading books and that the medium is struggling to compete against other forms of entertainment such as music and films. We like to think there are still plenty of bibliophiles out there but, as Kimmel reports, the fact is that the average American will read only four books a year while one quarter of all adults in the US will not read a book at all this year.
Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel decided to see how bad things are by sending out a camera crew onto the streets to ask them to name any book. Not a book they’ve read, not a classic or a modern book, just ANY book from the Bible to Twilight. The results weren’t very encouraging. WARNING: Book lovers will be triggered!
As you can see, a fair few people were completely unable to name any book and those that did got it wrong. Moby Dick wrote a book about a horse? The Lion King was a book before becoming a hit animated film for Disney?
Before you get too wound up, lets remember that they only showed the people who couldn’t name a book, we hope that plenty of people were able to think of at least one book. It’s also worth keeping in mind that plenty of people go blank when put on camera, so lets not be too judgemental. Still, it’s hard to believe that titles such as the Bible, the Quran, Harry Potter, and The Lord of the Rings didn’t come to mind.
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I’ve read scores maybe hundreds of books, an avid reader. I don’t remember the titles or authors. I remember the books. The stories. I’m a musician. I know scores of songs by heart. Couldn’t tell you who wrote most of them.