Study says reading in decline, but not in Spokane

So I’m sitting on my friend’s porch, talking about a novel that I’m in the process of reading. “How is it?” my friend asks. “Great, so far,” I say. “If the first chapter is any indication, it’s the best he’s done so far.” My friend’s husband grunts. “What?” I ask.

And he begins this long diatribe about genre novels, about how he never reads them. Blah-blah-blah.

Knowing that his reading habits include mostly only outdoors adventure and biography, I tell him that he’s really not the one to judge any kind of fiction.

“What kind of novels do you read?” I ask.

“Novels,” he says more than a little defensively. “Novels,” he repeats. “Don’t people just write novels anymore?”

Good question. Here’s a better one: Do people even read novels anymore?

According to a report issued in May by the National Endowment for the Arts, fewer Americans are reading any kind of fiction.

Using a U.S. Census Bureau study which polled 17,000 adults, the NEA report titled “Reading at Risk” estimates that only 46.7 percent of Americans over the age of 18 had read a novel, short story, play or poem in 2002. That represents a 10 percent drop over the previous two decades.

“The report documents a national crisis,” lamented NEA chairman Dana Gioia. “The decline in reading among every segment of the adult population reflects a general collapse in advanced literacy. To lose this human capacity — and all the diverse benefits it fosters — impoverishes both cultural and civic life.”

Despite the panicky reaction, the crisis may not be quite as great as the study indicates. Eva Silverstone, communications director of the Spokane Public Library, referred to a recent New York Times opinion piece that pointed out that the NEA study didn’t look at overall reading habits.

“So it doesn’t capture the huge number of nonfiction readers that are out there,” Silverstone says. In particular, she adds, “There’s tons of great memoirs and biographies.”

Silverstone admits that statistics about readership and the book business overall can be confusing. But she says there are some positive indicators about the reading scene in Spokane. For one thing, circulation figures at Spokane Public for this summer are up.

And then there’s the good news surrounding the 2-year-old Spokane Is Reading project.

The monthlong October event is jointly sponsored by area libraries, schools and bookstores. Its purpose is, as I wrote two years ago, “to create a regional literary community by encouraging book-lovers to read the same book.”

And the two books chosen so far — Kent Haruf’s “Plainsong” in 2002, Charles Frazier’s “Cold Mountain” in 2003 — have been fiction.

Silverstone admits that “Cold Mountain” didn’t attract the same kind of public attention that “Plainsong” did, but she attributes that at least partly to the fact that Haruf actually came to Spokane and Frazier didn’t (in fact, he never even answered the letter of invitation).

Even so, people did read Frazier’s novel. Silverstone says the library system compared circulation figures for “Cold Mountain” before the project began and after it ended. And the comparison showed, she says, that “the number of people who actually read the book was huge.”

The even brighter news is that the 2004 book, “Ender’s Game,” has the potential to gain a wider readership than either of the first two choices. “Ender’s Game” is a science fiction novel that won its author, Orson Scott Card, both the 1986 Nebula and Hugo awards.

Plus Card is coming to Spokane. He’ll speak at the Masonic Temple at 7 p.m. Oct. 28, with a possible afternoon appearance as well.

“We’re really excited because that’s such a popular book,” Silverstone says. “Teenagers like it. Adults like it. All sorts of different people like it.”

I’m not sure that includes my friend’s husband. But I know how to fix that.

I’ll just tell him it was positively reviewed by Outside Magazine.

Pining for big Will

Speaking of literature, I received a note from someone interested in forming a book club devoted to the works of Shakespeare. The idea would be to meet monthly and discuss all things Hamlet. Or Othello. Or Cleopatra. Whatever.

If you’re interested, let me know. I’ll pass on your contact information.

Unless otherwise noted, all events listed are free and open to the public.

The reader board

“ Suzanne D. Lonn (“The Game of Hearts”), reading, 7:30 p.m. Monday, Auntie’s Bookstore, Main and Washington (838-0206).

“ Renee E. Davis (“When a Voice No Longer Speaks”), reading, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Auntie’s Bookstore.

“ Susanne Roller (“Woman Kind and Etched in Stone”), signing, noon-3 p.m. Saturday, Borders Books, 9980 N. Newport Highway (466-2231).

“ Laura Love (“You Ain’t Got No Easter Clothes”), reading, 1 p.m. Saturday, Auntie’s Bookstore.

“ Michael Andrew Marsden (“The House in Harrison”), signing, 1 p.m. Saturday, Valley Barnes & Noble (922-4104).