Like Whales: The Evolution Of Books

Dana Gioia, the author of this article, claims that the decline of reading in America will cause negative effects in society. Dana Gioia develops this persuasive argument by discussing the possible social and personal problems that could arise with the decline of literacy. The author believes that the lack of literacy in America can begin to deteriorate our way of life.

The article The Death of Reading is Threatening the Soul by Philip Yancey focuses on how many people are no longer “deep reading” and instead are reading “fewer of the [types] of books that require hard work” (Yancey 1). This is because the brain experiences a dopamine rush that occurs “when we learn something quick and new” (Yancey 2). Yancey agrees with many other intelligent, well-known people who stress the need to read many books or book pages daily. He adds that they acknowledge that it’s “beyond reach for [everyone] but [a] few people” so there’s no reason not to partake in the goal, especially since it is extremely beneficial (Yancey 3). Yancey describes reading lots of books has helped unleash his creativity and diminish his writer’s

In the passage “Why Literature Matters” by Dana Gioia, Gioia states that the decline of interest in reading in America is decreasing. She then claims that this lack of interest will hold negative effects on the future of our society. Gioia uses facts and evidence to support her claim.

Dana Giona persuades his audience on how the decline of reading in America will impact society negatively by incorporating a precise set of diction usage and including irony in his article.

Dana Gioia calls out millennials and younger generations in america, to spark a conversation about the increasingly declining and destructive behavior of NOT reading! Gioia makes very many fantastic points and uses very many persuasive elements on why literacy actually is vital to to our society and the negative effects that come from this lack of literacy. She gives us factual evidence and credible sources to pull the reader into her side of the argument.

Furthermore, children spend more time watching television rather than reading. “A 2007 study published by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reported that the average US household has a television set turned on an average of 8 hours and 11 minutes every single day. Much of that television watching is being done by children” (Preface to 'How Should Television Be Regulated?'). Most children have watched over three school years worth of television. In the article “TV Doesn’t teach,” it is pointed out that the decline in the ability to read in

Rabury’s prophecy about society and books today is correct that most people honestly don’t check out or buy a book and read it anymore. The world is so focused on social media including; facebook, twitter, and instagram that they don’t use their free time to read, but to tweet or update their status. Technology has gotten more interesting, and even when some people to read, they can find the book online.

Taking into account of many Americans, the act of reading is not apart of our daily lives as it was many years ago. Instead, the media has taken over and leaves us at a disadvantage of developing our minds. The level of proficiency, “Fell significantly between 1992 and 2005, from 40 percent… to 35 percent (Chronicle).” In spite of that, reading gives us the opportunity to get different perspectives, learn valuable lessons, and engage emotions that might not be sparked otherwise. The list can go on and on, however, even with all of these great benefits, the literacy rate in America is continuing to drop.

In this article from 2005, Dana Gioia is telling Americans how much the decline in reading among young Americans has gone. Gioia is encouraging Americans to read, and writes about the consequences of not having this literature reading skill.

Technological advances have shaped this era into what it is today. From news articles to Facebook posts, we are always reading throughout the day. In the article, “Nation Shudders at Large Block of Uninterrupted Text” by The Onion in the book Everyone’s an Author, raises questions how reading habits have changed over the past couple generations. One has to wonder what text we take the time to read and what text we do not take the time to read. Everyday advertisements, articles, and many other texts pry for our attention. In this day and age, people want information right away. This article shows how reading habits by Americans have shifted over the past few decades and generations.

Today, people are trying to put reading as a form of binge-watching, but for books. In the past, before TV became mainstream, people used to read books to past time, but as TV become more mainstream, reading has become less appealing or “uncool”. Now people are trying to put reading back as a trend to make it “cool”. However, the issue with doing this is the way books are created, you can pick up a book for a single story and when people read it is to be educated, create vivid images in their minds, and get lost in the story, while TV is a form of media where you watch to past the time with little use of brain power. Another issue with putting books in the center, will cause books to become more like TV shows where you have to buy multiple books to have the complete story unlike now where I can buy any book and have a complete story in one book.

As printed text becomes more difficult to read, reading as a hobby has gotten a lot less attractive to some people. UCLA psychology professor Patricia Greenfield points out in her studies, “reading develops imagination, induction,

Saul Bellow encounters a similar experience, he states, “Later when I was traveling in the Midwest by car, bus and train, I regularly visited small- town libraries and found that readers in Keokuk, Iowa, or Benton Harbor, Michigan, were checking out Proust and Joyce and even Sven and Audrey Bely” (Bellow 12) Not only does this support that there are people who still read, because of the readers in the library, it also supports that there are people who read over a variety of places, since he mentions the two towns. He observes the books being checked out, which are written by classic authors, this shows a preference for the old works of literature and they are clearly not going out of date. Moreover, Mr. Bellow provides evidence reading is not going out of date with the

This has been something that people have noticed for years, in 1991 Mitchell Stephens wrote an article titled The Death of Reading. “Three people sit in a doctor 's waiting room. One stares at the television that rests on an end table, the second fiddles with a hand-held video game; the head of the third is wrapped in earphones. A couple of kids, waiting for bedtime, lie on the floor of a brightly painted room, busily manipulating the controls of a video game. Two hundred people sit in an airplane. Some have brought their own tapes, some doze, most stare up at a small movie screen.”(Stephens par 1). We have become bored with our day to day lives. The social aspects of our lives are only through a screen. Libraries have faded into the background, and kids do all their homework

Reading is one of my favorite pass times, I read at school, in the car, on vacation, and just about everywhere else. I have been reading for fun for years, yet I still never know which is better, a paper copy of a book or an electronic copy. Both have their strong points, but they both have their weak points, I know I am not the only one who still does not know which one is a better choice, teens, adults, and everything in between has struggled with this at least once in their lives. Even though I own many books both paper and electronic, I still want to know which one is better.