Books in America

BFD* called my attention to an article in USA Today stating that 1 in 4 Americans didn't read a book last year, and expressed skepticism at the implied claim that 3 in 4 Americans did read at least one book last year. The following was my attempt to rid him of his cynicism:

I think you can get to a figure like 3 in 4 Americans read at least one book last year if you count having read any part of any book. I would bet that, over the last year, 3 in 4 Americans had at least the cover of at least one book in their line of sight long enough to read the title, or part of the title. Some of those titles are printed in really big letters, after all, especially the titles of books sold at Safeway and Wal-Mart, which are, after all, the books we're likely talking about. That most of these don't actually count as books is a snobbish aside that need not detain us here.

I'm not saying they remembered what they read even five minutes after the fact. I'm just betting that 3 in 4 Americans did read (at least part of) a book in the last year.

* BFD = "Balding Fountain of Despair," a coworker of mine. That's not his legal name ... yet.