Non-job, Non-readers, non-Junk, & motorcyclists

[skreidle]

Well, that's a nice surprise--in addition to the two or three emails I've gotten from VAemploy.com reminding me to file weekly, I just got a phone call from a woman making sure I'd gotten my PIN, as I hadn't filed yet, and informing me that they'd received my separation info from RDR and that I was eligible for two weeks already.

I also replied to the email from the Telos/Xacta woman before going to sleep last night--expressing a tentative interest in a "physical security at the Pentagon" position. Still not in my field, but if it's all I can get at the moment..

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In really sad news from reabhecc, Half of US shuns literature.

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I realized that my email program's Junk folder had gotten mis-sorted, resulting in me missing several pieces of non-Junk, which I summarily saved.

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I have a riding club! I sent in an application to join the Southern Cruisers Riding Club, Fairfax chapter last week sometime, and got a reply today. Checking the site and forum, it seems like a good, friendly bunch of people. :)

Comments

[xanthamarioff.livejournal.com]

There are actually people who don't read books? Not even one, in a whole year? How do they manage to do it? I can't imagine... It's -very- rare for me to go more than a month without reading a book through. In a good month, I go through at least five or six. Then again, my own parents used to not read for fun, and even now they're only sporadic at it.

Still, the notion that over half the population just doesn't read... I don't want to believe it.

[skreidle.livejournal.com]

Well, I've been known to go a month or three without picking up a book, but I'm not proud of that fact and I do try to make more time for reading. (I agree with one of the article's points--online reading, mainly LJ, has taken precedence over a lot of my free time, to the detriment of words on paper.) However, after almost no reading at all in three months in Australia, I've read at least ten books in the last few months, including one in the last week.

A whole year, though? Can't even imagine.

[bluekitsune.livejournal.com]

psst... wrong sister. ;)

[skreidle.livejournal.com]

I certainly don't know what you're talking about. ;)

[weeping-angel.livejournal.com]

I worked in a (couple of) bookstores. This is unsuprising. Most of the teenagers that came in were looking for clif notes. When I suggested they "read the actual book, the responces varied from blank stares to outright hostility toward the idea. go figure. Most people would rather have their entertainment spoon-fed to them.

I heard a statistic once that it's like 5% of america that keeps the bookstores open. It always made me angry, that so many people are openly hostile to the idea of reading.

[xanthamarioff.livejournal.com]

What I want to know is what part of the sales/profits come from non-book materials in the big chain bookstores -- the DVD and CD sections, the stationary and calendars, the coffee and promotional junk. Do they all carry that stuff because it sells well, or because they can't afford to stay open if they -don't- sell it?

And we in the 5% must spend an awful lot on books to make up for the other 95% of the population.

[antikate.livejournal.com]

Indeed. It's one of my ways of justifying my book addiction and the ridiculous amount of money I spend a year on books (not even counting the $400-$600 per year spent on plays, etc. while I'm here in grad school).

[skreidle.livejournal.com]

I seem to acquire many books for free or cheap, and actually buy fairly few--the only one I remember buying recently is Chris Colin's book about TJ '93.

[weeping-angel.livejournal.com]

When I walk in to a bookstore intending to pick up one book- it's a fairly regular occurrence to walk out with three or more. People that read tend to buy lots of books.

When I worked at Borders the music section did rather well, but I think the impetus was that the founders liked having music that they wanted to listen to and buy in the same place where they bought their books. The calendars were really a once a year item and the stationary section was non-existent, and almost no promo junk for sale. It has been a while since any of the local Borders were that way.

[xanthamarioff.livejournal.com]

Yeah... I got into trouble the day I discovered that Barnes and Noble has baskets -- once my arms and powers of balancing/gripping were no longer the limiting factor, I had a small self-control crisis.

[skreidle.livejournal.com]

I try to avoid buying more books, because man, do I already own a lot of unread books. However, when opportunity presents itself for a good deal on books, I'll likely walk with 5 or 10. :)

[skreidle.livejournal.com]

That's a rather scary statistic, and I don't understand hostility towards reading. Aversion, I still can't really understand, but at least it's not hostility--I suppose some people just need a different form of input.

Personally, I'd read as much of the book as I had time for, hopefully all of it, and maybe check the Cliff Notes out of the library to help with whatever paper.. I certainly never replaced the book with the Notes.