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<blockquote data-quote="Dannyalcatraz" data-source="post: 5632495" data-attributes="member: 19675">I haven't been much of a library user- I go there for research mainly- but for my reading habits, I just buy buttloads of books.That said, my own personal bit of info on this topic: when I was in my first year of law school (1993), I did as I usually still do- I carried a book with me, usually science fiction or fantasy.So one day, I was sitting down in a lounge area between classes, noshing on a bagel &amp; some tea while reading a book.&nbsp; About 15 minutes into my break, someone looked over me an asked, incredulously, &quot;What are you doing?&quot;I'm reading a book,&quot; I responded, cautiously...thinking I had possibly missed a class or something.&quot;For FUN?&quot; was the reply.And then it all came into focus: almost nobody around me was a reader.&nbsp; There I was in a graduate level program in which the skill of reading was paramount in importance and nobody else was a reader.&nbsp; Sure, most read the local paper, and some read things like the Wall St. Journal or Time Magazine or The Economist.&nbsp; But books?&nbsp; Nope: not unless they were assigned.Which then explained to me why I was one of the few people who understood what a &quot;Sword of Damocles&quot; was when the professors used it as a metaphor for a particular kind of law and other references to classical literature, myth and legend.&nbsp; While that might not be surprising in society as a whole, I had a different expectation from people who had already had 4 years of college.&nbsp; And clearly, so did the instructors.When I went back to school for an MBA in 2003, the story was similar, but not as pronounced.&nbsp; I found a LOT more readers in the smaller MBA school than in the law school I attended.So...yes, I DO think that there is a shift in reading habits, even among the most educated among us.&nbsp; (At least, in the USA.)</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Dannyalcatraz, post: 5632495, member: 19675"] I haven't been much of a library user- I go there for research mainly- but for my reading habits, I just buy buttloads of books. That said, my own personal bit of info on this topic: when I was in my first year of law school (1993), I did as I usually still do- I carried a book with me, usually science fiction or fantasy. So one day, I was sitting down in a lounge area between classes, noshing on a bagel & some tea while reading a book. About 15 minutes into my break, someone looked over me an asked, incredulously, "What are you [I]doing?[/I] "I'm reading a book," I responded, cautiously...thinking I had possibly missed a class or something. "For [I]FUN?[/I]" was the reply. And then it all came into focus: almost nobody around me was a reader. There I was in a graduate level program in which the [I]skill[/I] of reading was paramount in importance and nobody else was a reader. Sure, most read the local paper, and some read things like the Wall St. Journal or Time Magazine or The Economist. But books? Nope: not unless they were assigned. Which then explained to me why [I][B]I[/B][/I] was one of the few people who understood what a "Sword of Damocles" was when the professors used it as a metaphor for a particular kind of law and other references to classical literature, myth and legend. While that might not be surprising in society as a whole, I had a different expectation from people who had already had 4 years of college. And clearly, so did the instructors. When I went back to school for an MBA in 2003, the story was similar, but not as pronounced. I found a LOT more readers in the smaller MBA school than in the law school I attended. So...yes, I DO think that there is a shift in reading habits, even among the most educated among us. (At least, in the USA.) [/QUOTE]

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