Does the Average Gamer Read?

[jodyjohnson]

Actually I often think that the thing which gamers do NOT read is exactly the rulebooks. I don't say this because I think they don't know the rules, but because I think that 90% of the people buy a book, browse it the first evening, come to the forum to praise how fantastic the book is, and then put it in the shelves and start thinking about the next book already.

Busted. Except the praise them on the forums part.

Browse first day and then occasionally skim it again later (read what catches my eye).

I haven't read a rule book through since the original 3.0 core books came out 6 years ago (before I had kids).

 

[seskis281]

I'd say that those who delve into RPGing as a table-top rather than online or computer form would be more likely to be readers as well - you sort of have to have that inclination to start with if you're going to read rule books, supplements etc.

On the other hand I think the overall society is slipping away from reading - and I can offer anecdotes from my own 16 years of teaching at levels from middle school to university: just 15 years ago I could assign a play to read and students would do it, even if they grumbled about it - yes, there have always been those who tried to get by with minimal effort, but it wasn't the "norm". Now my students actively resist (as a norm) even assigned readings, and when I ask questions like "how many books have you read" more than 50% will say they've never read anything - even in high school (and they idea of assigned readings is dropping fast there as focus turns to testing and testing again).

Remember summer reading lists? My wife teaches middle school and tried to assign one (1) over-the-summer read - The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and was met by STRONG outrage from... the PARENTS, who demanded to know why their children should have to do something as silly as read a book when they had so many more important things to do - baseball, soccer, etc.

I think there is a generational thing between those of us who can still remember when TV was 4-5 channels that went off at midnight, when "computers" meant my TRS-80 with tape cassette for storage, and those born in the multi-media age of instant access. When I was young Friday night was "book" night, and my father would read aloud Tolkein, sci-fi like Heinlein and Asimov, H. Beam Piper. I doubt that happens anywhere today.

 

[solkan_uk]

I'm in the uK (if that matters), and I must say I know few people who don't read for pleasure, whether gamers or not. Nearly everyone I know has read Harry Potter and DaVinchi code at the least, most have read much more than that.
On a personal note, I read much less than I used to, partly due to lack of time and partly due to lack of enthusiasm for whats out there. Whereas in school (I'm 25 now btw) I used to stay up all night reading quite often and get through at least a couple of books a week, I now spend too much time working, looking after my daughter, spending time with my Fiancee, gaming, reading game-books and the like to read.
And when it comes to fantasy - I feel I've read it all before - when I read now, it has to be a bit different from the same old fantasy I used to read. Neil Gaiman, Clive Barker etc I still read their fantasy, but otherwise I'm into comics, sci-fi, crime, espionage and anything but fantasy.


And I never liked LotR, I feel the films outshone the book, which was overlong and pretty damn dry in places.

 

[Zander]

I don't read a lot of fantasy myself - I don't like the kinds of stories you get from mainstream fantasy, especially since I thoroughly dislike The Lord of the Rings, which of course is the template for them all.

While it's true that a lot of fantasy literature has been influenced by LotR, not all has. For one thing, some fantasy works such as Howard's Conan stories and Edison's The Worm Orobouros pre-date LotR.