A few random links, now that I’m firmly back in my ever-present chair-in-front-of-the-internet.
First, today, Amazon revealed digital lending on some of its titles. The terms are similar to those for nook books: 14 days, you can only lend once, and you can’t read the book while it’s out for borrow.
The ever-wise Paul Biba at Teleread notes that the process of selecting which books are eligible for borrowing purposes is rather cumbersome on the publisher end: they have to individually de-select the books they wish to be ineligible, which, judging from how much was available for lending when the nook debut, is passing few.
So let me ask you: if you had the ability, would you lend a digital book? Is 14 days enough, if the title is eligible? I wonder how many books have actually been borrowed digitally – and read in that 2-week time frame.
Sally sent me this link to a Time Magazine article about a study from Personality and Social Psychology Review that indicates college students have decreasing levels of empathy:
Turns out, modern students just don’t seem to care. The research shows that today’s college students are a shocking 75 percent less empathetic than the students of the ‘70s.
Why are the students of today less caring? Scientific American offers a few possibilities. One could be an increase in social isolation—compared to the ‘70s, Americans today are far more likely to live alone and less likely to join groups.
Sally found the follow section more interesting, however:
Another possibility is a decline in reading. Studies have shown that people who read fiction are typically more empathetic, yet the percentage of college students who read for pleasure is less than 50 percent—the lowest it’s been in ten years.
I have no idea how I would have made it through college without fiction reading – so the idea that college students don’t read for pleasure drops my jaw. But the possibility that fiction reading increases empathy doesn’t shock me at all. After all, we romance readers we feel things deeply, if you know what I mean (and I think you do).
Do you know a college student? Do they read a lot for pleasure or generally not so much?
I just finished my masters while doing an internship and holding down three part time jobs to pay for it, and I STILL read for pleasure. Some weeks I would have too much on and I wouldn’t let myself read, but most weeks I had a Crusie or Chase in my bag.
I am one of those college students that seems to not to be able to find the time to read. I’m termed a “non-traditional” student at my school (meaning I’m over 27) and between school work, my insane drive to keep a 4.0, raising my son, all the activites I am involved in at his school, helping my husband run his business, and whatever else life decideds I can handle my pleasure reading time is almost nonexistant. Occasionally when I am super stressed I will have a “revolt” weekend and read a book or two (especially if a new book is out by a fav author), but then I either feel really guilty for blowing off work or I’m kicking myself trying to play catch-up on school work. That being said- Most of the students in classes with me read. But then again, we are education majors. And as far as empathy- I attend a Marianist Catholic college and most of the students are very service oriented, granted that is not the same as empathy but there is alot of compassion flowing around.
I am a college student and a Political Science major. I rarely, if ever, read for pleasure during the school year. Often, all of my work is reading or writing. When I have free time, I want to spend it socially because I am a recluse when I am working. Many of my friends feel the same way: reading for pleasure is fun, but one is often sick of reading by the time you have finished your work. However, on breaks it is not unusual for me to read 5-10 books in a week.
I haven’t yet shared books but have already contacted my sister and given her a list of the books that I’ve bought that I would re-read that are also available to borrow. I was a little disappointed by the ones that aren’t available but it’s a start.
In answer to your second question, I can’t speak for other students but when I got my teaching credential in my early 40’s, I gave up reading for pleasure. I had too much other reading to do and was working full time (teaching) and raising two school age children. There was just not time. If I go back for my master’s I suspect my reading will be greatly curtailed. Just reality of being in school.
I’m a college student (studying biochemistry), and I definitely read for pleasure. I’d lose my mind if I couldn’t; it’s how I relax. I tend to read sci-fi/fantasy and romance, though I generally only find the time to read on the weekends and sometimes go more than a week without being able to read. During holidays, I tend to read much more: up to five books a day (assuming I can hide in my room and read).
I have no problem with a 14 day lending period as long as I’m told about it in advance so I can make sure I have time to read. I just need the advance notice.
I am an avid, fast reader, but during college I rarely read for pleasure, because I had so little time, and to a lesser degree energy. Except for a few of my favorite authors who came out with new books, I usually reread old favorites or stuck to nonfiction because I had to be able to put it down easily and set it aside for sometimes weeks at a time. I knew the placement of a lot of couches all over my school, but that was so I could take naps during breaks, not have a comfortable place to read.
I really think you should be able to loan e-books out more than once.
I think part of the reason my generation (and I’m answering as an American only) is so apathetic is because of broken promises and ruined chances. We were told such great big lies in our childhood about this amazing future and then had to watch it being destroyed because of greed. Its not that we don’t care; its that we feel helpless, and hopeless.
We also don’t have the leaders we really need. We have to steal icons from earlier times and rework them to fit us. We can gather and spread information like wildfire but underneath our dissatisfaction is just kind of seething with no direction, or takes a direction that changes course on us.
But I also don’t think my generation is nearly as apathetic as the media likes to portray it as. There is such a passion and energy and drive and its flooding past international borders because its natural for us to hold a conversation with someone in Kenya or Japan or Sweden online. For all the faults the internet has, its also connecting us to things so beyond our scope of experience. I think my generation cares, and shows that care, but we do it on the small, personal scale rather than the larger one.
I remember not wanting to read anything when I was in college. I think there was so much that you had to read that reading for pleasure to a back seat. Then there is the social aspect, most college students have other things they want to do with their free time. However I do remember reading during the breaks, and I would pick books that were light, easy reads that I didn’t have to think about to hard!
I did not read for pleasure in college. Yet I was actively involved in community projects. It not only was required for my sorority philanthrophy and AFROTC credits, it came from what my parents taught me as a child. Now I find a way to express empathy and promote romance!
I have four college students who regularly follow my blog. They devour romance and demonstrate empathy in their comments and actions.
I want to interview them for my blog next year as I am curious what today’s college students think of the future.
I’m a college student, and I could never get by without reading for pleasure. The only thing that stops me from reading more than I do is monetary limitations. And when I don’t read, I write.
Most of my friends, though, don’t read for pleasure- or at least very little, and many of those who do tend toward non-fiction. Humor books, mostly. I’ve never been able to understand it. I enjoy non-fiction, but only if I’m interested in the subject, and pure humor books don’t usually go over well with me. The jokes get old fast.
My daughter is a college student whose ereader is never far from hand. She also came home for break and took a bunch of books out of the library and uses hers back in LA too. I don’t think she, or I, would have made it through college without the ability to escape into a good book.
Check out the Kindle Lending Club page on Facebook – for people to request and offer Kindle book loans, discover great new books for free, and share their collection with other book lovers:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kindle-Lending-Club-Borrow-and-Lend-Kindle-Books/152751058110306
I am a college student and I read too much fiction. So much so that I hardly read anything for my classes.
(The university system here in Switzerland is quite a bit different so that’s not all that horrible, it just means more stress for finals for me;D)
I think 2 weeks is enough. That is all I get when I borrow e-books from the library. The just once thing is annoying.
I know several college students and they say they do noy have time to read fiction————so sad.
All of the college students in my family read a lot for pleasure. It is, in fact, one of the biggest arguments they have with their parents. I say, let them read as long as they are keeping up with the school work!
I love the idea of electronic book lending. I am a big fan of book lending in general. I believe it encourages people to find new things they might not have otherwise tried. I have never used electronic lending so I don’t know if 14 days is enough.
It sounds like a fascinating study but I’m with those who are skeptical of any measurement of empathy. It does seem as though we as a society spend too much time on individual activities (cell phones, video games…blogging!) and not enough face time with others. But this also sounds like one of those “kids today” arguments, in which the current generation predicts technology, rock music, etc. is ruining the next one.
I was an English major and had little or no time for pleasure reading. I could barely keep up with assigned reading! But I also worked part-time throughout college so that made a difference. On summer and winter breaks I would stock up on romances from the used bookstore and read, read, read.
I know a lot of college age “kids”, since my little brother is that age, and they ALL read for pleasure (but then they all vote, cook, and do a host of other things that kids their age supposedly don’t do, so clearly I only know oddballs).
I’d I’m all over the book lending thing! In my circle, we tend to swap around first books in series or debuts and from that point everyone buys the rest of the series (and most of us buy that first book too, after the fact, so we have it; yes, we’re like book dragons with our troves). I’ve REALLY missed being able to do with my “girls”.
Geez, yes, I know a college student. He’s in the master’s program in Classical Studies at Columbia University, and he NEVER reads fiction. He’s also going through what I hope is just a phase of egocentricity, so, YES, I can attest to a lack of empathy in a non-fiction-reading college student.
My first three years of university, I didn’t read much for pleasure except over the holidays. I found that I didn’t have enough time. Of course, this meant going from being the girl who read at least a book a week in high school to the girl who only read a few a year. I missed it. So in my fourth year and during my Master’s I vowed to make time to read more for pleasure. I didn’t take the time from my homework, but rather from the myriad things I did to procrastinate – like Facebook or bad TLC shows. And it’s made me happier, for sure… but who knows about more empathetic?
I’ve always been a big reader, but I probably read the least for pleasure during college. Heck, I didn’t always get my reading assignments done for classes – I was too busy with projects for other classes.
14 days would be enough for me for some books, but not all.
When I was an undergrad, in the 70s, I had no time for pleasure reading except in the summer.
The following are my observations as I am of many minds on the empathy part.
Is it lacking in empathy or sharing empathy in new ways via social media?
Trendwatching.com has noticed a consumer trend toward Generosity for the past year or two. That is incongruent with the studies above. Who’s right? I don’t know.
Our college students today are also in a double-bind of pressure. The traditional pressure of school and, for many, the phenomenon of “helicopter parents.” That’s enough to make anyone retreat.
The Pew Internet and American Life report recently concluded that social media use is not leading to isolation. In fact, it is more likely to lead to joining groups.
We also can not overlook the attitudes society in general has had in recent years. Irresponsible CEOs, what I think of as “attack” journalism, etc. How can a child grow up in that environment and not feel the need to withdraw and be cautious with empathy?
Or is it that empathy is expressed in micro-groups rather than joining larger movements as we did in the 70s?
Dizzy…must lie down now…
I used to run writing workshops for college freshman who needed to pass the entrance exams to get into Composition 101. The hardest part of my job was convincing them they were allowed to have their own opinion on the material they were reading. They seemed to be having trouble distinguishing between the need for proper form in a persuasive essay, and the opinion itself. The essay was simply the vehicle for the opinion they were trying to express, but they seemed to feel that if the essay got poor marks, there was something inherently wrong with expressing that opinion and they would then try to express whatever opinion they thought I wanted to hear, when what they really needed to work on was the form. Then there were the students who were completely apathetic to the reading material and insisted they had no opinion on it. I would have loved an opportunity to open up that forum to alternative reading materials, but my reading list was written in stone by the administration. I still wonder what might have happened if they could have chosen their own reading material to write about.
I wish “form” was always the problem. I got a D on a paper in a poly-sci class once and the only comment on the entire paper was “Poor Documentation”. Now, the paper was on the Star Wars Defense program, and I’d read and quoted from a dozen+ sources and interviewed three of the lead scientists on the project. The very conservative proff just didn’t like my conclusions (he was overruled by the head of the dept when I appealed the grade and I got an A).
If I’d been a less ballsy student, I might have learned a very different lesson from that class.
When the thought police are patrolling your every expressed thought, it must be hard to develop an outward expression of empathy. I got lucky with my profs, I suppose; I’ve had them argue with me in the margins of my papers plenty of times, but never a mark-down over the opinion expressed, at least not since one memorable incident in high school. Maybe it was hubris, but I knew that incident was his problem and not mine. I can see how a student less cocky would internalize that and decide not to share a true opinion again in the future.
I myself did a lot of pleasure reading in college; in fact, that’s where I was introduced to Georgette Heyer and revised my previously poor opinion of romance novels. But then I went to a fairly liberal school with fewer required classes and wasn’t by nature a social person. Plus there was a fantastic used bookstore within easy walking distance.
My sons did a lot of reading growing up, if only because we started them early, reading to them as soon as they could sit up. (The worst punishment we could give our oldest was to take away story time.) The disconnect started in high school when he had to read “Great Literature” which is almost always depressing and really got him turned off of reading in general. Now that he is in college he does read fewer books for pleasure; just doesn’t have the time. However, he does spend a couple of hours a day reading blogs, fanfiction, and graphic novels online, as well as writing a few of his own. So I think the actual time spent is pretty equivalent between the generations; it’s the format that has changed.
And I don’t think kids are less empathetic; I think they’re just overwhelmed. There is so much more wrong in the world today that many of them feel the outrage but think, “I’m just one person, there’s nothing I can do.” They no longer think in terms of banding together, or in terms of starting small, because the overall picture is so overwhelming it’s scary.
I like the library lending for my Sony. As long as it’s on my ereader, it never “expires”. The copy on the computer might, but not that one. I usually put them on my card so there is no chance of losing it.
I am a college student, and I read a LOT. Granted, most of my “reading for pleasure” happens during breaks like the one that is about to end (NOOOOOOOO!) but I still sometimes find time to read fiction during weekends. As an English major, I enjoy reading most of my textbooks, since they’re topics that interest me. For example, next term I’m taking a class called “Special Studies in Detective Fiction.” So for me, reading for pleasure and reading for homework often overlap.
As far as my empathy, I think I’m a fairly empathetic person, but I have a lot of problems of my own, like being homeless, and it gets exhausting when I’m called upon to care about every cause that comes along.
I’m a college student, and a proud bibliophile. I read for fun whenever I get chance, often balancing it with class assignments, socializing, and occasionally gaming.
(Being an art student, most of my assignments aren’t participially textbook-based, however some of my more design-related classes have us get the book as a good reference to have around to brush up on it in the future.)
As for empathy, I am a very empathetic person. But like DreadPirateRachel, I too have my own set of problems in life that take priority.
I also have many friends still in the High-School mentality, and the whole ‘being a big girl/boy’ thing hasn’t hit them yet. I care when they reach out to me to be their vent person, or need guidance, but it’s hard to care for someone when they’re complaining that they can’t get the game they want because they pissed their Christmas money away on other crap, while I just used my money for an emergency vet bill, that otherwise would’ve gone towards my student loans. (True Story.)
Regarding lending…I have a nook, so I have the “lend me” feature on some of my books. 14 days is more than enough for me to read the books that my friends lend to me. I lend ebooks the same way I lend paper books…I give them to a friend, have no access to read them, and expect it to be returned to me. It works out rather well, because it introduces me to new authors and to books that I might not otherwise read. I am not buying books any less then I have in the past (probably purchasing MORE).
If libraries can do it, why can’t the digital copy that I paid for be shared with a friend?
14 days would be plenty for me, heck even 7 days would be plenty for me since i tend to read a book a day.
When I was a college student I had a library card and I used it regularly. I needed something else to read other than the philosophy/theology/political science books and sometimes even other literary books. I started reading romance books in college actually when my roommate gave me Julie Garwood and Jude Deveraux books to read when I didn’t have homework my freshmen year.
I got my bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering. The college’s accepted plan had me averaging 16-21 credits each quarter which were 11 weeks long. I was lucky to find time to sleep & eat & shower. Okay, so I had a little down time, but that was usually spent hanging out and decompressing with others. I did not read fiction at all during those 4 years while in school. I read it on break and earlier in life and after, but not those 4 years.
I did make up for it when I got my master’s degree in Library and Information Science. The best class EVER was “Adult Popular Literature” where for my assignments I had to read 3 romance novels – one historical, one contemporary, and one erotic (that was the first time I had read a Crusie novel (Bet Me)). We also had to read 1 Zane Grey and 1 other western, 1 non-fiction, 2 sci-fi and 1 fantasy, 3 mysteries – a soft boiled, a hard-boiled and a cozy, and one of the books had to be an audiobook. Best Class Ever! Imagine, sitting on the back deck in May on a sunny day, reading Bet Me, and saying “Sorry Honey, I can’t cook dinner, I’m doing school work.”
I have always been a very fast reader, so a novel in the 100,000-word range doesn’t take me too long (certainly not a fortnight!). I had read a vast amount of fiction for pleasure as a teenager, and many of the set books for secondary-school English courses were pure pleasure in themselves. But like many others here, I read very little fiction when I was an undergraduate, because of time constraints and the sheer amount of required reading for my subject. And this was not five years ago or fifteen, but fifty years ago, so I don’t think much has changed.
When a lot of intensely concentrated, note-taking reading of academic texts became part of my daily routine, I, for one, looked for activities other than reading, rather than just a different kind of reading, for relaxation: music, photography, knitting, other crafts, social activities — anything but opening yet another book. This continued throughout the earlier decades of my career. I did not start reading novels for pleasure again till I was in my 40s, other than the tried-and-tested old favourites that I re-read at least once a year.
14 days would not be enough for me, because I seldom focus that much time/attention on one book. I did turn a deaf ear to the siren call of all my other books to finish Wallace Stegner’s All the Little Live Things and Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series, but that is rare. I would rather have the ability to send free samples of books I enjoy to my friend’s Kindle with a personal recommendation than lend a book for two weeks.
I remember reading, re: college students, I think it was in the NYT not too long ago: modern college degree programs tend to be a heavier load than they were in the past (with more required courses). Also, with the rising cost of tuition, a lot of students have to work side jobs to pay for books, boarding, meal plans, etc.
I really don’t think it’s as simple as “this generation’s college students are dumb and would rather watch YouTube than read.” I am currently a graduate student in a Social Work program (plenty of empathy there, lol), but the program is very intense, with five classes, an internship and a two-hour commute to school (for me). I still read for pleasure during the semester, but my time is really, really limited.
In regards to the college student thing, I’m a freshman in college now and I still manage to read at least one book a week for pleasure. I find that I am just inundated with stuff that I am supposed to feel empathy for, and I think that lessens my overall expression of empathy. In one day I got appealed to go door to door to get out the vote for two candidates, to donate money to earthquake relief, to attend a Pakistan benefit concert, to eat dinner with the South Asian Student Society. Its too much all at once. I might feel empathy for one cause but with so many things pulling at my attention it all gets lost as just one more cause like all the other causes, and I end up just ignoring them all. I feel for the cause, but I don’t do anything to act because there are just too many appeals and because I am a college student. Academics comes before pretty much everything else…its an attitude that a lot of my friends hold, and empathy beyond social circles kind of gets lost.
I’m excited about lending so that my mom and I can share books. I am currently a college student and I would say that college students are not empathetic, at least on my campus. Volunteering is a very big deal on my campus. I am also a HUGE fiction (predominantly romance) reader and I am disappointed by how little people in my age group read. I can read several books in a day and I always have my Kindle with me. Other than my close friends, very few of my peers read for pleasure. My problem is that I read for pleasure when I should be doing schoolwork!
*Correction: I meant to write that I would NOT say that college students are not empathetic.
I am a college student majoring in English Lit and I find that most of my colleages don’t even read for pleasure. I distinctly remember a girl saying “How do they expect me to read 5 novels through out the course? I don’t even reach the 40 page limit in a year!!”, and let me tell you I WAS SHOCKED! The vast majority of the people I know don’t have the time or the will to read. I, myself, have found out recently that I read quite a lot. And -even if my grades have suffered- quite more than I should, considering the huge amount of reading we are required to do for class.
I don’t know if the fact that we are forced to read such dreadful books at school influences the people I know, but I think that somebody who doesn’t read is just because he or she hasn’t found the kind of books they’ll enjoy.
Aside from this, I think that e-lending is great! I would make lending out books so much more easy, i think, instead of worying about the number of times you have downloaded it to a e-book.
But maybe the 2 weeks restriction is a bit too small, time-framelly speaking. I have been known to have a book for over a year and just not have the time to read it at all (yet). But maybe it is enough? I sincerelly don’t know.
I’m current grad-student in Medieval Lit, and even with all the reading, work, GTA etc. I still read at least one romance novel a week. I need it for my sanity, otherwise I’d end up dreaming of nothing but terribly written Expos. I papers and gender politics in Arthurian Romances (the latter of which isn’t a bad thing to dream about but I need a little fluff on a regular basis). During my undergraduate years in English Lit, I did run across a startling number of classmates who simply didn’t read on a regular basis, to which I say they’re missing out on an amazing opportunity for stress relief.
As for lending, I don’t have a Kindle but my sister and I both have Nook. With both of us in grad-school and starved for escapist fair, we do lend back and forth whenever the option is there. The problem is, out of our combined libraries of some three hundred and seventy five books, only about ten titles in each of our collections have the lend me option. The two week time limit is manageable, and I suppose, maybe, I can understand lending it only once (maybe, although it seems a little illogical to me). However, only offering the option on certain titles is more than a little ridiculous, considering all the restrictions already in place.
I am a recent college grad, and the books I read in college for fun were books I had already read, like Harry Potter, so it wouldn’t be a travesty if I didn’t have time to finish them. I was a history major so I had a ton of required reading, some of which was fun to read, (C.S. Lewis) and some of it wasn’t (Age of Bede). But I was always adding to my to-be-read-after-college pile of books.
I’m currently in University, and I have to make time before I go to bed every night to read for pleasure. I used to be able to read a book a day, but I don’t have the time anymore. Plus, when I do read for pleasure, it is slower because I read more thoughtfully then I used to. It takes me about 2 months to finish a book on this schedule, but I find I get more out of the books this way.
On another note, I can understand the bit about social isolation. Sometimes I ask my friends if they wanna do something later on, and they assume I mean online gaming!!!! Does anyone grab a cup of coffee together anymore?? Although I game and chat online once in awhile, I am not fullfilled friendship-wise by facebook chatting and texting like some people my age seem to be. Am I just a freak of nature, or are there others who have the same problem??
company23-I would appreciate real life, human company of other 23-year-olds.