And the survey says ...

The results are in! And it turns out that our class, as a group, isn't all that different from many of the statistics found in the PEW survey of American reading. Nevertheless, however much we have in common, it's in our differences that we find definition, and our own self-survey tells us a great deal.

Let's start with some of our favorite books and characters. The two most popular books that we read as kids were the Magic Tree House and Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. In addition to the imaginary journeys of the one, and the teenage angst of the other, both are series books, a format in which the incessant demands of young readers is met by the incessant labor of writers. There is something in every reader that detests the words "the end," and series books offer a ready remedy. Some of them, indeed, have been carried on even after the deaths of their original authors, such as L. Frank Baum's Oz books -- the series started in 1900, and continued long past Baum's death in 1919 -- the last issued by the original publisher, Merry-Go-Round in Oz, appeared in 1963!

Other series books, such as Harry Potter, The Baby-Sitters' Club, and I Am Number Four, got at least one vote. Several of you were not fans of graphic novels or comic books, but those who did like them were voracious readers and devoted fans; the manga series One Piece and the manhwa series The God of High School were both mentioned.

And then there was television and film: Sponge Bob rules (as he should) but several other shows/films had more than one fan: That's so Raven, Pan's Labyrinth, Star Trek, South Park, Family Guy, Sandlot, the Harry Potter films, and The Wizards of Waverly Place among them. I think it would be fair to say that animated series, and series/films with an element of fantasy or science fiction, were generally favored.

So much for the what -- but what about the how? Some respondents did not care for e-books or audiobooks, but among those who did, about equal numbers used laptops as used cellphones; only one respondent used a pad. This is a more pronounced pattern than in the PEW survey, where a much larger number reported using pads or dedicated devices such as the  Nook or the Kindle (this may be due to when the survey was made).

And why did we read? Work or school was the leading reason (understandable given that all who were surveyed are students!); keeping up with current events came in second, followed by learning about a specific topic, and reading for pleasure came in last. Of course, one category doesn't preclude the other, but in terms of our regular reading, it's clear that we've all been doing a bit of multi-tasking.

Lastly, as to the ownership of books, most reported owning 20 or fewer, but an equal number (one each) reported owning 21-50, 51-100, or more than 100. It's fair to point out that many who love books get them from libraries, or borrow them, or trade them away once they're read -- so the number on hand doesn't necessarily reflect one's passion for reading. There's one site online, interestingly, which catalogs individual people's books -- anyone can use it for free -- it's called LibraryThing. And, since it also contains the libraries of many famous people, once you enter your own books, you can see how many you might have in common with (say) Thomas Jefferson, Katharine Hepburn, or Tupac Shakur. It even includes the library of the International Space Station!

So what does all of this mean? Reading, certainly is not in danger -- one can say that for sure -- despite the array of technologies available to do it. But what do you think? Did any of these results surprise you? What do you think they say about our class as a group, or about this moment in time?  Or, looking at the PEW results, do they seem to match your own experience as a reader? Do you feel yourself reflected there?  Your answers below.