One thought on “Poll position”

  1. i have one thought about 'social acceptability' of self-reported data; specifically, what you said in your piece about the present-day possibility that it may be more socially acceptable to admit to reading less. i wonder how often the statement "i definitely read less this year," when spoken in conversation, is followed by, "i just don't have time. there's so much to do in the house/yard/at my job." or: "i'm putting in so many hours at work that when i get home i'm asleep before i've finished two sentences." vs. "i just haven't felt like it." or, "nobody's really writing anything worth reading, these days." or "i just can't seem to tear myself away from the ps3." in other words, is saying that one doesn't read a way of banging the work-ethic gong in a social setting? or is it just more socially acceptable now to admit to playing 'resident evil 9' for 17 hours straight on a sunday?

    just wondering.

    and – the zogby poll was presented at book expo? i am under the impression that book *purchasing habits* polls may be better served by measuring people's degree of well-intentionedness, than by measuring their real, live actions. i have personally been shocked at how few of my own books i'm reading, compared with those i borrow from the library. and stumped. yes, shocked and stumped. (this gleaned from scanning my goodreads list. dang. do i leave my own books to gather dust on the shelf in case the library burns down? or because i think, "i can read that anytime. this library book is due in 9 days!" i totally don't get it, and would love to see a poll on *that* behavior. duh. )

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