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I still read books, and I think it's very sad that "Book Reviews" may become a thing of the past in many newspapers.
There are more of us out there than you think.

I am a total info junkie; addicted to the net, my cell, DVD's, you name it. BUT....nothing could ever replace reading as my #1 passion. There is absolutely no better way to leave your cares behind than immersing yourself in someone else's world. Through books I have traveled every continent, experienced loves, losses, highs, and lows. There is no better way to spend my "me time" then snuggled up with a great story. Pure bliss!

I love to read! I have a stack of TBR books as well. I feel like I will never have enough time to read them all, but I'm glad that they're there.

> Who reads books anymore?

I'm not sure how you can ask that question as we are just a few weeks away from what is one of the largest book pre-printings in history: Harry Potter #7.

I am an avid reader and like you, when I die will have a shelf of TBR books also. My life would be so empty and dull if I could not read. I have been an avid reader since childhood and can still recall the smell of old books as I walked into the library in my town, before they built a new one. I think books teach us so many things and are a very important source of information. I am surprised that such a large corp. believes people no longer read and that portion of the paper is no longer important to readers.

I read. I've read all my life. I love opening a new book for the first time and starting the story. I read for the sheer pleasure of it. I don't want to grow as a person, or be enlightened or have to analyze the message; I just want to immerse myself in a fairly well written story. My parents were readers. My brothers are readers. I worked for a city library for 25 years. I know books will always be desired & sought. "American Idol" will die & fade away. Books won't.

I love to read also. We are a 3 newspaper subscription household with multiple magazines too. I thought I was the only person with a mini library of books to be read later. Thanks for your insight.

As an aspiring novelist, former library assistant (read: nerd in high school), and life-long reader, I hope that things change and reading becomes more important again. Harry Potter has been great, as the books have gotten kids reading again, but it seems that people are more interested in "easier" and more "exciting" leisure activities than reading. You don't need to think that much to watch tv (no offense CNN), and video games look more interesting from the outside than working through pages of text. I just happen to get more satisfaction from reading, and hopefully there is a culture shift and more people choose to experience what I and many others do on a regular basis: the simple pleasure of reading.

I think this is a sad commentary on what our society values. I've always loved reading, and since I don't have a television (by choice), books serve as a signficant source of entertainment for my husband and I. I am saddened to see that major newspapers are choosing revenue over complete coverage of the arts.

I agree that books need to be covered more in our papers and magazines. People WILL read if they know what they need to read--look at the Oprah book club, and the massive sales that she has generated simply by bringing good books to viewers. Civilization is dead when we give up on books, they are a means by which we unleash our imaginations and communicate at the deepest level with the author and indeed ourselves. I know of no portable entertainment device---iPods included--that offers more value than a book when you figure in durability, reusability and lack of shareware prohibitions. Shame on those who fire book editors, and shame on those who do not read!

I stand with the book. Despite all of fabulous things that one can do with a computer, most people are still deeply attached to psper. Reading a short piece on the computer screen is fine, reading anything at length is punishment.

Give me the book, it is portable and not subject to all the limitations associated with my computer.

I am in complete agreement with you. I love books, and will also die with a stack I never got to. Nothing else transports quite like a book. Fiction, non-fiction, travel, how-to, whatever. Any small step in the direction of less print material is a step in the wrong direction, in my opinion. While I can understand a need to economize, newspapers serve as a society's noticeboards, and what does it say when books are no longer considered important enough to warrant a full time staffer? I'm assuming there is still a movie reviewer? 'nuff said.

On our first wedding anniversary, my husband presented me with a first British edition of an Agatha Christy. He knows me very well.

My TBR stack flows from my bedside table, to the coffee table, to my desk. When the stack gets small enough for me to notice individual books in passing, I start to get the compulsion to start beefing it up.

I love the way the spine on a new hardback gives a tiny crack when you open for the first time. I love the smell of a book that's been read and loved for fifty years, the feel of the thick paper, brown and frayed around the edges.

While my favorite activity is running my hand over a shelf in just about any bookstore and picking a volume at random, reading book reviews is an enormous help in navigating the vast numbers of books out there waiting to be read. I collect reviews very nearly as avidly as I collect the books, themselves.

It seems to me that any newspaper that discontinues its book coverage just might be shooting itself in the foot. The love of reading is something that has to be taught and fostered. If the popularity of books decreases, how long before newspapers become a waste of time?

I read a lot. My 13-year old daughter reads constantly, and she reads the book review section in our Sunday newspaper to see what to read next. And it would be great if there were more reviews of craft books in the newspaper. Newspapers seem to think that those of us who read books and are interested in more than "celebratity" aren't worth dealing with, but we have a household income of 150,000, and we spend money on books and reading material.

Wait....I get it. You write an article about people not reading, we all read it, and thus......sigh?....

Thank you for helping me not feel so guilty about reading ALL THE TIME. I have a room designated as a library at home, and am determined that my son will grow up loving it as much as I do. I'm okay with both of us reading at the dinner table sometimes, which we often do (and he's 6). There are still many readers, and they're never going to go away. What kind of a society would we be if we didn't have readers??

Todd,
Thank you for the opportunity to share about my love for books. I still read, I read quite a bit actually. I also enjoy reading the book reviews to get some ideas. It is sad to see so many independent book stores closing down, but now the newspapers are getting rid of their book editors. What kind of an example is this setting for the next generation? Will English teachers be the next to go?

BTW - one book I did enjoy is AC Dispatches From the Edge...

Read on!

How can the AJC, a major print entity, conclude that one staff person to coordinate print reviews is too many? The paper is undermining its value to its own core subscriber base of readers.

In addition to the read-in, there was a petition circulated that had several hundred signatures when I signed it.

I would be very upset if my hometown newspaper chose to eliminate book reviews, as I often use them to select books I would like to read. (Yes, I do use Amazon reviews and other resources also, but that doesn't diminish the importance of the newspaper reviews.)

I was very offended by someone I work with saying, "Books are dead," to me multiple times. She was talking to the wrong person. I have twelve bookcases in my home and a constant flow in and out from multiple libraries (you can use any town library with a hometown library card, which is one of my favorite things about my state!). My husband is also a great reader, and we are raising his daughters to be such as well. If books are dead, it's not our fault; we're primary life support.

Don't feel alone I'm also an avid reader :-). I could care less about the newspapers. I don't read them and they are filled with more advertisements than good journalism. I prefer to got into a store and pick up a random book vs. one that is supposedly "heartwrenching, and foretelling" according to Bob Roberts.

I love to read books and I always will. I don't know what it is about spending an afternoon with a blanket and a book but that is one of my most favorite things. Sometimes I don't want to watch tv or go to the movies! I just want a nice book to lay in bed with.

The sad thing about eliminating the book review section is local newspapers can cover books that reflect local interest -- books that will never get coverage in national reviewing media. It's a shame.

I hope AJC realizes that if people are not reading books, they will pretty much stop reading newspapers and move online for reading news as well. So, AJC should actually be on the forefront of a movement to induce more people to read books rather than eliminating the book review itself.

Well, we never learn anything from history!

I'm a passionate reader and have been all my life. It's a rare week when I don't add another book title to my TBR list or pile... Reviews are a great way to wade through the morass of new books, and I think it's sad that our society thinks it's gotten beyond what books have to offer.

There are still plenty of us out there. The book reviews in my local paper are the first thing I open on Sunday morning. I think the action of the AJC is more reflective of the overall revenue problems print publications are experiencing. I think we're in a period of reconfiguration, where many types of content are finding the appropriate medium to reach the target audience. The days where publications provide a wide variety of content to reach a broad audience are slowly dying. I'd say the popularity of bookstores, reading groups, and book web sites is evidence that there will always be a place for book lovers like us.

When I was a child, I was just an average student, never getting better than a C in any class. After my parents divorced and I moved w/ my mom to another state, I found books as a way to occupy my time until I adjusted to the new life. The exposure to books opened my mind to new experiences and my grades steadily improved as well. I still read voraciously and have just been accepted into a doctoral program. I honestly do not believe I would be where I am today had I not found books at a young age!

Finding the shelf of biographies in my school library when I was in the fourth grade literally saved my life - without those stories about Madame Curie, Abe Lincoln, Dale Evans and others, I never would have known that I had a choice, that I didn't have to have the same life as my parents. I know that books matter - and yes, I, too, have a tall, tall pile of To Be Read books...

Anywhere, anytime! If I have a spare five minutes throughout my day, out comes the book. My biggest regret is that I won't live long enough to read all the books I want.

One of my favourite childhood memories is going to the library on Saturday morning.

I love reading I don't live to read but usually have 2 to three books on me at any given time. I average reading 2 books hardback cover to cover a day more if I'm in paperback mode (romances). I read everything not nailed down and my kids do to. The love authors from Diane Duane to JK Rowling David Eddings & Michael Fiest to JD Rodd.

Hi, there are lots of who still read print books. I'm a Librarian, take it from me!

I was the kid under the covers with a flashlight after 'lights-out'. I am still that kid, even thought my schedule and my family come first. I am a big fan of public transportation; one reason is because it gives me the time to catch up on my reading! When I think about how kids these days communicate: cell, text messages, etc., no wonder communication skills are going in the toilet. The proper way to read and write the English language is taught in formal writing and literature classes. If we move away from that, I hate to think what the next generation's skills will be like. People simply don't realize the value of proper communication. You can't catch the nuances of a story line if you're abbreviating everything!

I don't agree. I think more people are reading books now, not fewer. But since the advent of sellers such as Amazon, fewer readers stick to the best seller lists.

If newspaper reviewers focus on books likely to be a best seller, the reviews will not be as relevant to the majority. Blogs and specialized book review columns/websites (such as SciFi.com has) will take the place of mass appeal book review columns.

I am an avid reader. I have been known to sit down, get involved in a book and read for 8 hours straight. My book collection is extensive: from History to Art to Sci-Fi/Fantasy. Everything but romance novels which I abhor. How someone could not read is forgien to me. And the loss of book reviews in the paper...if no one reads them.......

How many people read books anymore?? That's an unbelievable question. Walk into any major park on a sunny day and you'll see tons of people stretched out with a book. Take a ride on the NYC subway to see commuters reading hardcovers, softcovers. Listen at the watercooler to the people who are talking about their favorite reads. People still love to read. They love the writers who let us escape from our worlds and into theirs--and most importantly, love to recommend their favorite books.

Elimintating this information from newspapers is a bad step. Perhaps it's an insight as to why that industry is struggling to find a way to connect with readers--note, not advertisers--and present information that delivers a meaningful connection.

I still enjoy reading the printed word. Give me a good book anyday. It beats watching the trash on TV. It's a shame that we are no longer teaching our children to enjoy reading. Instead we give them all the gadgets out there for entertainment and we wonder why illiteracy is so prevalent in this nation. Books make great gifts!

I read. I read voraciously, enthusiastically, exhaustively, into the late hours of the night, while dinner burns on the stove, as my husband snores in my ear, in the passenger seat of the car and on the rare occasions I have a few moments to myself. Like most readers, I can spell, punctuate and articulate a point. I can also see ahead and I'm sadly certain the world will all too soon be filled with people who cannot do any of the above, people who will not even understand what they lack and how that lack strips color, excitement and breadth from life. We used to find those things priceless...how sad to see they have learned how to crunch the numbers on reading.

I have been collecting first edition mysteries, many of the signed by the authors. My oldest book is over 100 years old. I keep the old ones in a glass cabinet. Every once in a while, I'll take an old book out and smell it. You can smell the age and it almost takes you back 100 years. I have read books ardently for most of my life. I am hardly without a hardback book. Most are mysteries, but many are biographies or histoy books. I hate to think of a world without books.

I always read books. I am preparing to read a series of 6 books. My college age daughter has started reading more books. They are easy to carry outside. They are a great stress relief. You can jump into another world and forget about yours for awhile. In my family, the internet has NOT taken over the place of reading. In fact, most of my extended family works in the computer field. Reading is the best way to get away from work.

I am with you! I love books. Both my parents worked in the book business growing up, and I was surrounded by books. On my 10th birday, I received ten books under my pillow. I would still rather read books then do anything else. Bookstores and libraries are my passion. At night when I walk my dog, I feel sad because I can see people sitting at their computers or watching television. I feel more and more like the people in Farenheit 451, where books are banned. Local newspapers and libraries should work together to encourage more reading, not less.

My wife, myself, and our close circle of friends, are all avid book "junkies!" I guess we each read five books a week on the average. Reading takes us where our bodies cannot: I am a retired teacher who subs and I find a lot, but not enough, teens are still reading and most of what they read is quality material. In fact, I have added a few authors to my "buy" list due to them.

I read books all the time from the classics to pop culture books. I would suggest that the reason people are less interested in reading book reviews from the newspapers is because they now get that informoation from Amazon and all the other online sources. Plus book reviews were never that interesting to begin with.

Looking forward to the next installment of Harry Potter.

I love America, but America is basically an anti-intellectual society. People love to sit in front of their TV's all day like zombies. But there is nothing worth watching on TV. Turn off the television, and read a book. Your mind will thank you! Reading--and travel--are two of the greatest pleasures in life.

I'm not sure how much newspaper book review coverage reflects the amount of book buying/borrowing that's going on. But I can tell you that, as someone who looks at a computer screen all day, it is a pleasure to read good ol' fashioned black ink on the train home.
I think more people would read if they followed a simple rule: life is too short for books you don't like. You can sit through a movie, music album, or art showing and it won't cost you that much if it's not to your tastes. But books are investments of days and weeks. There's no point in force-feeding yourself 'Brothers Karamazov' just becuase someone scoffed at your copy of 'Potter'.

I am an avid reader and I enjoy book reviews.

I think it is insulting to assume that people do not read anymore.

I too love books. I have just returned from lunch where I spent 1/2 hour reading Promise Me by Harlan Coben. I look forward to spending a little time with a book every day whether fiction or non, entertaining or enlightening. I also subscribe to the newspaper and cannot start my day without sitting down with a cup of coffee and pouring over the news, sports, book reviews, and yes, comics. I have been fearing the day that all would be on-line. Sitting up and reading off the monitor or the laptop perched precariously is just not as comfortable as curling up with a newspaper or a book on your sofa or in your bed. And what about the smell of a new book or newsprint, and the feel of it in your hands. Books can be easily revisted and perused for favorite passages and can become dog-eared from loving hands. It just seems like work to read off the monitor continuously.

I love books and am so glad that I have many, many in my library and look forward to discovering new ones every day.

I tend to be an avid reader, but mostly for non-fiction books. I read a great deal on history, world politics, and have read countless books on the Middle East and Islamism. There really isn't a substitute for reading in the world of knowledge. Wikipedia and various blogs expouse a limited number of opinions that are based on sketchy, mostly internet-based, "facts". Of course, just because a book is published doesn't mean that it's factual or truth, but there is a great deal more to draw on from the myriad of books out there to form a conclusion than what Wikipedia (and the hundreds of sites that copy their articles) can provide.

I love to read. Thanks for reminding me that my priorities have been out of whack wondering who will be voted off Idol. Give me a great book anyday.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to read! I can't think of anything better than a good book!

I'll bet the AJC still has a movie reviewer, a TV reviewer, and probably even a video-game reviewer, right? But they're dropping the BOOK reviewer?! What's happening to American values?!

I, too, was one of those flashlight-under-the-cover kids ... and these days, with chronic insomnia, I can get through a half-dozen books a week from the local library. (My bank account thanks the Austin Public Library with all its heart!) (Oh, except for that $39 late fee thing last month, when I had so many books checked out that I didn't have TIME to get back to return them ...)

Every single room in my house -- even the ones the French call "the smallest room" -- has books or at least magazines in it. The pieces of furniture of which I have the most are boookshelves. Thank God for melamine and particle-board cheapies -- I'd never be able to afford [much less get friends and family to help me MOVE] the walnut ones I really want!

Okay, as an MLIS (Master's of Library and Information Science) candidate, I do not want to read (yes, read!) that people aren't reading books anymore. Aside from the fact I am 40k in debt for this degree, I have to believe that I will acquire a job when I graduate. You non-readers should definitely be grabbing some books off the shelves from your local library or expect to help pay for my food stamps and housing!

I didn't know about newspapers cancelling book coverage, personally. I am 23 years old and read books and even though I'm very keen on the internet, I like to get ideas of what books to read from pamplets and newsletters I find at the local library with tons of reviews in it. It's a shame that people think that reading is "going out of style".

It's quite the chicken-egg question isn't it...

Is America becoming a country of, well, 'idiots' becuase we watch TV/Video Games/Internet rather than read?

Or are we already a country of 'idiots' and we prefer TV/Video Games/internet over reading due to our intellectual limitations?

Bill Waterson had it right in his comic strip...refering to the TV, he said (paraphrasing) Marx called religion 'opiate for the masses', only becuase he hadn't seen TV.

If everyone in this country turned off their TV and read for three or four hours per night instead...can you imagine the changes for the positive?

I think part of the problem is what's being reviewed in the book columns. I live in LA and whenever I look at the book section in the LA Times there seems to be a very hard edge toward mainstream/literary. Half the time the books they review aren't what I'm interested in. There's very little about mystery SF/F, horror, YA, or graphic novels (gasp -- did I just suggest that? Yes, I did).

I think the solution to this isn't cutting back their newspaper coverage on books, it's expanding it to more types of books.

I don't leave home without a book in my purse!

I read at lunchtime, when I eat lunch at my desk. Usually I read at dinnertime too, while I'm eating. And quite a few times, I'll even read a bit before bed.

I read at least one novel a week. I have a bag of books by the door to take to the used book store to trade for more and I have a book to ship off to a Paperbackswap.com member too. I have a book self full of books to be read as my husband does. The husband is reading three books at once right now.

The Sunday review section of our paper is the first thing I read. I love to read the Times book reviews as well.

My house is overflowing with books. I couldn't imagine a life without books in it.

How sad is this? Books are cool!

I just starting reading books again a few years ago. Nothing much, a few pages each time on the can. But looking at my shelf I'm surprized at how many books I've gotten through. Maybe I should cut down on the fiber?
Anyway, I agree that people aren't reading books less. If that were the case, Amazon and Barnes & Noble would be out of business. People are reading newspaper book reviews less just like they're reading the newspaper movie reviews less. They're more apt to believe Oprah about a book than some snob with which they share nothing in common.
Besides, newspapers today are an anachronism. I haven't read one of those since CNN and my local TV channels created their own news web pages.

I am passionate about reading and can't imagine curling up with a good computer to achieve that same enjoyment. I sit at a computer all day and certainly want to get away from that in the evenings.

I watch up to 10 hours of television a week, and read a novel a week. It can be done if one has the time and the desire. We need to model this behavior for our children or else this situation will not get any better in the future.

I think a day without reading is like a day without sunshine, hardly worth getting out of bed for. No matter what my mood, reading can get my mind turned to better things.
There is nothing better than seeing someone excited about books. It's fun to go to a bookstore and watch people of all ages look for books--if I can tear my eyes away from the pages to do so.
Book reviews provide valuable insights to new books and authors, and help them get discovered. Without reviews, many of today's popular authors would still be waiting for a bestseller.

Who's Reading!! I am. I've read 10 books since Christmas - 3 of which were gifts. I read daily, and enjoy the AJC's Book Reviews. While I don't always agree or disagree with the commentary, I enjoy other perspectives on publications.

Such a shame it's come down to a revenue issue. It will truly be missed. FYI...this "Read-In" was not really publicized in the metro Atlanta area, and I am surprised it made the national media.

I do. Latest: George Steiner's "Bluebeard's Castle".

First off, I just love the idea that people who sit down to READ the newspaper rather than to go online must not be the book reading type....yeah, that makes sense. On the other hand, most major papers stick with the big authors, and I don't need someone to tell me what the next James Patterson or John Grisham novel might be about. I personally go by friends, Booksense, and the newsletter at our excellent local independent bookstore. They tend to let me know about the hidden gems that I won't be hearing about otherwise.

I read books. In fact, I favor books over newspapers so much that I cancelled one newspaper subscription (Chicago Tribune) because it was taking away from the time I had to read my books. I maintained a subscription to the Sunday edition, mainly because of the Books section. Interestingly, the Chicago Tribune also appears to be succumbing to the anti-books mindset as they are about to absorb the Sunday book section into the Saturday paper. So much for my Sunday newspaper subscription…there is the evidence that book readers SHOULD matter to newspapers.

I still read books. I also have a stack of books to read as I get time. I still read my local newspaper, I love turning the pages. My 16 year old son still reads books for pleasure. My husband reads books. What's up with this story! Do you guys make this stuff up to see what controversies you can develop? ~Shirley

I'm 56. I grew up before the Internet and have always been a voracious reader. I read in long waiting lines and on the train to work, and I often read while walking down the street to my office building. Books stimulate the imagination in a way that the more passive entertainment of the visual media cannot. I think the printed page is friendlier for the eyes, too -- the manipulated light on a screen becomes tiring after a while. I'm sure many avid readers have TBR stacks. We buy books knowing we won't read them right away because one day we will, or might, and the book may no longer be in the stores by the time we get around to it. I buy current books rather than patronizing the library as a way of supporting writers and encouraging publishers to keep publishing.

I am nearing the end of another book right now. I like to put on an LP record, yes LP record, and sit and read. What could be better. When I am done I send the book to my daughter for her to read.

Hmmm, you're right - who reads books? When was the last time you saw a book store? They are tiny places. No one ever goes there -- oh wait. Book stores are EVERYWHERE and they are hugh and people sit there and read all the time. What are they thinking?

I also love to read and enjoy the newspaper reviews of books. I can read and good book and then not remember if I saw a movie, or read a book because the words were so vivid.

Newspapers have been scrambling for revenue as advertising and subscriptions decline. Yet a woman named Joanne Rowling became the first Billionaire on the planet by writing books, more than 325 million sold in 200 countries. Best of all she inspired a generation of screen-fed kids to read. A newspaper that eliminates book reviews and content to save money is cutting its own throat.

My wife and I both love books and read often, but our two sons read only when they are required to do so for school assignments. This is a disturbing trend that bodes ill for our society.

Books, books, books...the very things that make the world go 'round! I could never do without books. I read every day; I read everything; I read with flashlights; I read in the sun; I read, I read, I read!!!

However, I must agree, for many reading and the love of books has gone by the wayside. For every family that encourages and teaches the enjoyment and love of books to their children, there is another family immersed in other media.

We *must* maintain support of book reviews, reading clubs, and the like if we are to avoid becoming an all-electronic culture. When dependence on only one resource, electricity, becomes the dominating common element -- well, what do we do when we run out of fuel?

I love reading. I am constantly working my way through my TBR stack, making room for more TBR. Reading provides comfort at times when nothing else will. I love becoming invested in a characher, a story, and feeling as they do. Digital stories can never take the place of the written word.

Reading is the great escape!

Books rock!!! I simply can't imagine a world without books and book readers. I have been a reader for most of my life, starting with Nancy Drew, Grimm's Fairy Tales and the Hardy Boys. My sister does most of her "reading" by downloading books from audible.com but I want to feel the paper and the heft of the book itself and most importantly, see the words in front of me. I never leave home without a book on the off chance that I may find myself with a few spare moments (railroad crossings are good for a few pages) to get another couple of pages in. I don't think I could go to sleep at night without a few pages and almost never have a problem getting to sleep after reading. My husband and I could probably save money by buying paperbacks but neither of us really likes anything but a nice hardback. (We keep thinking the foundation of our house is going to crack some day from the weight of all our books but who cares?)

I wish I could claim to read only "important" non-fiction books but who am I kidding? I love fiction most of all and most especially the mystery, crime and spy genre. Occasionally something non-fiction will catch my eye and join my stack of TBRs but not so much.

Every room in our house except the bathrooms and kitchen is stacked with books. I know we should get rid of some of them but even though we will likely never read most of them again (too many new ones still waiting), we have a sentimental attachment to the collection.

Frankly, I think readers are just smarter than people who don't - and we have much better vocabularies too!

Does anybody read books anymore? Everytime I am in a bookstore they are busy places with people enjoying themselves, gathering information and just immersing themselves in the written word. I use the internet for all types of research but nothing will ever beat curling up with a good book!

I am an avid book reader. Like you, I have shelves of books and some are definitely in the TBR category for me as well.
But I have not gone a day in the past several months without picking up a book.
Sometimes just turning off all the electronics (TV, radio, computer)generates my imagination and helps me find that salvation of peace within me.

I'm right there with you. There's not enough time in the day to read all the books I want too, but I'm trying. And every source of book info is useful to me.

I love to read too, and I have entire boxes of "to be read" books. However, as a current college student, I have noticed that very few people my age (early 20's) take the time to read anymore (unless required for classes--and even then, most of them don't do it). I can only imagine what the younger generation will be like. Let's hope that reading makes a comeback!

I read books, usually in the summer at the cabin. I read science fiction and fantasy. Admittedly, I am a geek. But I like my books. I also do creative writing as a hobby and have had a couple of poems and one short story published. I'd hate to see books disappear completely.

Perhaps we could convert stories into another form, like interactive Flash animations with text and artwork.

There used to be artwork in books, but Stephen King's Gunslinger series is the only one I've read within the past 5 years with any artwork besides the cover page. Maybe books need to start having pictures again. Just an idea.

I read all the time, or at least I did before I had children of my own. Now I find myself cutting my reading time because everything else in my life is closing in on any alone time I might have. That is sad, truly deeply disturbing and in many ways very disconcerting to me. My children have begun to find their own love of books though, thanks in part to the hundred of books they see carefully if precariously placed in our two groaning bookshelves (I had to give up my other two we needed the wallestate) I have books for them to read and enjoy on their own as well as those that I read to them.

It is difficult though to think that my five year old is more comfortable plopped down in front of the computer than he is with a book in his hand. I am not a literary gourmand, I am very much a meat and potato reader, who loves science fiction, fantasy and pure escapism from the daily grind. I will always find time to read, I might lose out on a little sleep, but reading to me is fundamental to who I am.

Book reading seems to be alive and well and doing just fine. I used to own a small general purpose retail bookstore, but got out of the business during the wave of superstores. The distribution system for new books seems to change every 15-20 years, but the new books keep coming. I also visit my library once a week, and Ohio has an excellent public library system. I'm hooked on Walter Mosley at the moment, but I'll read just about anything as long as it is well written. The motto for my former bookstore was taken from Thoreau, who said: read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all.

I am 27yrs old, male and I love to read. I rarely watch tv and enjoy LA's large library often.
Save the Book Reviews!

People don't care about books?

I suppose that readers didn't get the memo, when one bookstore chain ran out of the latest Tolkien novel to be published. Or the fact that Harry Potter books drives huge crowds of both children and adults to bookstores, especially at midnight of the release date.

People today tend to buy books at your local supermarket, discount warehouses or the big changes of book dealers, not so much at the "Mom and Pop" at bookstores. Sad, but true.

To be honest, I always found the "book reviewers" to be rather complacent on reviewing books only ones that they are interested in, or when their editors tell them to review. Most books are not reviewed by book reviewers.
Strange. Movie critics review most movies.

Mega bookstores seem to be doing plenty of business - so SOMEONE is BUYING books. Me, I have several going at a time and the last two I purchased were prompted by book reviews. with NEWS not really being the big draw in newspaper anymore (thanks to CNN and others) newspapers HAVE to provide other information of a practical and entertaining nature. Eliminating the book reviewer in favor of what, more celebrity gossip? - is a mistake.

It seems that society can once again learn from literature. It seems as the world has forgotten about "Time Machine" by HG Wells. The Traveler ends up in utopia... where the inhabitants do not know how to do anything for themselves, but rely on the creatures who inhabit the underworld. These people couldn't read, write or have a society without the "workers" below them. I bet you anything that those creatures could read. And the utopian society wasn't so perfect.

On a side note, if anyone is looking for a new world, try Jasper Fforde. If you love to read, you'll love him because he entwines all aspects of literature into one volume.

Who still reads books? I do! It's appalling to see literature be forgotten in this instant-gratification mindset that the internet offers. Sometimes we all need down time to relax, tuck the kids into bed, turn off the TV and pick up a good book.

As wonderful as the internet is as a tool for obtaining information or bringing hours of entertainment; it can't compare with the visceral joy of actually holding a book. I love the turn of the page and the feel of that soft book paper between my fingers. There is something so satisfying about getting to the last page, sighing because it's over and shutting the book, especially a hard cover. There is something solid and complete about closing a book. It just feels good. I don't know that the type of book matters either, from cabinet repair to Shakesphere, the physical book should be honored. There's nothing like those great old tomes, filled with all the knowledge of history, or at least the history up to the date of publication.
It's an old phrase but I think I'll use it here, "Readers are Leaders".

I was discussing this with a friend who is a well known writer the other night. We were amazed by the bulk of the first printing of the new Harry Potter book. We talked about what J.K Rowling has done for creating some life long learners. Our excitement turned to despair when we realized that the first run of her book, 12 million copies or so, is less than the number of people who tune in to American Idol for an hour. Sad.

Excuse me. I read books and I read newspapers and magazines. What bother me about the tone of your story is that people who advocate reading are somehow "better". They are manifestly not. The chief cheerleaders of "free speach" are the very first to censor anything they disagree with. (Just try and write a comment to a Eugene Robinson editorial over at the Post that he disagrees with and it will be deleted so fast your head will spin). Same for your Anderson Cooper or any other columist. Ignorance and intolerance and even "illiteracy" is not merely the problem of the "unread", neither is bigotry, nor the sort of censorship we see the Bushie advocating. SOmetimes, often these days, it is a very big problem for the PC and liberal crowd, too.

I am an avid reader and have been since I was able to read. I, too, expect to have shelves and shelves of books left behind. The best way to develop your imagination is through reading. That's why I am passing my love for reading down to my 3-year-old son.

This is not an issue with reading books. The issue is how many people read newspapers. I for one don't. I get my info. from the internet. In my house we love to read, not just me but my kids as well. In Jax. schools require kids to read 25 books a year. Again, who reads books... just about everybody. Who reads the newspaper... not as many as once did.

Books still matter because readers will always matter. I've read one book per week since the fourth grade, and I just turned 56. I prefer the one-to-one relation I have with each book and its characters as opposed to the impersonal feeling I get whenever I go on-line. On-line reading can't be personal if you're sharing the site with hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people. While I feel badly that all my reading has probably led to the demise of trees, I always treasure, then recycle, my books.

Don't Atlanta Journal-Constitution editors know that these few remaining book readers are also the few remaining people who read newspapers anymore?

I too am an avid reader and book collector, with well over 1,000 books in my library...well, if you can call a library stacks of boxes and books in every room of my house, my garage, in my car, and still at my parents house! I like to think many people still read, but I don't see it too often. I inhale books the way others breathe. And in reading through this list of comments I'm thrilled to see there are others willing to fight for reading and printed books. Shame on AJC, you would think another print medium would have more respect for its sister form.

As yet another avid book reader, the AJC's decision seems a little bit like the boy who's going to take his ball and go home.

In my admittedly uninformed analysis, it's periodicals like the AJC that are going down in flames, while books are even further expanding their role in modern culture. The internet is a threat to the transient, not to the lasting.

Regards, Ross

It is indeed a sad day when books are regulated to the backpage of newspapers or magazines or are completed removed. I love books! I buy 1 or 2 books a week and I borrow from the library at the same time. I am reading right now "The Inheritance of Loss". So let all the book readers come out and show support for book pages in the newspapers/magazines.

I grew up reading everything I could get my hands on and still do.

I don't know what I'd do without a good book to escape into these days. TV is out of the question; too many commercials and too much stupidity.

Wish more parents would teach their children the importance of reading and cut out some of the video gaming.

I think one of the greatest tragedies of the late 20th century is the downfall of the book. No one cares for the classics or even the modern authors like they should. Todays audiences want a soundbite or a downloadable synopsis. Feel pity for the teachers who must put up with whining about required reading. Reading has always been a historically guarded privledge.

I am also an avid read, with probably somewhere over 1000 books in my house(shelves are pretty full). I will read anything that holds my interest. In fact my entire family from across Canada all read and we frequently exchange books and recommend good authors and books that we have read to one another.

I think that it is disgraceful that the younger generation is not encouraged to read more as it increases vocabulary and is a greaat way to just escape and lose yourself for a while into the world of words.

Book reviews are like restaurant reviews or film reviews: you may or may not agree with the reviewer, but they expose you to a choice that you might not have been aware of a