The Lack of Book Reading

I once had a dream about writing a book, but I was realistic about the slim odds that it would be read by more than a handful of people.

From a 2021 article by Elle Griffin.

Almost a third of Americans don’t read books at all. And, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the ones that do spend only 16 minutes per day reading. Compare that to the average Netflix watcher who spends close to three hours per day consuming video content. At that pace, a watcher might get through 681 movies in a year while a reader gets through only 16 books—and that’s presuming those 15 minutes are spent reading books.

In reality, books compete for our reading time alongside newspapers, magazines, and other online publications. Even this year, when leisure time increased as a result of the pandemic, novels saw only a subtle increase in sales over last year—by 2.8 percent. News consumption, however, saw an increase of 215 percent with most of that time taking place on Facebook (23 minutes per day), Google (14 minutes per day), and MSN (five minutes per day).

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The Hauntingly Beautiful Music of Ekaterina Shelehova.

When I first heard the voice of Ekaterina Shelehova, it stopped me in my tracks. This is the rare kind of music capable of causing sailers to crash their ship into the rocks. Amazing:

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"For those who are wondering This is Ekaterina Shelehova, a talented soprano singer known for her original and expressive voice. She has made a name for herself in the opera world and has also joined the French new age group Era as their lead vocalist. Born in Kaliningrad, Russia in 1995, Ekaterina has been singing since the age of three and has won numerous awards and accolades for her performances. She is fluent in four languages and is also a former gymnast, showcasing her versatility and talent in various fields."

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