Why Don't They Read?

[petitechevre]

on the subway in canada or in the buses when i was younger.. i only saw students reading..

because they were studying the book, or anti-social type who only talk about vampires, dungeon and dragons or literature..

Rest were old people who did not seem to have social lifes..

i mean who the fuc_k reads a serious book in a place where u get distracted all the time by noise/people bumping into you?

Better want to look cool and educated to do that..

I tried to read a decent book once on a bus, every 2mins id lose myself because id start thinking, hmm this chick is hot i should go talk to her then remember i have to finish this book one day.

[Jingthing]

People don't need good books. Neither do dogs.

[Aries74]

too busy playing games.

[garro]

For (truly) bilingual people.

Have you ever read the same book in, let say English, French or German, and then in Thai? Do you think Thai language, which is actually very basic, is able to express the same feelings and subtleties as English, German or French?

[/quote

I disagree and find your views very eurocentric. I spend a bit of time reading Buddhist manuscripts in Thai and often find that it is English that is difficult to encompass the subtleties of Thai words (albeit of Pali origin). For example ทุกฃ์ (Tuk) has far more subtle meanings than just suffering as it is usually translated. I suppose we could get into a long debate about linguistic determinism, but I don't see much point as your argument sounds obviously flawed from the get-go.

Edited September 17, 2008 by garro

[sylviex]

I don't regard non-readers as necessarily shallow, but I do think they are missing out on one of life's greatest pleasures.

All activities engage our minds in some way and can, literally, create new connections in the brain. Reading a good book (or even a bad one) can be a very powerful experience. It brings you into another person's mind in a highly intimate way, just as music or painting or any of the other arts do, in their own ways.

Why don't Thais read ? Many good suggestions offered above (and some wonderful posts on the joy of reading).

Perhaps the OP is right, too, as reading is a solitary and introspective pleasure; something not particularly encouraged in Thai culture.

And there must be a huge culturally-derived aspect to this, as the poorest of Chinese peasants cherish the written word and can be observed extracting every last gram of information from a discarded newspaper in the dim glow of a streetlight. (The books were burnt in the Cultural Revolution. Their power was understood & their destruction appears to have reinforced a culturally instilled value). The same can be seen in India.

Yes, people aound the world are reading books less & less. However, if it's a priority for you, that wonderful treasure will always be there.

I disagree and find your views a very eurocentric. I spend a bit of time reading Buddhist manuscripts in Thai and often find that it is English that is difficult to encompass the subtleties of Thai words (albeit of Pali origin). For example ทุกฃ์ (Tuk) has far more subtle meanings than just suffering as it is usually translated.

While I am not literate in Thai, I find it somewhat improbable that any language other than a pidgin one would be inferior to another in its range of expressiveness.

My Thai wife is a graduate from Tx A&M and honestly, she hates to read. Often times she hands me items to read and then I summarize it for her. Her excuse.... she hates to read.

The only thing she reads are those comic books....

Yep. This a widespread attitude. Even from the highly educated, I have heard this kind of comment. Some cultures are more oral than others.

Edited September 17, 2008 by sylviex

[Jingthing]

The one argument (excuse) I don't buy is not enough money. Its a matter of priorities.

[garro]

I disagree and find your views a very eurocentric. I spend a bit of time reading Buddhist manuscripts in Thai and often find that it is English that is difficult to encompass the subtleties of Thai words (albeit of Pali origin). For example ทุกฃ์ (Tuk) has far more subtle meanings than just suffering as it is usually translated.

While I am not literate in Thai, I find it somewhat improbable that any language other than a pidgin one would be inferior to another in its range of expressiveness.

Perhaps you misread my post. I was responding to Pierott's claim that Thai is not as good at expressing the same subtleties as European languages. I was explaining that it has its own subtleties. Nowhere did I mention that one language was superior over the other.

[sylviex]

I disagree and find your views a very eurocentric. I spend a bit of time reading Buddhist manuscripts in Thai and often find that it is English that is difficult to encompass the subtleties of Thai words (albeit of Pali origin). For example ทุกฃ์ (Tuk) has far more subtle meanings than just suffering as it is usually translated.

While I am not literate in Thai, I find it somewhat improbable that any language other than a pidgin one would be inferior to another in its range of expressiveness.

Perhaps you misread my post. I was responding to Pierott's claim that Thai is not as good at expressing the same subtleties as European languages. I was explaining that it has its own subtleties. Nowhere did I mention that one language was superior over the other.

Yes, I was agreeing with you .

[Pierrot]

I disagree and find your views a very eurocentric. I spend a bit of time reading Buddhist manuscripts in Thai and often find that it is English that is difficult to encompass the subtleties of Thai words (albeit of Pali origin). For example ทุกฃ์ (Tuk) has far more subtle meanings than just suffering as it is usually translated.

While I am not literate in Thai, I find it somewhat improbable that any language other than a pidgin one would be inferior to another in its range of expressiveness.

Perhaps you misread my post. I was responding to Pierott's claim that Thai is not as good at expressing the same subtleties as European languages. I was explaining that it has its own subtleties. Nowhere did I mention that one language was superior over the other.

It wasn't a claim, it was a question ! So basically you can't disagree with me, you can just say that the way I formulate the question could be misleading ...

I don't know enough thai vocabulary to have an informed opinion about how rich it is, I was just talking about the grammar. On the other hand, some language may have twenty different words to describe different kind of snow, it doesn't mean they are better at expressing feelings.

Once again, it's not a claim, just an open question

[Moonrakers]

I enjoy a good book, and often find that once I start I can't put it down.

I am a bit of a PC game nerd though, and so actually starting that book doesn't happen to often.

[mgjackson69]

If you want to see "dull", look at someone engrossed in a television show...

[iaminwa]

Another ridiculous post generalising everyone based on - presumably - a handful of people the OP knows.

I know plenty of Thais who read extensively and are much better read than many farang acquaintances. My wife is currently reading Anna Karenina in Thai translation. She enjoys it, but says she preferred Madame Bovary and Jane Eyre.

Lol, download the Book Review Cheats off the net and test her, doubt whether she will be able to answer one question about the book she just read!

[Jeddah Jo]

Was speaking to an Isaan girl the other day who loves to read. She says in her village there is little else to do, and she gets through loads of books when she has occasion to go home.

She also mentioned the local temple has some kind of book club (similar to library) but you pay 100 baht a year and can borrow as many books as you want.

Books must be valued in Thai society because she said if you donate read books to the club for others to read then you gain merit which seems reasonable to me!

JJ

[wintermute]

Another ridiculous post generalising everyone based on - presumably - a handful of people the OP knows.

I know plenty of Thais who read extensively and are much better read than many farang acquaintances. My wife is currently reading Anna Karenina in Thai translation. She enjoys it, but says she preferred Madame Bovary and Jane Eyre.

Yes, a lot of the generalizations here speak volumes about who the average farang on here hangs out with rather than what Thais are actually doing. There are plenty of bookstores around Thailand and they stay in business. Seriously, if someone thinks that Thais don't read walk in one of the book stores sometime and just quietly observe what books are being browsed. Very little is comic related and it's mostly high school/young college kids who like that stuff just like everywhere else in the world.

[MayBeLater]

I think reading books, especially serious books, indicates you are a serious (boring, not sanuk) person and this is not highly valued in mass Thai culture. Flame me if you want, but this is obvious to me.

Its all about with whom you socialize Jingthing.

[lazeeboy]

imho, people who read are dull. I can't stand it, I have to do enough of it at work and I just don't find it to be that compelling of a medium to convey human emotion. Sure, I read articles and such and can spend hours in an encyclopedia if I get excited about something (like Thai history or language), but reading 'novels' or paperbacks during my freetime has no appeal, it's just work. One reason Thais might not due it is that they're never taught how to do it very well- my gf is a slow reader and sometimes enunciates (though she's an Isaaner reading Thai), and the older members of her family can't read at all.

most lower class thais cant read and nearly all over 50 in the villages never went to school

[dumball]

Another ridiculous post generalising everyone based on - presumably - a handful of people the OP knows.

I know plenty of Thais who read extensively and are much better read than many farang acquaintances. My wife is currently reading Anna Karenina in Thai translation. She enjoys it, but says she preferred Madame Bovary and Jane Eyre.

Yes, a lot of the generalizations here speak volumes about who the average farang on here hangs out with rather than what Thais are actually doing. There are plenty of bookstores around Thailand and they stay in business. Seriously, if someone thinks that Thais don't read walk in one of the book stores sometime and just quietly observe what books are being browsed. Very little is comic related and it's mostly high school/young college kids who like that stuff just like everywhere else in the world.

Just observe the locals reading on the side of the street , these represent the MAJORITY of Thai , their reading is excrusianately s-l-o-w , i would imagine (my thoughts) that by the time they get to the last sentece , they have most likely forgotten how the article started , most likely also why even the supposedly educated ask their husbands to read for them , boring when it takes 10 minutes to read a two minute article they may not even have the comprehension to totally understand .

Yeah , Yeah , we read about the diplomas etc , do not feel insulted , this is the end result of a very inadiquate Thai education system , even for the hi-sos .

[Jingthing]

I think reading books, especially serious books, indicates you are a serious (boring, not sanuk) person and this is not highly valued in mass Thai culture. Flame me if you want, but this is obvious to me.

Its all about with whom you socialize Jingthing.

Actually, I think a nation's interest in reading could be quantified to some degree. How many new titles published each year per capita. Book sales per capita. What percentage of titles and book sales based on quality of the books, in other words pulp novel/comic books versus serious non-fiction and literary fiction, etc. There is no way I could find the link now but I do recall reading a Bangkok Post article a few years ago that did indeed cite some these statistics, and as most can imagine, Thailand rates very low in this department compared to western countries. The fact that some people know many Thais who are big readers proves absolutely nothing at all about the overall bigger picture of the reading and book culture in Thailand. We don't have to place a value on this reality, unless that pleases you.

[MayBeLater]

I think reading books, especially serious books, indicates you are a serious (boring, not sanuk) person and this is not highly valued in mass Thai culture. Flame me if you want, but this is obvious to me.

Its all about with whom you socialize Jingthing.

Actually, I think a nation's interest in reading could be quantified to some degree. How many new titles published each year per capita. Book sales per capita. What percentage of titles and book sales based on quality of the books, in other words pulp novel/comic books versus serious non-fiction and literary fiction, etc. There is no way I could find the link now but I do recall reading a Bangkok Post article a few years ago that did indeed cite some these statistics, and as most can imagine, Thailand rates very low in this department compared to western countries. The fact that some people know many Thais who are big readers proves absolutely nothing at all about the overall bigger picture of the reading and book culture in Thailand. We don't have to place a value on this reality, unless that pleases you.

Could be very true, same as with the arab countries. Each year they translate about the same amount of titles into arab as the greeks do into greek (couple of hundred million people compared to 10 million). But I think it has more to do with the level of education (again) then with being sanuk or not sanuk. In the countries most of us come from the level of education is high, hence people read more books, lower educated people in our countries really don't read that much either. The population in Thailand is not well educated.

MBL