David006 Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 amazing how a simple question develops into a p..g contest...lol..this is tv... we live near a relatively small village and there is a library which gets new books every month...maybe prompted by what seem to be quite a few locals ( mostly females) who are avid readers. ..never seen a lad in there.. ..wifey joined that library about four years ago and at that time they only allowed three books per visit..now the wife takes out between 6 and 13 books every week and gets through them..all sorts but mostly Thai and translated Chinese and English novels.. the librarian always tells the wife when there is a book sale/market visiting NS Thammarat or Trang..a lot cheaper..Had to buy another bookcase the other week! Both the wifes sisters are avid readers so we have a "family" library too. Oh and they are all southern farm girls who left school at 15! Reading is an individual thing as much as writing on web boards sports, cars or whatever ...know retired relatives and friends from Farang land who never read except on planes or vacation.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkkjames Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 I find that every time I get the urge to read, I am finished. Must be too much coffee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyrobert Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 There are many stores where one can find used books in English and many other languages. Most resorts have a collection of left-behind paperbacks in English. Even my massage shop has some. But no Thai language. Even the coffee shop I hang at in Trad (no English spoken and only a few farang customers a week) has a "library." It contains a number of Thai magazines--mostly about celebrities and hi-so-- and a not insignificant number of English novels, including Grisham and Cussler. But no Thai fiction or non-fiction. No books, just dog-earred mags. I've got a post going right now asking where I can buy used books in Thai. No Thai folk (correct me if I'm incorrect) have replied. The few other replies were genuine and appreciated but didn't really nail the answer. So: Either Thais don't read much in the way of books, or They never get rid of any of their old books! Now there's a business op waiting for someone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbk Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Unnecessary flame and response to that flame have been removed. Lets do try to keep it civil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Semper Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 amazing how a simple question develops into a p..g contest...lol..this is tv... we live near a relatively small village and there is a library which gets new books every month...maybe prompted by what seem to be quite a few locals ( mostly females) who are avid readers. ..never seen a lad in there.. ..wifey joined that library about four years ago and at that time they only allowed three books per visit..now the wife takes out between 6 and 13 books every week and gets through them..all sorts but mostly Thai and translated Chinese and English novels.. the librarian always tells the wife when there is a book sale/market visiting NS Thammarat or Trang..a lot cheaper..Had to buy another bookcase the other week! Both the wifes sisters are avid readers so we have a "family" library too. Oh and they are all southern farm girls who left school at 15! Reading is an individual thing as much as writing on web boards sports, cars or whatever ...know retired relatives and friends from Farang land who never read except on planes or vacation.. Impressive. She seems to have a lot of free time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbk Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Another flame removed and a baiting post. keep it up and I will pass out suspensions to the serial flamers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WebBangkok Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 One might be excused for thinking with a name like webbangkok or whatever that you probably read much during your 60 hour work week (email, tv) that the last thing you would want to do is read some more before nighty night? Does reading this count as reading? Yeah reading emails, articles and code all day does not make me want to read anything else, If I got some spare time I will go out with friends or the family. Reading a novel is just not my thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trembly Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 (edited) For whatever its worth, my observation is that the higher you go socio-economically the greater the preponderance of Thai bookworms (with the inevitable exceptions). I suppose its a matter of access to books and pattern-setting informed encouragement. Edited July 20, 2011 by Trembly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geekfreaklover Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 For whatever it's worth to this topic, the following is a quote from Wikipedia. "UNESCO monitors both the number and type of books published per country per year as an important index of standard of living and education, and of a country's self-awareness." According to the UNESCO's latest survey, Thailand was ranked 29th in the world in publication of new book titles per year, only 14 European countries were ranked higer. As I said whatever it's worth... May have nothing to do with the question of "Do Thais read?". That figure is unfortunatly misleading. Many books are printed / published in Thailand because printing is very cheap to do here. Many are exported overseas, many (including a huge number of expat novels which may bite into the figures, just, are published but never read.) And lets keep in mind that many books are published, printed, sold, but never actually read. Books are given as gifts, bought by schools and universities. Dare I say it, some Thais use books as pretentious props on the skytrain to gain some kind of face. Cynical. Maybe. But Thais in general do not read the same way that westerners do. And by that I mean - books for pleasure. Thais do not read. There I said it. Maybe a few read for enjoyment, To enhance their personal education beyond formal education, but it is rare. I see that it is changing however, and not just comic books. The likes of Harry Potter is turning a lot of kids onto reading, and hopefully one day writing. What Thailand needs is a good new fiction writer, with media clout behind him or her to get her interested. Or maybe she doesn't need lit. Maybe books are mai sanook! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annilicious Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 according to the news i had watched several months ago, they reported that on the average, Thai people read 2 pages of book a day. somehow, i am thai, i love reading. newspaper, magazine, fiction, novel, documentary, travelling, dhamma, science, biography, history etc. so, count me in the reading group thats all for my opinion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteeleJoe Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Thais in general do not read the same way that westerners do. And by that I mean - books for pleasure. Quick comment before I'm off to to eat... Speak to a Thai in Thai or English and you'll discover when they talk about studying for an exam or a class, they'll generally say "read a book" -- in other words, I think reading is often synonymous with studying in their minds. If you ask someone in the States, evena univesity student, what they did on the weekend and they said, "Just stayed home and read some books" you quite likely might think they had a pleasant couple of days with a lot of free time. No that they spent all weekend studying... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geekfreaklover Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Thais in general do not read the same way that westerners do. And by that I mean - books for pleasure. Quick comment before I'm off to to eat... Speak to a Thai in Thai or English and you'll discover when they talk about studying for an exam or a class, they'll generally say "read a book" -- in other words, I think reading is often synonymous with studying in their minds. If you ask someone in the States, evena univesity student, what they did on the weekend and they said, "Just stayed home and read some books" you quite likely might think they had a pleasant couple of days with a lot of free time. No that they spent all weekend studying... I speak Thai and English well enough to understand this. Worked in schools and universities and had four books published last year. Read maybe 50-100 books a year. In many ways I think that Thais are much more intelligent than us readers, social nuances and perceptions. Awareness, etc. It is not all about how many books you read or write or what television you watch. Its all just entertainment really. Apart from non-fiction that is often subjective. How many of us expats have read the Ramakien?, Or the Ramayana? How many Thais have read The Merchant of Venice? Most of it isn't relevant nowadays. Korean movies and pop songs are. There is a new culture in Thailand and in the world. And for better or worse printed books will not play a large part in it. GFL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trembly Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 (edited) Thais in general do not read the same way that westerners do. And by that I mean - books for pleasure. Quick comment before I'm off to to eat... Speak to a Thai in Thai or English and you'll discover when they talk about studying for an exam or a class, they'll generally say "read a book" -- in other words, I think reading is often synonymous with studying in their minds. If you ask someone in the States, evena univesity student, what they did on the weekend and they said, "Just stayed home and read some books" you quite likely might think they had a pleasant couple of days with a lot of free time. No that they spent all weekend studying... I speak Thai and English well enough to understand this. Worked in schools and universities and had four books published last year. Read maybe 50-100 books a year. In many ways I think that Thais are much more intelligent than us readers, social nuances and perceptions. Awareness, etc. It is not all about how many books you read or write or what television you watch. Its all just entertainment really. Apart from non-fiction that is often subjective. How many of us expats have read the Ramakien?, Or the Ramayana? How many Thais have read The Merchant of Venice? Most of it isn't relevant nowadays. Korean movies and pop songs are. There is a new culture in Thailand and in the world. And for better or worse printed books will not play a large part in it. GFL. Indeed, there is still plenty of room for the kind of diverse and thriving culture of contemporary literature that exists in the West, populated by authors such as Chuck Palahniuk, Irvine Welsh etc. These authors (to name just two) are like contemporary rock-stars in the English speaking literary world. Teenagers proudly put their names on their social networking profiles and avidly read every book, in much the same way as they do with musical artists. There just isn't that level of appreciation here yet. Its a shame because the Thai language is so emotionally agile and intelligent. Edited July 20, 2011 by Trembly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atmos Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 my partner is in an informal 'book exchange' with a number of her friends; none of them live within 200km but when they do get together a couple of times a year t's a ritual swapping of stacks of paperbacks. Can't comment on their content or 'quality', but it's a good scheme money-wise and better than having them read just once and gathering dust on a bookshelf. Been to many a farang house and always on the lookout for books to borrow (and reciprocate) but have found that many expats do not read at all, not a single book to be seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyrobert Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 according to the news i had watched several months ago, they reported that on the average, Thai people read 2 pages of book a day. somehow, i am thai, i love reading. newspaper, magazine, fiction, novel, documentary, travelling, dhamma, science, biography, history etc. so, count me in the reading group thats all for my opinion Annilicious- Thanks for the post. Where, pray tell, do you purchase USED books in Thai? Novels, biographies, history, etc? I'll be in BKK next week and I'd like to load up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiG16 Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Been to many a farang house and always on the lookout for books to borrow (and reciprocate) Speaking of which, someone has my book and I'd like it back!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlafStapleton Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Reading books usually learned activity from parent. Parent read book, child read book. Education levels in Thailand very low until recent time, so not many read book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlafStapleton Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 (edited) my partner is in an informal 'book exchange' with a number of her friends; none of them live within 200km but when they do get together a couple of times a year t's a ritual swapping of stacks of paperbacks. Can't comment on their content or 'quality', but it's a good scheme money-wise and better than having them read just once and gathering dust on a bookshelf. Been to many a farang house and always on the lookout for books to borrow (and reciprocate) but have found that many expats do not read at all, not a single book to be seen. You never see book in my house, I go electronic with NOOK and Kindle Just downloaded 2000 MOBI library for Kindle 5,500 EPUB library for NOOK 6,000 EPUB library in Dutch Cost nothing but then I bad person Anyone see Thai book collection for download, I never find. Edited July 21, 2011 by OlafStapleton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trembly Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 The Kindle is going to be my next toy! You can download all of the classics for free! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saraburioz Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Educated Thais read. Uneducated ones don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkkjames Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 So have we drawn any firm consensus on this book or do we need another chapter or two to convince those still sitting on the fence? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saraburioz Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 The Kindle is going to be my next toy! You can download all of the classics for free! Get an ipad - they're better and you can do the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annilicious Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 according to the news i had watched several months ago, they reported that on the average, Thai people read 2 pages of book a day. somehow, i am thai, i love reading. newspaper, magazine, fiction, novel, documentary, travelling, dhamma, science, biography, history etc. so, count me in the reading group thats all for my opinion Annilicious- Thanks for the post. Where, pray tell, do you purchase USED books in Thai? Novels, biographies, history, etc? I'll be in BKK next week and I'd like to load up! Yes, I do have lots of books save in my own library. been collecting them since I was 9. I'm afraid I couldn't sale any of them. *Apologize* I know places that sale used book such as Jatujak and one in a small Soi in Pra Ar Tid (near Kao Sarn) or maybe you can try online used book store. I never buy books online tho. FYI, I always rent books at the book rental store too. approximately 5-20 THB per 3 days for each Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyrobert Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 according to the news i had watched several months ago, they reported that on the average, Thai people read 2 pages of book a day. somehow, i am thai, i love reading. newspaper, magazine, fiction, novel, documentary, travelling, dhamma, science, biography, history etc. so, count me in the reading group thats all for my opinion Annilicious- Thanks for the post. Where, pray tell, do you purchase USED books in Thai? Novels, biographies, history, etc? I'll be in BKK next week and I'd like to load up! Yes, I do have lots of books save in my own library. been collecting them since I was 9. I'm afraid I couldn't sale any of them. *Apologize* I know places that sale used book such as Jatujak and one in a small Soi in Pra Ar Tid (near Kao Sarn) or maybe you can try online used book store. I never buy books online tho. FYI, I always rent books at the book rental store too. approximately 5-20 THB per 3 days for each A little far from Trad to be renting so JJ it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickBradford Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 The Kindle is going to be my next toy! You can download all of the classics for free! And there is software called 'Kindle for PC' so you don't even have to pay for the device. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SICHONSTEVE Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 (edited) As a Thai, I read almost every kind of books : fiction, non-fiction, travel, self-improvement and textbooks. I also read interesting articles from the internet. I just don't read on the train, i prefer to watch people get on and off the train.I don't think books here are more expensive than abroad. In fact, i think there are cheaper here. ItI think some people here are ignorant. They don't care about the outside world and live in their small world. Of course we learn about our history and as they don't pay attention much, they soon forget. Personally, i haven't read and watch political news since April last year. It was too depressive for me. I note that you state "of course we learn about OUR history". That is the problem!! You learn about Thai history and know nothing about the rest of the world. There are lots of other countries in the world and they all have their own history. My wife has a Masters degree and it amazes me how little she knows about anything "non-Thai". It is the fault of your government and the Education department. It tends to be an Asian trait although probably less so for Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and (maybe Philippines) in other words those English speaking Asian countries are a bit more the wiser about what is happening in the outside world. Outside of Thailand, that is!!! By the way, congratulations on your excellent English Pammalitta I assume that you have spent a fair bit of time in another country or maybe you are half English. Edited July 24, 2011 by SICHONSTEVE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merwan Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 (edited) The fact that thais do not read very much was one of the first things I noticed when traveling in Thailand. In places like San Francisco and Boston, passengers read like crazy during their work commutes. My first impression was personally tested and later confirmed when on a city bus in Bangkok. The bus stopped near a university and picked up a crowd of students. Not one of those students opened up a book while on the bus! When I was a university student, I couldn't afford to stare out of the window of a bus or commuter train. I had lots of reading to do! Edited July 24, 2011 by Merwan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David006 Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 There are many stores where one can find used books in English and many other languages. Most resorts have a collection of left-behind paperbacks in English. Even my massage shop has some. But no Thai language. Even the coffee shop I hang at in Trad (no English spoken and only a few farang customers a week) has a "library." It contains a number of Thai magazines--mostly about celebrities and hi-so-- and a not insignificant number of English novels, including Grisham and Cussler. But no Thai fiction or non-fiction. No books, just dog-earred mags. I've got a post going right now asking where I can buy used books in Thai. No Thai folk (correct me if I'm incorrect) have replied. The few other replies were genuine and appreciated but didn't really nail the answer. So: Either Thais don't read much in the way of books, or They never get rid of any of their old books! Now there's a business op waiting for someone! the used book store by Farmers Bank in Phuket now has ton of almost new used Thai books..sorry not much use to you if you are not in the south.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyrobert Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 There are many stores where one can find used books in English and many other languages. Most resorts have a collection of left-behind paperbacks in English. Even my massage shop has some. But no Thai language. Even the coffee shop I hang at in Trad (no English spoken and only a few farang customers a week) has a "library." It contains a number of Thai magazines--mostly about celebrities and hi-so-- and a not insignificant number of English novels, including Grisham and Cussler. But no Thai fiction or non-fiction. No books, just dog-earred mags. I've got a post going right now asking where I can buy used books in Thai. No Thai folk (correct me if I'm incorrect) have replied. The few other replies were genuine and appreciated but didn't really nail the answer. So: Either Thais don't read much in the way of books, or They never get rid of any of their old books! Now there's a business op waiting for someone! the used book store by Farmers Bank in Phuket now has ton of almost new used Thai books..sorry not much use to you if you are not in the south.. Rats! Foiled again! And in the one place I have no plans to visit in the future. Ever thought about becoming a personal shopper? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David006 Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 As a Thai, I read almost every kind of books : fiction, non-fiction, travel, self-improvement and textbooks. I also read interesting articles from the internet. I just don't read on the train, i prefer to watch people get on and off the train.I don't think books here are more expensive than abroad. In fact, i think there are cheaper here. ItI think some people here are ignorant. They don't care about the outside world and live in their small world. Of course we learn about our history and as they don't pay attention much, they soon forget. Personally, i haven't read and watch political news since April last year. It was too depressive for me. I note that you state "of course we learn about OUR history". That is the problem!! You learn about Thai history and know nothing about the rest of the world. There are lots of other countries in the world and they all have their own history. My wife has a Masters degree and it amazes me how little she knows about anything "non-Thai". It is the fault of your government and the Education department. It tends to be an Asian trait although probably less so for Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and (maybe Philippines) in other words those English speaking Asian countries are a bit more the wiser about what is happening in the outside world. Outside of Thailand, that is!!! By the way, congratulations on your excellent English Pammalitta I assume that you have spent a fair bit of time in another country or maybe you are half English. ask a few westerners some basic "international" history questions....without access to the internet...can't say many ,myself included until I got old enough to care and read, would have intelligent answers... here are a few..lol From which continent was Hannibal ? Where is the Bridge on Kwai Who was the ruling Queen of England when Everest was conquered What nationality was Columbus ..where did he first land in the Americas Where is Trafalgar as in battle? Where is the Hindu Kush why is it so named? To what event/whom does "Crossing of the Rubicon" refer....? All very interesting stuff ...but not to many people.. playing on smart phones etc is more fun...each to their own... how many could you answer??...lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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