Thais are Number 2 in Amount of Time Spent Reading

[Berkshire]

The constant Thai bashing. My Thai acquaintances are all well read and spend lots of money at Kinokuniya or Asia Books (and not on comic books). Certainly better read than a lot of the people on TV, judging by some of the posts made.

Agree. The bashing never ends, and from the usual suspects. If the results from the survey in the OP had been Thais reading less than everyone else, the usual knobs would be here ranting pretty much to the same tune. I think it comes from spending so much time with the lower echelons of Thai society (read their wives/GFs).

[GreenSnapper]

In a country of 60 million people, there are of course some people reading or even writing a novel.

But that's not the point. Take a BTS in Bangkok, and check who is reading what. If somebody is reading a book, they are usually Japanese, Koreans or Chinese. Or Thai students who are reading their text books.

Thais don't even read on their ipads/iphones. These are strictly for Facebook and playing children games.

If you want to see people reading, use a subway in Tokyo.

[aTomsLife]

Outside the workplace, the only books I ever see Thais reading are those comic books that are so popular. But there are many Thais who read them quite often, so I guess that counts to boost the numbers. Unfortunately, reading those books do nothing to enlighten or educate people.

I've never seen you reading a book. Do you think most Thais ever see you reading a book? So just because you've never seen Thais reading a book, that's supposed to mean...what? Zilch.

Berkshire, you can't be serious. It's far easier to make broad observations of a society one interacts with daily than it is an individual one only sees momentarily.

If you were to visit my home city, on any given day you'd see people reading at bus stops, train stations, parks, during their lunch breaks and ....hmmm let me think, oh yeah -- at public LIBRARIES.

[GreenSnapper]

Compare the many libraries, well equipped, in Singapore to the few ones in Bangkok. Well, most people don't even know if there is a library in Bangkok.

The only serious bookshop in Thailand is Kinokuniya, a japanese company. I would't call Asiabooks very serious.

Even the street book shops in Yangon seem to have more business than the few bookshops you see here and there in Bangkok. The used book shops at Jatujak are often only frequented by foreigners.

[harryfrompattaya]

The constant Thai bashing. My Thai acquaintances are all well read and spend lots of money at Kinokuniya or Asia Books (and not on comic books). Certainly better read than a lot of the people on TV, judging by some of the posts made.

You are right some people just like to bash Thias

We are known they are the smartest people in the world just at the famous Doctors and the cures from Thailand I have a friend in American who been eating Tiger Bomb for 90 years and he looks and acts 45years old

I am been eating Tiger Bomb for for 50 years and do not look my age of 85 years

Thank You Thailand

[Berkshire]

Outside the workplace, the only books I ever see Thais reading are those comic books that are so popular. But there are many Thais who read them quite often, so I guess that counts to boost the numbers. Unfortunately, reading those books do nothing to enlighten or educate people.

I've never seen you reading a book. Do you think most Thais ever see you reading a book? So just because you've never seen Thais reading a book, that's supposed to mean...what? Zilch.

Berkshire, you can't be serious. It's far easier to make broad observations of a society one interacts with daily than it is an individual one only sees momentarily.

If you were to visit my home city, on any given day you'd see people reading at bus stops, train stations, parks, during their lunch breaks and ....hmmm let me think, oh yeah -- at public LIBRARIES.

The point I was making is that people generally read in private. As to your comment about...LIBRARIES? This is the year 2013. University students don't even read books in libraries anymore.

Edited July 18, 2013 by Berkshire

[Berkshire]

The constant Thai bashing. My Thai acquaintances are all well read and spend lots of money at Kinokuniya or Asia Books (and not on comic books). Certainly better read than a lot of the people on TV, judging by some of the posts made.

You are right some people just like to bash Thias

We are known they are the smartest people in the world just at the famous Doctors and the cures from Thailand I have a friend in American who been eating Tiger Bomb for 90 years and he looks and acts 45years old

I am been eating Tiger Bomb for for 50 years and do not look my age of 85 years

Thank You Thailand

Just curious...have you ever invented a cure for anything? Didn't think so. So you're no better than the Thais, correct?

[aTomsLife]

Do you believe Thailand is a literary society? That the average Thai is well read?

I wonder how many of the posters on here read a real book in the last year. Not many, I suspect, though I have an equally strong suspicion that that won't be any kind of obstacle when it comes to berating Thais (or is that Thai's? Or Thais'? It's so confusing) for their (there? they're?) imagined failings.

You didn't answer my question (nor did the poster I directed it to initially).

If you want to concern yourself with the low class, poorly educated hypocrites who post on this site, that's your prerogative. But there are also many well intentioned, educated, thoughtful posters here. Discuss the topic with them, and let the idiots bicker among each other.

It's difficult to have an intelligent discussion when people resort to name calling. Why make the thread personal? If you think someone's post is nonsensical Thai bashing, respond and show them why that's the case. Resorting to name calling without sharing one's specific disagreements is hypocritical.

[Issangeorge]

"Maybe it all changed when tens of thousands of Kiwis each year migrated to Australia, thereby raising the IQ of both countries."

I like that. It took me about 3 seconds to get it, so obviously I'm not from New Zealand, but it was a good remark.

I know some Thai friends that are well read, but not many. Even all the Thai school teachers I know, I would not consider well read.

Sent from my i-mobile IQ 6 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[aTomsLife]

Outside the workplace, the only books I ever see Thais reading are those comic books that are so popular. But there are many Thais who read them quite often, so I guess that counts to boost the numbers. Unfortunately, reading those books do nothing to enlighten or educate people.

I've never seen you reading a book. Do you think most Thais ever see you reading a book? So just because you've never seen Thais reading a book, that's supposed to mean...what? Zilch.

Berkshire, you can't be serious. It's far easier to make broad observations of a society one interacts with daily than it is an individual one only sees momentarily.

If you were to visit my home city, on any given day you'd see people reading at bus stops, train stations, parks, during their lunch breaks and ....hmmm let me think, oh yeah -- at public LIBRARIES.

The point I was making is that people generally read in private. As to you comment about...LIBRARIES? This is the year 2013. University students don't even read books in libraries anymore.

In major cities, people read everywhere. Bangkok is a major city, but I don't see people reading books in coffee shops or on the train. Nor do I see people reading books on planes when I fly to and from Chiang Mai.

I also disagree with your second point: many students treat the library as their second home, especially during exams.

Still, I mentioned libraries because, even if usage has dropped since the advent of the internet, their presence still represent a society's interest in reading; that's why they were built in the first place. Thailand doesn't have very many libraries.

[wolf5370]

Do you believe Thailand is a literary society? That the average Thai is well read?

I wonder how many of the posters on here read a real book in the last year. Not many, I suspect, though I have an equally strong suspicion that that won't be any kind of obstacle when it comes to berating Thais (or is that Thai's? Or Thais'? It's so confusing) for their (there? they're?) imagined failings.

Consider that English book shops like Asia Books do a good trade here and are increasing, as are second hand non-Thai book shops (including English/German/Japanese/Dutch - that I have seen). I would suggest someone is buying these books at a high enough volume to keep it profitable enough.This with the books being often up to twice the "home" price.

Personally I read a book a week or there abouts :- currently on my desk is: 1-Graham Brown's The Eden Prophecy; 2-Tim Hardford's The Under Cover Economist (missing most of its cover and very dog eared having been perused many times) and 3-Bill Bryson's A Short History Of Nearly Everything. Bought The Eden Prophesy last weekend, now about 1/2 way through - Bill Bryson I read between books and the The UC Economist I have reread several times and will do so again.

My teenage girls like a young Thai writer (I think she was 12) that wrote a couple of books in Thai and in English (she wrote both not translated by the publisher) - can't remember her name or the books' names, but it was about mermaids. My youngest loves the How to Train Your Dragon series and the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series (she's 12). Her elder sister (14) reads a lot on the internet - EBooks etc - she is very choosey about her books. They both read in English and Thai - though they say the books are more interesting/fun in English (perhaps English is just more flowery - maybe a reason the Thais don't do it as much?).

As a kid my parents were always trying to make me read more - I was not much of a reader back then - now I read an awful lot and pretty much anywhere. It is mostly kids we see reading those comic books - and I dare say we read similar when we were kids (I remember all the girls reading PhotoLove and SmashHits when I was in my teens - boys a lot less, but SmashHits (Mayfair/Playboy - for the editorials of course) being big with boys back then too).

It may well be that Thai adults read a lot at home - though I rarely see them in bookshops (Thai ones of course) - and all the ones I know seem to read very little at all (other than newspapers). My wife reads books, in Thai and English - she prefers Thai comedic (not comic, but humorous) books (often written by monks) - she takes months to read a book though as she will only do so now and again and maybe for a few pages. She went to good private schools in Bangkok and was also educated in the UK - she also rarely watches TV (I mean like catches a program a month when visiting someone else) - she is a practical person and will find something to do instead (or sleep).

Edited July 18, 2013 by wolf5370

[Berkshire]

The point I was making is that people generally read in private. As to you comment about...LIBRARIES? This is the year 2013. University students don't even read books in libraries anymore.

In major cities, people read everywhere. Bangkok is a major city, but I don't see people reading books in coffee shops or on the train. Nor do I see people reading books on planes when I fly to and from Chiang Mai.

I also disagree with your second point: many students treat the library as their second home, especially during exams.

Still, I mentioned libraries because, even if usage has dropped since the advent of the internet, their presence still represent a society's interest in reading; that's why they were built in the first place. Thailand doesn't have very many libraries.

To be frank, I'm not an expert on Thai reading habits. And I doubt most who post here are either. So I take exception with the folks who just automatically assume the worst, and for no other reason but to put down the Thais. As for reading books, I haven't read a good book in years. But I do read a lot, if not work related, then mostly news and such. So if someone were to judge me on the basis of how many actual "books" I've read, I'd say they were misjudging me. Same with the Thais.

[kurnell]

I've know my university educated Thai wife since 2001 and in that time she has never read a book. She says it gives her a headache. She does spend every minute of the day on Facebook though.

[Zooheekock]

You didn't answer my question (nor did the poster I directed it to initially).

I did, though somewhat obliquely. But here you are: relative to the cultures from which many people on this forum appear to come (and I mean their lived culture, not irrelevant trivialities such as what colour passport they happen to have), Thais (taking your question at its most obvious - but most meaninglessly general - sense) are averagely well read. That said, perhaps I’m wrong and there’s a thriving philosophical and literary sub-forum tucked away behind the questions on where to buy string in Sri Saket so - perhaps - these criticisms really are justified after all.

Consider that English book shops like Asia Books do a good trade here and are increasing, as are second hand non-Thai book shops (including English/German/Japanese/Dutch - that I have seen). I would suggest someone is buying these books at a high enough volume to keep it profitable enough.This with the books being often up to twice the "home" price.

I did say 'posters on here', not 'anyone who can read in English and finds him or herself in Thailand for whatever reason'.

Edited July 18, 2013 by Zooheekock

[pattayadingo]

Maybe reading the texts on their mobile phones or FB and other social networking sites - as others have mentioned.

[GreenSnapper]

As to your comment about...LIBRARIES? This is the year 2013. University students don't even read books in libraries anymore.

Looks like haven't seen a university from inside ever.

For your next journey, I suggest to visit the state library in Singapore or visit some of the local ones scattered all over the city. And later on, have some intelligent discussion with some local citizens.

Just to get a clue, how it looks like in the educated world.

[soi41]

Looking at the chart I would venture a guess the countries less developed and with the least Internet access/infrastructure will by necessity have to choose hard/soft copy reading. And inversely with the developed countries where they can get their reading from the Internet. Just a supposition.

This is what I am thinking as well. In the West reading, al least of books and magazines, is on the decline.

I think you cannot judge a nation by what you see. I remember that I was in Pattaya lat year and if I judged by what I saw, I would assume that most Brits only read The Sun

You met Brits in Pattaya, who could actually read ??

Still hope for the return of the dodo!

[aTomsLife]

I did, though somewhat obliquely. But here you are: relative to the cultures from which many people on this forum appear to come (and I mean their lived culture, not irrelevant trivialities such as what colour passport they happen to have), Thais (taking your question at its most obvious - but most meaninglessly general - sense) are averagely well read. That said, perhaps I’m wrong and there’s a thriving philosophical and literary sub-forum tucked away behind the questions on where to buy string in Sri Saket so - perhaps - these criticisms really are justified after all.

It seems you're comparing TV's most lowbrow posters with who I assume are educated Thais and thus deducing that, on average, Thais are well read. Is this a fair comparison?

My initial question asked whether Thai society is well read, meaning the society in general, not a well educated subset thereof. The question is relative to other well read societies, not to TV's lowbrow, hypocritical Thai-bashing brigade.

I'll try again, and will ask a more specific question: Are university educated Thais as well read as the average graduates in other countries? I honestly don't know. However, I'm disinclined to say yes, given the reputation (or lack thereof) Thai degrees have throughout Asia and the rest of the world.

I'm cynical because Thais aren't failed. They all pass their courses whether they do the work or not. Perhaps there are exceptions, but by and large I know what I've stated to be the truth. So, then, how can the average Thai develop a love for reading when s/he's never been taught to value education and the pursuit of knowledge in general?

[harrry]

This does not surprise me at all. Given the way in which when given a set of instructions on how to install a hot water service gets looked at and perused both sides of the paper and upside down for at least 10 minutes for a 100 word list ( and then ignore it) I can believe that they spend a lot of time reading.

[soomak]

The constant Thai bashing. My Thai acquaintances are all well read and spend lots of money at Kinokuniya or Asia Books (and not on comic books). Certainly better read than a lot of the people on TV, judging by some of the posts made.

Could be your friends happen to read, but I ride the BTS at least 25 times per month, and hardly ever seen a Thai read anything but comic books or some study book from university.

Have looked many times, as I like to look around.

And BTS riders are much more wealthy and educated than the average Thai farmer (40% of the population).

Edited July 18, 2013 by soomak

[Zooheekock]

It seems you're comparing TV's most lowbrow posters with who I assume are educated Thais and thus deducing that, on average, Thais are well read. Is this a fair comparison?

I'm not sure where you got that from. I was comparing my impression of Thaivisa's entire membership (which is a relatively meaningless impression) with my impression of Thais en masse (a wholly meaningless impression) and my impression is that there is no great difference in the extent to which either group could be called (or not called) well-read.

My initial question asked whether Thai society is well read, meaning the society in general, not a well educated subset thereof. The question is relative to other well read societies,

There's no such thing as a well-read society. There are people who are well-read and who form groups with greater or lesser degrees of coherence but talking about nation-sized collections of such people is - in this context - utterly meaningless. If it turns out that the average Briton reads 3.8 books a year and the average Thai reads 0.3 books a year, what has that established? If the 3.75 of the 3.8 British books are biographies of TV chefs, sudoko collections, management books and Harry Potter then the number of books read might as well be zero given the complete absence of any cultural value on the nation's bookshelves. And if turns out that 10% of the population are reading 35 books a year and every one of them has got a review in the LRB, while the rest of the population is reading essentially nothing then, again, what does that mean? Bugger all. The only sense I can make of the question is that the answer doesn't really matter; the question is asked (like so much of the crap which gets posted here) as a way of making people feel better about themselves. There's nothing wrong with that. Except there is when it involves running down everybody around me. I don't really care what the per capita consumption of books is in Thailand or in England or in Mongolia. I read what I read and if somebody else wants to read the same, then good for them. And if they don't, well, good for them too.

Are university educated Thais as well read as the average graduates in other countries?

I don't know. And whilst it's a straightforward enough question (if you just want to count something like how many books they read in a year), asking it on Thaivisa is about as likely to elicit a worthwhile response as asking whether anyone has a spare ticket for this year's Bayreuth festival.

I'm cynical because Thais aren't failed. They all pass their courses whether they do the work or not. Perhaps there are exceptions, but by and large I know what I've stated to be the truth. So, then, how can the average Thai develop a love for reading when s/he's never been taught to value education and the pursuit of knowledge in general?

You don't develop a love of reading because you get failed (or are scared of getting failed) at school. What a completely absurd idea. (Though as a transitional device and a means of introducing another theme much-loved by Thai-bashers, I admit that it has some merits.)

Edited July 18, 2013 by Zooheekock

[soomak]

I've know my university educated Thai wife since 2001 and in that time she has never read a book. She says it gives her a headache. She does spend every minute of the day on Facebook though.

Same here, my ex-gf has two Bachelor's degrees and one Master's and I never saw her read a book, or talk about a book she read.

Edited July 18, 2013 by soomak

[StreetCowboy]

The constant Thai bashing. My Thai acquaintances are all well read and spend lots of money at Kinokuniya or Asia Books (and not on comic books). Certainly better read than a lot of the people on TV, judging by some of the posts made.

It's simply a matter of being objective, nothing to do with bashing Thais. Your anecdotal experiences don't change the facts. Thailand isn't a literary society.

If I'm wrong, please send me a list of Thai novelists, essayists and/or biographers to read. Thanks in advance!

Anecdotal facts beat no facts.

Did you never play argument poker?

[soomak]

Alright, took a few minutes, but I got some real figures:

Thais read 5 book per year per person (2011 data)

http://www.unescobkk.org/education/news/article/thai-people-to-read-more/

Americans (aged over 18) read 17 books per year (2012 data)

http://johndbrown.com/2012/04/the-average-american-reads-17-books-per-year/

"

In 2011, the average Chinese person read 4.3 books. In comparison, the average Korean read 11 books, the average French person 20 and the average Japanese person 40.

"

http://news.echinacities.com/detail/8479-Not-Hooked-on-Books-Average-Chinese-Person-Read-Only-43-Books-in-2011

Perhaps the confusion is between reading anything (M2F newspaper/comics/internet forum), and reading a book, which I consider as "real" reading.

[StreetCowboy]

Alright, took a few minutes, but I got some real figures:

Thais read 5 book per year per person (2011 data)

http://www.unescobkk.org/education/news/article/thai-people-to-read-more/

Americans (aged over 18) read 17 books per year (2012 data)

http://johndbrown.com/2012/04/the-average-american-reads-17-books-per-year/

"

In 2011, the average Chinese person read 4.3 books. In comparison, the average Korean read 11 books, the average French person 20 and the average Japanese person 40.

"

http://news.echinacities.com/detail/8479-Not-Hooked-on-Books-Average-Chinese-Person-Read-Only-43-Books-in-2011

Perhaps the confusion is between reading anything (M2F newspaper/comics/internet forum), and reading a book, which I consider as "real" reading.

Does it still count as real reading if my lips move?

What about if I just flick through to the dirty bits?

[rubberduck]

I don't believe this, NEVER have seen a Thai reading a book in a decade !

[Payboy]

Whenever I go to a bar, the girls try to read my mind.

[kurnell]

I've know my university educated Thai wife since 2001 and in that time she has never read a book. She says it gives her a headache. She does spend every minute of the day on Facebook though.

Same here, my ex-gf has two Bachelor's degrees and one Master's and I never saw her read a book, or talk about a book she read.

When non-Thais talk about reading, we mean a book. Thais think of reading as street signs, Facebook, an email, a packet of Mama noodles, the bus number, a menu, the remote control....no wonder they are the 2nd greatest readers in the history of the universe. In the mind of a Thai they are all gaeng maak at everything, and I have no idea how this came about, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. I can only assume that as it is a loss of face to point out that someone might be a few cans short of a six-pack then everyone just assumes that if nobody tells them they are a dill then they must be gaeng maak.

[aTomsLife]

It seems you're comparing TV's most lowbrow posters with who I assume are educated Thais and thus deducing that, on average, Thais are well read. Is this a fair comparison?

I'm not sure where you got that from. I was comparing my impression of Thaivisa's entire membership (which is a relatively meaningless impression) with my impression of Thais en masse (a wholly meaningless impression) and my impression is that there is no great difference in the extent to which either group could be called (or not called) well-read.

We're discussing a meaningless ranking, so if my questions are also meaningless I suppose I'm on, or at least close to being on topic. Nevertheless, you make good arguments and I appreciate your points, so not all is lost.

As for the above quote, if that's your impression of TV, who am I to argue otherwise. I make it a point to ignore the serial bashers, and have thus managed to find plenty of people capable of making interesting and well thought out arguments, as is the case here. On the other hand, I can't remember the last time I saw a Thai reading anything other than a comic book.

I tried numerous times to quote you as neatly as you did me, but I'm either doing something wrong, or TV has a problem; it's probably the former. Anyway, I'll just hyphenate your quotes.

There's no such thing as a well-read society. There are people who are well-read and who form groups with greater or lesser degrees of coherence but talking about nation-sized collections of such people is - in this context - utterly meaningless. If it turns out that the average Briton reads 3.8 books a year and the average Thai reads 0.3 books a year, what has that established? If the 3.75 of the 3.8 British books are biographies of TV chefs, sudoko collections, management books and Harry Potter then the number of books read might as well be zero given the complete absence of any cultural value on the nation's bookshelves. And if turns out that 10% of the population are reading 35 books a year and every one of them has got a review in the LRB, while the rest of the population is reading essentially nothing then, again, what does that mean? Bugger all. The only sense I can make of the question is that the answer doesn't really matter; the question is asked (like so much of the crap which gets posted here) as a way of making people feel better about themselves. There's nothing wrong with that. Except there is when it involves running down everybody around me. I don't really care what the per capita consumption of books is in Thailand or in England or in Mongolia. I read what I read and if somebody else wants to read the same, then good for them. And if they don't, well, good for them too.

I agree with most of what you've written here; though I certainly didn't post the question to make myself feel better, and if you don't care I'm at a loss to understand why you engaged the topic in the first place.

Of course even in a developed nation a sizable percentage of the population would not qualify as "well-read". I realized the flaw in my initial question, so I asked a more specific one relating to university graduates, which you said you didn't know the answer to. Fair enough.

You don't develop a love of reading because you get failed (or are scared of getting failed) at school. What a completely absurd idea. (Though as a transitional device and a means of introducing another theme much-loved by Thai-bashers, I admit that it has some merits.)

I never meant to assert that people develop a love of reading because they're scared of failing at school. I meant that most people gain initial exposure to reading in school, and consequently the sense of joy and accomplishment derived through pursuing knowledge. It wasn't a transitional device. I was simply providing a reason why I'm skeptical about Thai reading habits. An education system that doesn't encourage reading (or studying in general) puts its students at a serious disadvantage toward developing a love of books.

Edited July 18, 2013 by aTomsLife

[Zooheekock]

if you don't care I'm at a loss to understand why you engaged the topic in the first place.

Because this is something which comes on these forums time after time after time and the people who make the complaints about Thais not reading (not perhaps you but the overwhelming majority) always seem to be those least qualified to do so. If this thread were sitting under a 50-page monster on the marvels of Proustian sentences, then I wouldn't really mind but, and this is really staggeringly obvious, most people here, if they read at all, clearly read rubbish. Of course, all this is just so much banging my head against the wall; those who want to criticise Thais obviously won't stop, no matter how absurdly hypocritical their complaints. One either endures it or goes elsewhere. I almost always go elsewhere. Just look at this:

When non-Thais talk about reading, we mean a book. Thais think of reading as street signs, Facebook, an email, a packet of Mama noodles, the bus number, a menu, the remote control....no wonder they are the 2nd greatest readers in the history of the universe. In the mind of a Thai they are all gaeng maak at everything, and I have no idea how this came about, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. I can only assume that as it is a loss of face to point out that someone might be a few cans short of a six-pack then everyone just assumes that if nobody tells them they are a dill then they must be gaeng maak.

Why would anyone want to share virtual space with the author of that?