Tuesday, April 06, 2010

Poll Results Are In!


A big Thank You to the 89 people who responded to my last poll question, which came to mind while I was in the depths of spring fever. I wanted to know "During which season do you tend to read more?"

For once, the breakdown was pretty much as I'd expected:

61 people (68%) said that their reading was consistent throughout the year. That's how I voted. Neither rain nor snow nor heatwave will keep me from my appointed tome, and I have yet to experience a reading slump. (I've never said it sucked to be me, have I?)

Way down in second place, 14 people (15%) said that they tended to read more in the winter. If I were still living someplace that really does have a winter, this would've gotten my vote. I remember being stuck inside as a child all too often during the winter in central Illinois. It's the main reason why I turned in my snow shovel and moved to Phoenix.

Following closely in third place, 12 people (13%) said that they read more in summer. This reminds me of teachers and students who have their summers free.

2 people (2%) said that they tended to read more in spring, and absolutely no one 'fessed up to reading more in autumn. When I lived someplace that experienced real winter, I thought of these seasons as Recuperation and Preparation.

As I typed that, my brain evidently had a bit of gas. Reading, seasons, the natural world. Half a century ago, I think the majority of us would have chosen answers that reflected more seasonal reading. As the decades have passed and we've moved away from rural settings toward cities and gadgets like television, air conditioning and the Internet, the seasons of the natural world have lost their grip. A part of me mourns this loss. The part of me typing on my computer keyboard communicating with people around the world... doesn't.

Were the responses to this poll what you expected? Did anything surprise you? Do tell!

(And don't forget to vote in the new poll!)

7 comments:

  1. When I was looking at the poll I was thinking that it was probably more likely that people in cold parts of the country (where it snows a lot in Winter) would probably read more in Winter. I live in a region with milder winters, so I'm never snowed in. I do live in a region of the country that is quite hot in the summer, though, and I tend to stay inside more and read more in the summer. But I also am a part-time teacher, so my summers are more free to do lots of reading anyway. :)

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  2. You commented that in an earlier century you thought the poll would have been different, more seasonal.

    In an earlier century, few of us would have had the access to books we now have.

    Just take 50-60 years ago, the last century. My wife came from a poor family who lived on a small farm. The only books she had to read came in the county bookmobile which didn't change its selection very often. She was an avid reader, often hiding up in a tree not to be found for chores so she could read instead. She read many of the books she read several times, checking them out again and again, because they were what was available.

    When was the last time any of us thought to be thankful for all the books to which we have access? Until I read your comments here, it hadn't occurred to me to be thankful, not to take for granted the blessing of so many books.

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  3. The results went as I thought they would too. Those of us who love to read, love to read all the time.

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  4. I think this was the topic of a booking through Thursday post once. The results seemed to be similar. When I didn't have kids I read more in the winter because I didn't go out as much but now with kids, seasons don't dictate when I read, the kids do.

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  5. I'm from a cold place, so I voted for reading more in winter. Joe reminds me, though, that as a child I read more in summer because that's when my parents had time to drive me across town to the library (they're academics). I read most of the really big books in that library, because kids were limited to ten books each week.

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  6. I live on a nonworking farm and my reading is slightly seasonal because I do much of the outdoor work myself. I haven't figured out how to cut grass with the Cub Cadet and read at the same time without meandering all over the county. Necessarily that's my thinking time as I cut nice neat rows. In the winter I read.

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  7. Katy-- I tend to be a bit different than most in the summer. I live where it's very hot in summer, and I do my reading sitting in a shady spot in the pool. :)

    Joe-- I have always been so very thankful for the wide variety of books I have at my fingertips. Growing up, my mother and I were poor, but Mom was the village librarian with a new library board who believed in spending money on books. It was glorious to open those boxes and inhale that smell before I even touched the books themselves!

    Margot-- That's the truth!

    Callista-- I'm fortunate in that the only child I have in the house is my husband, and he's been known to pick up a book a time or two himself. ;)

    Jeanne-- Being a child and having access to a library is a wonderful thing.

    Barbara-- I think one of the characters in King's The Tommyknockers, if given enough batteries, would be able to solve your mowing problem. ;)

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