Good News For People Who Like Book News: Entertainment Weekly's Choice For Entertainer Of The Year Could Be A Sign Of A New Interest In Literature

J.K. Rowling has done the impossible. She’s made millions of people read. In a world where people are growing more and more reliant on their Ipods and Sidekicks than on encyclopedias and literary classics, some people are worrying about the state of literacy.

These people may have cause to worry. Last year 27% of Americans didn’t read any books and in 2002 only 57% of Americans read a book.

Rowling may be of help in alleviating some of these worries, as she was just named the #1 Entertainer of the Year by Entertainment Weekly.

This is no small feat since most magazine covers would have you believe that people are more interested in the relationship troubles of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt than Romeo and Juliette, or Cathy and Heathcliff.

By July of this year, before its release, Rowling’s final installment of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, was already a bestseller on its first day of online pre-orders alone, according to CNNmoney.com.

According to Oregon Literacy, Inc., Harry Potter has had an enchanting effect on literacy. In the UK alone, in 2005, 59% of children cited books as improving their reading skills, and 48% of those said the Harry Potter books were why they read more.

While children may be more zealous about reading, it’s adults that may present the biggest problem.

In a study of literacy skills conducted last year on college campuses, it was discovered that half of the students at four-year universities, and three quarters of students at two-year universities could not interpret tables or understand newspaper editorial arguments, according to msnbc.com.

While overall the study did show students had an intermediate level of literacy, it is nonetheless distressing to learn that half the students at four-year universities couldn’t compare interest rates on credit card offers.

Perhaps even more distressing is that they’re better off than most adults. Compared with adults outside of college, with a similar amount of education, college students were better at researching and using information from texts and documents. However, to put this into perspective, this may simply be because most college students are practicing these skills more often on a day to day basis as requirements for their school assignments.

Some critics aren’t as worried about the decline of literacy when it comes to reading books. Dennis Baron, who writes a blog about language in the media, is considerably less concerned about the decline of reading books than his peers.

To Baron, the decline in book reading and increasing dependence on technology doesn’t create illiteracy, but a new form of being well read.

Baron points out that the average person hasn’t stopped reading just because she’s not reading books. The average person is constantly reading, in fact. Road signs, billboards, T-shirts, and television news scrawl, all engage her in the act of reading. It may not be Chaucer, Dickens, or Danielle Steel, but it’s reading, nonetheless.

Whether you feel the fate of the world’s literacy rate is vastly waxing or waning, one thing is true: JK Rowling does have an awful lot of people reading books. An awful lot of people are reading books that otherwise would be playing with their Wii systems.

The first six Harry Potter installments sold 325 million copies alone. The jury may still be out on whether this is demonstrative of a new trend, but 325 million is admittedly a large number of people engaged in the act of reading the same books.

Jane Magazine Folds: Who Cares?

In July, publishing giant Condé Nast announced it was folding Jane magazine after 10 years of production, for financial reasons. The final issue hit the racks last month, leaving a slew of 19-34 year old women who identified with its irreverent style devastated.

Borne out of Jane Pratt's Sassy magazine, which folded in 1994, Jane offered readers an edgy -- and at times sarcastic -- approach to a women's magazine, running articles such as Katy McColl's "Young, hot and divorced" and "If two white girls had been butchered, there would have been arrests that night."

Today, visitors to the Jane Web site, www.janemag.com, are redirected to its sister publication, Glamour, while Jane print subscribers were sent copies of either Glamour, Allure, or Lucky in an attempt to wean readers off their favorite read.

But a magazine as unique as Jane has a readership equally unique. So how do those readers feel when something they have become attached to is taken away? What fills the void? Are readers as fickle as the industry itself?

"I will miss it," said Lisa Tabet-Chavez, a former subscriber. "I liked that it was different from most of the mainstream fashion magazines. The jokes were more snarky, and the stories a bit edgier."

A reader for years, Jessica Wirth appreciated the "more interesting spins on the typical magazine topics" and the "sometimes socially or environmentally relevant exposés." But when asked if Jane was replaceable, Wirth's response was indifferent.

"It was nice while it lasted," she said. "I already subscribe to The Week, Entertainment Weekly and Ok!, so I think I'm set."

But those titles won't cut it for some former-Jane readers. Tabet-Chavez said a friend suggested Bust, which promises "an attitude that is fierce, funny, and proud to be female," while "BUSTing stereotypes about women since 1993." This month, the magazine's Web site urges visitors to "get your hands on our BUST!"

Another reader said she'll "honestly not" miss Jane, as it never really lived up to her expectations of "edgy and intelligent." Identified only as "Jen" in an anonymous email exchange, she suggested her ideal magazine doesn't yet exist.

"I will rip out the trashiest articles from Cosmo, blend it with the snarkier pieces from The Believer, and cut out pictures from Paper magazine to make my ultimate ideal rag," she said, before -- perhaps unwittingly -- exposing that very void left by Jane's demise.

"If you know of a magazine that's similar to Jane, let me know," she added.