Is it true that the french do a lot of reading and read lots of books if so why?

Question

is it just the way they are or is it part of french history

Answer 1

I'm French and I read 3 or 4 books per month, but I know some French people who dont read at all...so I guess it depend really.

But at school in France we have philosophie at school and it's a very important subject during our exams as well ..I'm wondering why it's not the case in the US...different way of thinking maybe?

Answer 2

If you compare french to other europeans I'm not sure this is true - mainly, scandinavians and slavic people read probably more than us - The second thing is the "effect of generation" -

young people tend to read less than older generations - the result is their loss of concentration and superficial in many things -

If you compare french to north-american people probably yes, the book has in France a more important status - but if only you consider the number of french going to work in public transports, on long times, you'll understand one of the reasons why - I eg never move in Paris without a book in my pocket -

Answer 3

It's called educating themselves.  More people should try it.  It's not a "french thing".  I don't have a drop of french blood in my, yet I love reading...a lot.  I prefer to be educated than sound like some of the ignorant fools that come on here (I'm not calling you one, just mentioning others)

Answer 4

Lots of people, in lots of countries, read lots of books!  It's how people learn, didn't they teach you that at school?  Perhaps you should try it.

Answer 5

tut tut - generalising a whole nation of people - shame on you. they read no more than any other nation i expect.

Answer 6

most people outside the USA do a lot of reading and read lots of books.

it's because the people of the USA are bombarding themselves with fads and garbage tv.

Is it any wonder that the US's educational system is rapidly declining? i mean they stopped teaching grammar in schools! These young people cannot even communicate effectively in their native language, forget about reading lots of books.

Answer 7

This is not completely false.... This is a question of culture. In a general wayn french people is curious and love to get answers to the questions he has in mind by himself. This country has an extremely rich history indeed and people love to have plenty of information concerning his past. And to be complete, they are also terribly interrested in everything...

Answer 8

yeah, they do.  i went into lots of bookshops when i was in france and they were jam packed to the rafters with all kinds of books, so i guess someone must read them.  i think its beacause europeans in general are a bit more traditional and old fashioned than say, americans or australians, so the old values still count, they're not as much into technology as what we are. and because french is spoken by more people than most other european languages, theres more books written in their langauge than in other languages.  

i'm sure the great white guinea pig will say i'm generalising, but bugger off!

Answer 9

I wasn't aware of that because where I live in the US a lot of people seem to read books around me but after searching online I have to confirm that yes, the French read more than Americans at least if that is who you are comparing with.

Americans read on average 4 books a year in 2006. 25% had not read a book at all.

The French read on average 11 books in 2004. 19% had not read a book at all. The study also says that more and more people read but they read fewer books than before.

In this type of survey, people might exaggerate the number of books they read and in France yes, it is very important to be considered intellectual so people might be more likely to boost figures. Even so, it means they read at least twice as many books as Americans (and 3 times more if everyone was honest in their answers!).

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20381678/

http://www.ifop.com/europe/sondages/opin...

I couldn't find any results for the UK other than 1 in 4 not having read a single book in 2007, including Victoria Beckham who boasts about never having read a book in her life!

On French TV, literature programs are very popular and last for years, even decades, so it is indeed ingrained in the culture.