If we’re seeing a sunset on critical thinking, then it’s time for a new day among today’s neighborhood book clubs. From talking about the newest novel to reading older classics, book clubs are the cornerstone of critical thinking and important avenues to combat the literacy crises we see today.
Literacy is a crucial factor in considering why critical thinking matters so much. The National Literacy Trust defines literacy as the ability to read, write, speak and listen in ways promoting effective communication and understanding of the world.
Yet, there are serious concerns about literacy rates in the U.S. overall. 21% of U.S. adults in 2024 were considered illiterate, and 54% of adults have a literacy rate below a sixth grade level. When nearly a quarter of U.S. adults do not have sufficient writing, reading or speaking abilities, we must ask ourselves how we got here. The answer lies in how we digest words.
Consider the format of a book club. You get together with friends, possibly people you may not know. This environment pushes people to talk about the words they read in a low-risk context. We share thoughts, ideas and questions about words on a page, which increases our familiarity with questioning what we read. This is an incredibly important part of the book club.
However, Americans aren’t reading as much or as frequently. Of the 75% of Americans who have read books, 25% of those Americans have read more than 10 books. Even more disappointingly, only 7% of adults say they participated in a book club.
Compared to other regions, Athens is a great place to participate in a book club. Athens is a generally small city, measuring less than 10 square miles. Despite busy schedules, class demands and local involvement, there is capacity for our neighbors to be more than a person we wave to.
Book club doesn’t have to only be about the classics, either.
A book club is not solely a gathering of friends or opportunity for discussion. It’s an act of resilience when 42% of U.S. adults 18 to 29 years old report being on their phones constantly. Many forms of media seek to monopolize our attention, but participating in discussions with other people pushes our critical thinking skills.
Specifically, analyzing words and literature not only pushes our brains to reflect, revise and review information while thinking about our own lived experiences. This promotes our ability to diversify our viewpoints in order to make sense of what we read.
When we forsake the book club we silently let slide our need for reading comprehension. We also sacrifice the ability to analyze information and convey ideas to other people, thereby dismissing our inclination to question the world around us.
Picking apart pages is worth much more than we can imagine. A book club may not be the first step in combating our literacy crisis, but it’s certainly the most important.
Aiden is a junior studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note the opinions expressed in this column do not represent those of The Post. Want to talk to Aiden about his column? Email him at ar260223@ohio.edu.
