Dying public?

[DudiousMax at aol.com]

Yo Dudes,
                Reading in the subversive journal of the water-closet that my 
wife, La Dudeen, smuggles into the house, THE NEW YORKER, I came across a 
factoid attributed to the novelist Philip Roth, bemoaning the demise of the 
novel reader.  He said something to the effect that every month 68 novel 
readers die off, or become disaffected; and only 2 new serious readers of 
serious novels enter the ranks.  I don't know if he got this datum from the 
Book of The Month Club, or where; but he is usually well-informed.  And I 
guess what he means by serious readers of serious novels doesn't include 
harlequin romances.  I guess he means folks like us.  Maybe Ray Bradbury's 
FAHRENHEIT 451 was closer than we thought at the time.  But what do I know, 
I'm only...  
                Max