Most literate cities in the U.S.

[mariok689]

Alright Pittsburgh!

[Futcha]

Originally Posted by Tdallas

It's suspect that the nation's three largest cities are absent from the list, especially NYC.

I don't know about the city, but I know how strict New York State is when it comes to education. They take the simplest question on our state exams and turn it into a question Einstein would have trouble understanding.

[lovethewest]

Yay, my three favorite cities are on there: Seattle, Denver, and St. Louis!

[TheWereRabbit]

Originally Posted by lovethewest

Yay, my three favorite cities are on there: Seattle, Denver, and St. Louis!

Awwww my big 3: Fayetteville, Kalamazoo, and Bakersfield didn't make the cut....

[emh]

In case you're curious, here's the link to the study:

America's Most Literate Cities of 2008

It's basically done by one guy, a professor at a uni in Connecticut. Looking at the criteria he uses, I'd say more than a few of them are suspect.

[OyCrumbler]

Originally Posted by Fred314X

I saw this statistic in a newspaper recently, and to tell you the truth, I found it frightening:

90% of the bookstores in the United States are located within 150 miles of New York City. Of the other 10%, the majority are within 150 miles of either Boston or San Francisco.

Originally Posted by Rachael84

I saw the same thing. Go us It says a lot if most bookstores in the country are here.

If you think that statistic represents the truth in any meaningful way--wow.

[TANaples]

When I used to ride the subway to work, I was always reading. I would hold onto a pole with one hand with a book in the other hand.

[Chicago60614]

Originally Posted by DeaconJ

Maybe 90% of all chain bookstores have locations in NYC, but it's ridiculous to think that 90% of the bookstores in the U.S. are located within 150 miles of NYC.

Right, I'm a little weirded out people are flatly believing that 90% of ALL bookstores in the US are within 150 miles of NYC. If you stop and think that out, it just doesn't make rational sense.

Just googling quick there are tens of thousands of bookstores in the USA. Using the most reported stats from various sites, there would have to be almost 30,000 bookstores in the NYC area. Of all the times I've been there I never noticed bookstores outnumbering bars+restaurants.

I would have to assume they mean independant bookstores or something.

[Thomas R.]

What's the source on the NYC claim? It does seem a bit extreme. Although "within 150 miles of NYC" I think would include areas beyond the NYC metropolitan area. Boston is apparently just 190 miles, by air, from NYC if I'm reading a travel site right.