Joe Wikert has a great post on the future of social reading. He states how many cynics believe reading will always be a solitary event, while he asserts great startups like ReadSocial and BookShout are making social reading attractive.
In many ways, this is a nod to the past when storytelling was a social event that would be held around a campfire. The storyteller would weave history and tall tales while the audience would give their approval. It was part history and part drama.
Until recently, literacy was only for the well-educated. If you wanted to hear God’s word, you went to church and heard the pastor or priest read from scripture. Even if you could read, Bibles were too large to be toted around. It was only when books became portable that reading could be a solitary event.
Technology is allowing us to become social readers again. We can be part of a larger community that shares our reading interests. It’s an interesting world we live in!