Everybody knows that the world of the literary novel has been significantly

diminished. Since the advent of the Internet, the colossal power of Amazon,

and the almost daily shuttering of your local independent bookstore,

reading levels are at an all-time low. According to a new study by the

National Endowment of the Arts, the percentage of adults who read books

fell to 52 percent in 2017, compared with 54 percent in 2012 and 56 percent

in 2002. The percentage of adults reading fiction has dropped from 45

percent in 2012 to 41 percent in 2017.