MEMORIES OF READING IN THE 1940S AND 1950S

Abstract

A small-scale research project was carried out using an oral history methodology to explore memories of childhood reading experiences during the 1940s and 1950s. The data collected include: memories of learning to read; memories of being read to; memories of reading habits; attitudes towards books and reading in the past; visiting bookshops; using libraries; experiences of talking about books; reading as a teenager; memorable books; comics and magazines; reading at school; reading in families; and re-reading. This article focuses on what can be learnt about attitudes to reading in the past and access to reading materials for children and young people in the 1940s and 1950s. This research found that reading was a vastly different experience for children in the 1940s and 1950s than it is for young people today. There has been a tremendous expansion in the choices available to young people over the past half-century. Today, children and teenagers have many more books and authors available to choose from and more ways to obtain books relatively cheaply and easily. However, they also have a much wider choice of activities, and media, competing for their time. This means that much greater efforts have to be made today to engage children in books and to encourage them to read.