REZY HIDAYATI

17018156 / K1-17
Compare and Contrast Essay

Indonesian and American Culture of Reading

Reading is one of the most beneficial activities and the best habits. People who have
habit of reading really understand the value of reading and can be said ‘Once you start to
read, you experience a whole new world’. Some people of many countries have their own
reading habits and behavior, such as reading in Indonesia and America. We will look at what
they have in common and at the same time what they vary in.

Both Indonesia and American culture have some similarities of reading. The first one
is the place that they need while they are reading a book. Both Indonesian and American
people need a quiet, comfortable place and curl up with their favorite book without
interruption while reading. This also applies to everyone wherever they are even though there
are also some people who are not affected by the surrounding noise, such as music and
distraction. The second thing is the way people to read silently. Both Indonesians and
Americans used to read in less voice or not even making a sound. This behavior is a common
way for people to read a book to help them concentrate and understand the text they are
reading. So, both Indonesia and US people have something in common, which are the place
they need and their behavior while reading.

However, Indonesian and American culture also have some differences of reading in
many aspects. First, the people interest in reading. According to UNESCO data, the reading
interest of Indonesians is cause for concern. That is, out of 1,000 Indonesians, only 1 person
is avid reader. UNESCO also said that Indonesia ranked 60th out of 61 countries in the field
of literacy. On the other hand, US ranked 7th, which makes U.S. far superior to Indonesia.
Second, why did it happen? one of the reasons is, in Indonesia, we rarely to find libraries with
good facilities that increase the laziness of people to read because they cannot find the book
they want, whereas in America, some good facilities are provided by the government. One of
them is it provide large libraries in every corner of the city like Cedar Parids Public Library
in the middle west of U.S. Third, the favorite book people used to read. Indonesian people
love to read fiction books such as novels and story books and are less interested in reading
other books unless they are needed. Nonetheless, Americans, who really like to read, spend
their time reading any book that can give them knowledge. The last is the habit of parents
educating their children to read. Parents in Indonesia like do not care about the importance of
reading for their children. They take their hands off of all matters related to their children’s
education, including reading, and give the responsibility to school, whereas, parents in
America introduce their children to book earlier and educate them to read. In conclusion, in
terms of reading, Indonesians and Americans have their own interest to read, reasons why
they read, favorite books, and habits.

Thus, in reading, Indonesia and America have some similarities, such as need a quiet
place and read silently, and some differences, such as interest in reading, the book they love
and the parents’ habit to educate their children. It can be seen that these two coutries have
more differences in reading because of the culture, habits and behavior.