Jimmy Kimmel Asked People on the Street to Name Any Book & It Went About As Well As You Would Expect

This week in books news: Jimmy Kimmel asked people to name a book—any book—and it went about as well as you would expect, which is to say it went terribly. Hardly anyone could name anything even resembling a book, and those that COULD a) weren’t sure whether the thing they said was a book or a movie, or b) just blurted out “Dr. Seuss.” One guy said, “The Lion King,” and we all got to have a chuckle at his expense.

But why did it go so terribly? Is it because nobody READS these days, which is clearly the angle the piece was going for? Is it because we’re simple, lazy Internet folk now, too busy Tweeting and vlogging and memeing to pick up a single godforsaken tome of words?

I’d like to submit an alternate theory, which is this: PEOPLE FREEZE UP ON CAMERA. For example, one time someone pointed a camera at me and asked for my name, and it took me a couple of seconds. I read books ALL THE TIME, I literally read books for a living, and I’m pretty sure if you stuck a microphone in my face and asked me to name one, my response would be “I’ve never read a book in my life.”

And anyway, I feel like most people were probably able to name a book. For every person that said, “Uhhhhhh,” and then nothing, I bet there were 20 people that said Fahrenheit 451 or The Hunger Games or Harry Potter. But that just isn’t as shareable as a librarian who completely blanked out for a solid thirty seconds, so those were left on the cutting room floor.

Here’s the video, if you’re interested. I’m not saying I don’t like Jimmy Kimmel. I’m not even saying I don’t like shouting questions at unsuspecting strangers. (Billy on the Street, anyone?) What I’m not a fan of is MY GRANDMA’S FRIEND MILDRED WHO SHARED THIS ON FACEBOOK WITH THE CAPTION “UGH, KIDS THESE DAYS.” CALM DOWN, MILDRED. We’re still reading! We’re just camera shy!