I read an interesting article in “The Trib” today. For those who live outside the midwest or media world, that is The Chicago Tribune. It appears that according to Keilman we intellectuals are also dumbing down.
Technology and books: Is the novel too much for our technology-addled brains?
“The price of my relentless Internet use became clear the other day when I pulled a well-reviewed novel from a library shelf and all I could think was, “Man, this thing is heavy.”

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-talk-keilman-readmay08,0,7165667,email-action.story

I have to agree with him… painfully. I am noticing how little patience I have now for anything that takes too long. It has to grab me in the first couple sentences. Norman Mailer would never have become a famous writer if he was just starting out now. I do notice one thing, though. When I meditate, my nervous system slows down and I change out of poor impulse control and inner chaos and find that as I am more centered, I respond more peacefully to the world around me. Perhaps the publishers of all the great novelists need to include a meditation CD with their books for those literate enough to want to read great writing!

Dr. Toni Galardi just wrote her first book, not a novel on assisting people in overcoming the fear of change. In her blogs, http:www.Lifequake.net/blog she gives her readers lots of free exercises and information from her book.