I wish I could disagree with me. It's a really depressing realization, and I worry for our collective intelligence when the ability to follow a story or line of reasoning over several hundred pages seems as quaint as the ability to darn one's own socks.

From your previous comment, I'll assume you're American; if not (or for anyone else who's not American), is the literary situation different elsewhere in the world? Is aliteracy a uniquely American situation, or is the growing disdain for books, fiction or non, a worldwide phenomenon?