How Do You Say “Phoenician” In Portuguese?

The secret reason why Brazilians don’t read books

I read an article in The Economist the other day about a mysterious phenomenon in Brazil: “Only one literate adult in three reads books. The average Brazilian reads 1.8 non-academic books a year — less than half the figure in Europe and the United States”

Oh My, this sounds very serious. Apparently, the average adult Brazilian spends only “5.2 hours a week with a book.” Quite the disaster don’t you think? Why is that?

I’m going to put on my Steven Levitt hat and go all Freakonomics on you to find the answer:
If you live in Lebanon, look around you. Be honest with yourself and answer this question: How many adult you know spends “5.2 hours a week with a book?” Are we thinking of the same answer?

Now, if the figure of 7 million Lebanese in Brazil is correct (there are doubts), we can all relish in the fact that we solved a mystery that is causing The Economist so much headache.