Perhaps for you, but here in Los Angeles they were quite literally all over the place. I started playing in 1983 and had multiple groups through 2000 when 3e came out. We had game stores with people who played there, groups looking for players at said game stores for home games, conventions with many games and gamers, etc. Virtually every player read the rules in both the DMG and PHB. There were a few who couldn't be bothered that I encountered at convention games, but not one in my personal groups.
That sounds like a small town issue.