Wednesday, August 22, 2007

who reads what

Did you see the latest AP/Ipsos poll about American reading habits? A nation of readers, we are not. Some interesting tidbits from the poll: Democrats and liberals read more than Republicans and conservatives. Southerners read more religious books as well as romances. Folks in the West and Midwest read more than folks from other regions. Of readers, most have read between 1-5 books in a year. IN A YEAR??? Good grief, I read that in less than a month.

Women and older people read more than other groups. So, old women read a lot. Makes me think about marketing......write a book to touch all those little niches. What exactly would such a book look like?

The bottom line, people are reading less. In 1999 survey respondents said they read 10 books a year. In 1990, the average was 6. A bit of fluctuation there.

We often wonder about the current crop of young readers and whether or not they will continue to be readers beyond the Harry Potter phenomena. Makes me interested in seeing what the polls will show in 5, 10 and 15 years.

Hey, did you hear JK is working on a crime novel????

2 comments:

Dwight's Writing Manifesto said...

Hey, Deathly Hallows was no pulitzer prize winner, but I wouldn't exactly characterize it as a crime.

Okay, maybe I would.

EYR said...

Ah, Dwight, touche.