27% Read Zero Books last year

[madanthonywayne]

According to a recent poll, 27% of Americans read no books last year.

The survey reveals a nation whose book readers, on the whole, can hardly be called ravenous. The typical person claimed to have read four books in the last year — half read more and half read fewer. Excluding those who hadn't read any, the usual number read was seven.

Who are the 27 percent of people the AP-Ipsos poll found hadn't read a single book this year? Nearly a third of men and a quarter of women fit that category. They tend to be older, less educated, lower income, minorities, from rural areas and less religious.

At the same time, book enthusiasts abound. Many in the survey reported reading dozens of books and said they couldn't do without them.

Among those who said they had read books, the median figure — with half reading more, half fewer — was nine books for women and five for men. The figures also indicated that those with college degrees read the most, and people aged 50 and up read more than those who are younger.

People from the South read a bit more than those from other regions, mostly religious books and romance novels. Whites read more than blacks and Hispanics, and those who said they never attend religious services read nearly twice as many as those who attend frequently.

There was even some political variety evident, with Democrats and liberals typically reading slightly more books than Republicans and conservatives.

The Bible and religious works were read by two-thirds in the survey, more than all other categories. Popular fiction, histories, biographies and mysteries were all cited by about half, while one in five read romance novels. Every other genre — including politics, poetry and classical literature — were named by fewer than five percent of readers.

More women than men read every major category of books except for history and biography. Industry experts said that confirms their observation that men tend to prefer nonfiction.

The publishing business totaled $35.7 billion in global sales last year, 3 percent more than the previous year, according to the Book Industry Study Group, a trade association. About 3.1 billion books were sold, an increase of less than 1 percent.

The AP-Ipsos poll was conducted from August 6 to 8 and involved telephone interviews with 1,003 adults. It had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070821/ap_on_re_us/reading_habits_ap_poll_1

 

[countezero]

Good. That will make it easier for me to conquer the world...

 

[one_raven]

I voted for all, not because I was being stupid or trying to mess up your poll, but because I was being honest.
One year I could read 20 books, the next 1 book.
I sometimes read fiction - I sometimes read non-fiction.
It really depends on my mood, my job, my life situation, my current interests and simple coincidence/influences.
I read maybe 3 books last year.
I read three books last month.

 

[Norsefire]

I read between 3-5, both fiction and nonfiction

 

[Xev]

People from the South read a bit more than those from other regions, mostly religious books and romance novels. Whites read more than blacks and Hispanics, and those who said they never attend religious services read nearly twice as many as those who attend frequently.

There was even some political variety evident, with Democrats and liberals typically reading slightly more books than Republicans and conservatives.

The Bible and religious works were read by two-thirds in the survey, more than all other categories. Popular fiction, histories, biographies and mysteries were all cited by about half, while one in five read romance novels. Every other genre — including politics, poetry and classical literature — were named by fewer than five percent of readers.

Amusing.

 

[madanthonywayne]

I just noticed I forgot to include an option for zero books read! D'oh. Oh well, surely an erudite group such as SciForums doesn't include any of that 27%.

 

[cosmictraveler]

I didn't read any books last year. I did however, like Oli, read hundreds of magazines and periodicals.

 

[Avatar]

50-50 on fiction and non fiction for me.

 

[Fraggle Rocker]

and those who said they never attend religious services read nearly twice as many as those who attend frequently... The Bible and religious works were read by two-thirds in the survey, more than all other categories.

Amusing.

I'm not sure what your point is. Remember that people who admit they never attend religious services are a minority in America. They could be reading the Encyclopedia Britannica from cover to cover and it won't affect the tastes of the majority.

 

[EmptyForceOfChi]

same as raven said, except i always read more than 2 books per year. but some years i read tons and some years not so much.


peace.

 

[EmptyForceOfChi]

50-50 on fiction and non fiction for me.

roughly the same for me aswell.

peace.

 

[madanthonywayne]

I didn't read any books last year. I did however, like Oli, read hundreds of magazines and periodicals.

As far as books go, it's almost all fiction. I read plenty of nonfiction in the form of journals, etc to keep up with the latest developments.

Books are for fun, relaxing between patients or when I have some down time.

 

[iceaura]

I don't think the Bible counts as a book read, unless the person actually read the thing - without skipping more than a fifth of the chapters.

And even then, it only counts in one year.

You've got one book accounting for one book of reading every year, otherwise. That skews the averages. Tack a cookbook and a Chilton and a reference almanac in there, and you've got four - maybe the same four, every year.

 

[pjdude1219]

i read whatever i can get my hands on

 

[James R]

 

[Fraggle Rocker]

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