reading stats

People read books much less these days but among those who do read, women and older people are the most avid and religious works outstrip popular fiction in popularity, according to an AP/Ipsos poll of 1000 people. It found that one in four adults read no books at all in the past year.

The median number of books read was nine for women and five for men.

The Bible and religious works were read by two-thirds in the survey, more than for all other categories. Popular fiction, histories, biographies and mysteries were all cited by about half, while one in five read romance novels. More women than men read every category of books except for history and biography, confirming that men prefer nonfiction. ~ AP/Yahoo

When I read statistics showing that the average American watches 2 hours of TV daily then I feel sad because some poor, brain-dead kid must be watching 10+ hours a day to make up for our TV-free home. But the opposite is true as well, if we are reading 4-8 books a day, then there are people who haven't read a book in over a decade for 9 books a year to be the average. Okay, the stats above are about adults. But, sheesh, I read at least 6 books a week. Grown-up books with chapters and no pictures.

Will started reading his first adult book, Thunder Below, this summer. It is about submarines in WWII, so it is obvious that his reading taste is going to mimic Tim's much more than my indulgence in chick-lit. As for their future reading habits? I certainly like what I see when all the kids are sprawled on the floor reading, looking at pictures, or in the case of Timmy, chewing on books. Hopefully, I am raising a house full of readers, ones who will snuggle down on the sofa with history, science, and good murder mysteries.