Every year BookNet Canada publishes the Canadian Leisure and Reading study. This time, we’re trying something new.
While we’ve been sifting through the results, we’ve come across some things that we want to share with you. That’s right, we’re giving you an early look. In return, we’d like to ask for your feedback. We want to know what detailed results you’d like to know.
Don’t worry, you don't have to tell us right now. Instead, let’s take a peek at the 1,000 readers surveyed and how they…
selected reading among other entertainment/relaxing activities;
discovered books to read; and
where and what formats they purchased.
And then let us know what other details you’d be interested in.
The big picture
Are people choosing to read a book or do something else? Roughly half of adult Canadians said that they read or listened to books at least on a weekly basis last year. And when ranked against other weekly leisure activities, reading came in ninth on the list. So, reading is just one of many leisure or recreational activities that Canadians undertake.
Most people said they read for enjoyment, for entertainment, or to relax. Reading is also spread out over time since most people are reading or listening to only a handful of books over the course of a year. We also found that 8 out of 10 audiobook listeners said they listen to audiobooks while doing other things (similar to what we found in 2019).
“I prefer holding a book and reading it [than] reading off a screen. I like to collect books I enjoyed reading.”
“I love reading I just get distracted by technology more and more so I don't read as much as I wish I did.”
Discovering books
Discovery can be serendipitous. Readers find books when browsing a variety of places (bookstore, retailers, library, social media, online, etc.) and also via direct recommendation from other people.
Books that have been made into movies or TV shows were the most popular type of books read in 2020, followed by books by or about Canadians/local authors.
“I love going into an actual bookstore and browsing.”
“[M]erge more with other media to promote more about books.”
Formats and acquisition of books
Readers said they want the same book available in multiple formats as each format has pros and cons. Many readers were worried that a focus on digital books would be at the detriment of print books, while others were concerned about books not being available in digital formats. Price is a notable concern, especially for digital books.
When it comes to format preferences, 38% of ebook readers won’t read the book in another format if they can’t find the ebook version of a book and 41% of audiobook listeners won’t read the book in another format if they can’t find the audiobook version.
Separating the primary methods of acquiring books into buying and borrowing, and again by book format, we found that it was popular for people to buy print books and borrow digital books. In 2020, readers read more digitally, ebooks in particular: readers either switched from print books to ebooks, or added ebooks to their book format use. Audiobook listening was either flat or slightly down when compared to 2019.
“Online versions have been helpful during [COVID].”
“Books are generally too expensive and e-readers are great but the technology makes them harder to use with DRM restrictions and discourage their use.”
Accessibility
When we asked readers if they had a disability related to reading or listening to books, 5% said they did.
“Bigger font makes reading more enjoyable.”
“When I read print, letters get jumbled in my head and I get stuck due to dyslexia. Reading print is particularly hard for me and I feel like the price of audiobooks are unfair. I want more books turned into audiobooks!”
As we’re reviewing the results and breaking them down in more detail, we ask you, what information are you most interested in learning? Are we taking this in a different direction than expected? What other information would help make your job easier? (And yes, we do talk about COVID-related changes!) Email us or add a comment below to let us know.
The full Canadian Leisure & Reading Study 2021 will be released in spring. Click here to sign up for our email course and to subscribe to our monthly research newsletter.
A deep dive into book prices in Canada from our upcoming Canadian Book Consumer Study 2023.