This is the title of a recent article by Carol Fitzgerald in Publishers Weekly. In this article, Fitzgerald details the results of a recent survey conducted via Teanreads.com. While the article acknowledges that the majority of the respondents were female teens who read, I believe there is still relevant information to be gleaned from the results.
Here are a few of the most telling points about teens who read:
- 31% read adult titles without reservation, while only 11% say they never read adult titles.
- Popular adult authors include Mitch Albom, Mary Higgins Clark, Michael Crichton, Janet Evanovich, John Grisham, Dean Koontz, Jodi Picoult and Nicholas Sparks.
- Format doesn’t seem to matter: 79% prefer paperbacks while 74% said they prefered hardcover.
- Teens are most influenced by their friends’ book recommendations (83%), with teachers and librarians coming in at 47% and 36% respectively.
- The description of the book on the jacket cover was the most important factor in determining whether a teen will pick up a book to read. 91% rated this as a significant factor. Cover presentation was second at 79%.
- 83% of the teens who responded to the survey reported that they prefer to read the book before they see the movie.
- 46% of teen readers watch book trailers on YouTube which has lead 45% of the students to purchase the title.
The article also reports that while adult books sales are down, juvenile and young adult sales are expected to increase by 5.1%. And in the genres of fantasy and sci-fi, where the majority of teen sales occur, sales are projected to increase by 13% in the coming year.
So the next time someone tells you that pleasure reading is a dying art, tell them they are wrong!
