All things pertaining to the R-PHS LMC

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!