The median Briton has read just three books in the past year
It’s World Book Day this week, when millions of British schoolchildren will receive a voucher to spend on a book of their choice. The day is designed to encourage children to read for fun and hold on to that habit for life.
At present, though, reading is far from a universal habit among British adults. In the last year, the median Briton has only read or listened to three books, with 40% of the public not reading or listening to a single book in that time.
A quarter of Britons (23%) say they have read or listened to between one and five books in the last year, with a further 10% reading or listening to between six and ten, and an extra 10% consuming between 11 and 20 books. There are a small number of mega-readers, with 4% saying they have read more than 50 books, i.e. roughly one or more books a week on average.
Not all Britons are equally likely to pick up a book. While two-thirds of women (66%) say they have read or listened to a book in the last year, just over half of men (53%) say they have.
Older Britons are also more likely to be readers, with 65% of over 65s and 63% of 50-64 year olds having read at least one book or listened to one audiobook in the last year, compared to 57% of 25-49 year olds and 53% of 18-24 year olds.
There is also something of a class divide in reading, with 66% of those living in middle class households (i.e. categorised as ABC1 in the NRS social grade scale), having read or listened to a book in the last 12 months, compared to just 52% those living in working class (C2DE) households.
When are Britons reading?
Half of Britons (50%) say they read or listen to books at least once a week, including 37% who say they read at least most days, and 20% of the public professing to read every day. Just 15% of Britons say they ‘never’ read or listen to books at all.
Women are roughly twice as likely to be daily readers, with 27% of women reading every day, compared to 13% of men.
Of those who say they ever read or listen to books, most say they do so when going to bed (57%), in their free time during the day (56%) or while on holiday (54%). Around one in five readers do so while commuting (19%) or travelling outside of commuting (22%), while one in nine readers (11%) find a time to read or listen to books during breaks at work.
Fact or fiction: what are Britons reading?
British readers tend to favour fiction, with 55% of those who at least occasionally read or listen to saying so, including 18% who say they “only” read fiction. This compares to just 19% who say they mostly or only read non-fiction books, though a further 23% say they tend to read or listen to about an even mix of fiction and non-fiction.
Women are more likely to visit the land of fiction, with 63% of female readers saying that most or all of the books they read or listen to are fiction, compared to 46% of men who read.
Paper, pixel or headphone: how are Britons reading/listening to books?
Nowadays, reading is not necessarily a case of picking up a paper copy of a book, with e-books and audiobooks becoming an increasingly common way of consuming books. Indeed, 18% of those who have read or listened to a book in the last year never did so using a physical book.
Overall, 40% of those who read at least one book in the last year read a digital or e-book, and 30% listened to an audiobook.
The traditional form does, however, remain the norm. Among those who have consumed at least one book in the past 12 months, physical books are the main way of reading for 61%, while 24% have usually or only read e-books and 14% listen to audiobooks as the norm.
Six in ten of those who have read an e-book in the last year (59%) have typically done so on a specialised device (such as a Kindle), while 20% have primarily read their books on a mobile phone and 18% on a tablet.
But while a growing number of Britons might be using audiobooks, most (53%) do not consider listening to one to be the equivalent of having read the same book. Only 29% of Britons say that listening to an audiobook is the same as having physically read that book, although that rises to 69% of those who have listened to an audiobook in the last 12 months, and 78% among those who say it is their main way of consuming books.
How many books do Britons own?
Within the last year, half of Britons (50%) have purchased at least one new book for themselves, while 40% have purchased a second-hand book to read. Borrowing remains an option for some, with 28% of the public having borrowed a book from family and friends and 19% having taken a book out from a library.
However, 29% of Britons have not acquired books in any way within the last year.
While around half of both women (53%) and men (47%) say they have purchased new books for themselves in the last year, women are twice as likely to have borrowed books from family or friends (37% vs 19%) or from a library (24% vs 13%), as well as being more likely to have purchased second-hand books (46% vs 32%).
For those who have purchased new books, these will add to existing collections. More than eight in ten Britons (83%) say they own at least one physical book, including a quarter of Britons (24%) who say they own more than 100 books.
While less common, nearly half of Britons (45%) say they own at least one e-book, with one in nine Britons (11%) owning more than 100. Older Britons in particular are more likely to own a large number of e-books, with 16% of the over-65s into triple-digits e-book ownership.
Audiobooks remain more of a minority interest, however, with just a quarter of Britons (24%) saying they own any audiobooks at all, including just 9% who say they own more ten.
How do Britons organise their bookshelves?
But there is no consensus on how to organise these collections, with 45% of those own physical books saying they do not order them in any way. Britons who own more books are more likely to organise their shelves, with just 30% of those who own more than 100 books saying their collection isn’t organised in any way, compared to 70% of those who own ten books or fewer.
The most common ways in which collections are organised are by size, which 19% of book owners sort their shelves by, and by genre, which 17% use as the basis for their organisation. One in nine book owners (11%) favour sorting alphabetically by author, while 10% opt to divide their collections based on whether they have or have not read the book yet.
Britons who own more books are more likely to organise their shelves, with just 30% of those who own more than 100 books saying their collection isn’t organised in any way, compared to 70% of those who own ten books or fewer.
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Photo: Getty
