Fiction Reading Increases for Adults

Fiction Reading Increases for Adults

Jan 12 2009

"The Survey of Public Participation in the Arts" conducted by the United States Census Bureau in 2008, reports that the percentage of adults 18 and older who said they had read at least one novel, short story, poem or play in the previous 12 months has risen for the first time since 1982 (to a little over half). The increase was most dramatic among 18-to-24-year-olds, who had previously shown the most significant declines.

"There has been a measurable cultural change in society's commitment to literary reading," said Dana Gioia, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. "In a cultural moment when we are hearing nothing but bad news, we have reassuring evidence that the dumbing down of our culture is not inevitable."

Mr. Gioia said that Internet reading was included in the 2008 data for the first time, although the phrasing of the central question had not changed since 1982. But he said he did not think that more reading online was the primary reason for the increase in literary reading rates overall.

Instead he attributed the increase in literary reading to community-based programs like the "Big Read," Oprah Winfrey's book club, the huge popularity of book series like "Harry Potter" and Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight," as well as the individual efforts of teachers, librarians, parents and civic leaders to create "a buzz around literature that’s getting people to read more in whatever medium."

At the same time the survey found that the percentage of adults who said they had read any kind of a book, fiction or nonfiction, that was not required for work or school actually declined slightly since 2002, to 54.3 percent from 56.6 percent.

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