Word Nerds want to know: how has the 2020 crazy affected reading habits? Hopefully for the better? My guest Isabela Cabrera from Global English Editing has some interesting statistics for you…
As the world muddled through the coronavirus and lock downs in 2020, it’s no surprise that many of us turned to something familiar: reading books. Books are not only a great escape from daily life, they also have a number of science-backed health benefits.
Given most of us spent a lot more time at home this year, reading was a healthy thing to dive into. But how exactly did our reading habits change this year? What were we reading? And which countries read the most?
Global English Editing set out to answer these questions in their new infographic. A few of their surprising findings include:
- India reads more than any other country, followed by China and Thailand
- Romance is the most popular genre, accounting for one-third of all fiction sales.
- Printed books are still more popular than eBooks
- 35% of people said they read more books because of the lock downs
To discover more fun facts about world reading habits in 2020, check out the infographic below.
I am horrified that the United States is at the BOTTOM of the list of countries that read the most. We’ve got to do something about this, Word Nerds! What is the most interesting stat you found in this infographic?
Thanks for getting informed with me!
I live in Melbourne, Australia, and my state (Victoria) was initially hit rather hard by corona and we went into a fairly serious lock down. This worked a treat and we are now into our sixteenth day in a row without a single new case and without a single death from the disease. The rest of the country is doing as well. I imagine there are many states in the U.S. (hell, all of them) that would like to be doing as well.
I’m retired so I read a lot, no more because of the pandemic, but no less either. I usually rely on libraries, but they gradually closed down (although they are cautiously reopening now).
Fortuitously, I received an email from a bookshop offering 25 books for $100 in various genres. I like mysteries, so I ordered a box. A lit later another email with a similar offer, and as I was getting through the first stack, I ordered it.
I found that there was one book in common in the boxes, so I emailed them, not expecting anything to come of it.
In a reply that’s both self serving and good P.R. they offered another box with an extra book to replace the first, plus another extra book and $10 off the price. Oh, why not? So, I have three large boxes full of books in my living room. Fortunately, I receive only one visitor these days, and she’s a reader too, so she’s checking out the books as well. I’ve also lent some (that I’ve read) to a couple of other people.
Sorry this is so long, it’s to demonstrate that nothing stops readers.
I LOVE it! Congrats to you and the people of Australia for handling this virus so well- yes, I certainly do wish we were doing as well. (At the moment we are headed in the opposite direction). And congrats to you for finding such excellent book deals! Jealous on all counts! Thanks for sharing. 😊