IS SOCIETY BOOKING OUT… FOR GOOD?
Curling up with a good book has long been at the heart of a relaxing evening for many. But with our days becoming busier and screens invading our quiet time, are we witnessing the death of reading? Holly Gasson stands up from the sofa, does a stretch and investigates this 21st Century theme.
New statistics suggest we are seeing a worrying decline in reading. Results from a study by Farshore's Consumer Insights show that last year, only a quarter of children (aged 0-17) read for pleasure and 20% say they didn't read for pleasure at all in 2021. Tot this up and it means that one in five - nearly three million - children did not read for pleasure throughout the whole year.
Alison David, consumer research expert at Farshore, said, "That only 25% of children read daily or nearly every day is a concern. Reading for pleasure is linked to higher attainment - it's more influential on a child's academic success than their family's background, including where the child was born, their parents' education, their parents' income."
Data from the Department of Education echoes this, results show that only half of disadvantaged students at a Key Stage One level reached the expected reading level this year. This figure is down from 62% in 2019, and though the drop among non-disadvantaged pupils was smaller, there was still a 6% decrease.
And it's not just children who have stopped picking up books. A YouGov study from 2020 found that two in five British people say they read for pleasure at least once a week, with a third doing so multiple times and only 19% of UK adults are reading every day.
As well as this, research done by Kantar shows that between 2020 and 2021, just over half of adults read a book and that only 40% of the adult population had purchased a book in that time.
Despite this data, over lockdown, there was an explosion of people posting about reading online. Websites like Goodreads allow users to track and rate the books they have read. In 2019, Goodreads had 90 million users worldwide.
This popularity can also be seen on social media platforms, the hashtag 'booktok' has over 85 billion views on TikTok, and there are more than 82 million posts using #bookstagram on Instagram.
Bookshops are using this popularity to their advantage, creating displays of books that are recommended by 'BookTok', the name used to describe the reading side of TikTok.
Middleway Words is a book festival founded in 2021, that aims to highlight authors local to the Midlands who write in a variety of genres.
Ignaty Dyakov-Richmond, founder of the festival says that he set it up because he wanted a local-focused festival, adding 'Often book festivals are about bringing authors to places rather than focused on representing talent locally'. He said, 'The idea of our festival is to showcase what we have here, and by doing this we hope to introduce new names to readers'.
Rob Ganley, author of 111 Places In Coventry That You Shouldn’t Miss, attended an event put on by the festival this year. He that he had seen an increasing number of his friends who previously didn't read, start buying books. He said, 'There's still a premium for physical books that you just can't get through websites or Kindles'. Rob added, 'You spend all day sitting at a desk, looking at a screen anyway, it's not as enjoyable as sitting on the sofa and flicking through a book'.
There are even health benefits to reading more, a study by Yale University researched into the effect reading books can have on your lifespan, and the results showed that:
Book readers are believed to live for an average of two years longer than those who do not read.
Books were more advantageous for longevity than magazines and newspapers.
Reading is beneficial regardless of gender, education, wealth or education.
It is also thought that reading for pleasure has an emotional, social and cultural impact. Reading reduces depression, increases self-confidence and resilience as well as helps relaxation.
Another one of the events for this year's Middleway Words festival was an online tête-à-tête between authors Rus Madon and Emma Finlayson-Palmer. When talking about the numbers of younger people reading, they both agreed that more should be done to promote the idea of reading to younger people.
Rus Madon, author of Beowulf’s Ghost, said, 'One of the best ways for children to read is with their parents or carers.' He added, 'Having something read to you in your home environment is a great way to learn the love of books and stories.'
'You can just escape in stories and it's a safe space for children to explore' adds Emma Finlayson Palmer, who says watching her mum read and trips to the local library inspired her love of books.
While some may be worried about a decline in library use, there are still over 3,000 public libraries in the UK, with approximately seven million active borrowers. In the Coventry area, there are sixteen libraries alone, and Central Library has seen an increase in visitors over the last year, with 36,800 in September 2021 to 59,193 this September. Dave Llloyd, Service Development Manager at Coventry Central Library said: 'The number of visitors has varied greatly over the last few years, especially with the impact of COVID'.
This rise is mirrored in the number of library card applications, with 67,624 in September 2021, to 84,665 a year later.
As well as an increase in library card applications, there is also a rise in the sales of printed books across the UK. In 2019, book publishing houses reported £710 million in revenue generated through digital books sales, this was up from £126 million a decade earlier. 2021 had the highest number of book sales in the last decade, as well as this, print sales reached £1.82 billion, the first time this total has been reached.
During Coventry's time as the UK's City of Culture, libraries in the city set up a goal for residents to read one million books in a year. This programme was launched by the Duchess of Cornwall, and began in May 2021. All formats of reading and material loaned from libraries counted towards the goal. One Million Reads Coventry (OMRC) was funded through Arts Council’s National Lottery Project Grants.
Midlands Area Director at Arts Council England, Peter Knott, said: “Libraries are trusted, creative spaces at the heart of communities, free to enter and open to all – and it’s fantastic that thanks to National Lottery funding, so many people have been inspired to read as part of this project."
Books were counted across Coventry’s libraries, universities, schools, and workplaces. People of all ages got involved, for the books to count they had to be submitted either in libraries or online.
Cllr Dr Kindy Sandhu, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, said: “Over the last year, One Million Reads has helped to place reading and libraries at the heart of the City of Culture. The programme containing many events connected Coventry’s people and communities with the pleasure of reading, offering opportunities to share powerful stories.”
So, even though there may be fewer of us reaching for books to help us calm down, it's clear there is still a large appetite for book-related content. But for us to pass down the love of reading to the younger generation, Alison David says, 'Children should be read to all the way through primary school and well into the teenage years'.
Do you have a question about the article or want to have a chat about it? On Friday, December 1st at 1 pm, Holly Gasson will be available on her Twitter @Gasson__Holly to answer any questions.