Reading habits
AP writer Alan Fram reports that 1 in 4 Americans did not read a book in the past year, according to an Associated Press-IPSOS poll conducted on August 6-8, 2007. Among those who had read at least one book, the median number read was 9 for women, and 5 for men. Men only passed women in reading history and biography. According to Fram's article, "industry experts said that confirms their observation that men tend to prefer nonfiction."
When men do read fiction, they seem to prefer a bit more angst than women, according to researchers Lisa Jardine and Annie Watkins (Guardian, UK, 2006). Jardine and Watkins' project, The Men's Milestone Fiction Initiative found that men most often named Camus' The Outsider as a book that had changed their lives. The Milestone Initiative was conceived as companion research to the Women's Watershed Fiction project, for which Bronte's Jane Eyre was most often mentioned as an influential book.
Well, isn't this embarrassing. I haven't read either The Outsider or Jane Eyre (edit: Whoops, I have read L’Étranger.). Most recently (as in, last night) I finished re-reading Gibson's Neuromancer, which I'm naming as one of my most influential books for a graduate application essay. I'm feeling pretty pedestrian right about now. I must admit that I have a really difficult time getting through non-fiction in general. Journal articles are about as long as my attention span will hold. Mostly I read science fiction and fantasy -- yes, I recently finished the 7th Harry Potter (Sunday). Please don't put spoilers in the comments; my partner hasn't finished it yet.
When men do read fiction, they seem to prefer a bit more angst than women, according to researchers Lisa Jardine and Annie Watkins (Guardian, UK, 2006). Jardine and Watkins' project, The Men's Milestone Fiction Initiative found that men most often named Camus' The Outsider as a book that had changed their lives. The Milestone Initiative was conceived as companion research to the Women's Watershed Fiction project, for which Bronte's Jane Eyre was most often mentioned as an influential book.
Well, isn't this embarrassing. I haven't read either The Outsider or Jane Eyre (edit: Whoops, I have read L’Étranger.). Most recently (as in, last night) I finished re-reading Gibson's Neuromancer, which I'm naming as one of my most influential books for a graduate application essay. I'm feeling pretty pedestrian right about now. I must admit that I have a really difficult time getting through non-fiction in general. Journal articles are about as long as my attention span will hold. Mostly I read science fiction and fantasy -- yes, I recently finished the 7th Harry Potter (Sunday). Please don't put spoilers in the comments; my partner hasn't finished it yet.