Does Gender Have Anything To Do With Reading Habits?

Via Telegraph.co.uk

A study of reading habits showed almost half of women are ‘page turners’ who finish a book soon after starting it compared to only 26 per cent of men.The survey of 2,000 adults also found those who take a long time to read books and only managed one or two a year were twice as likely to be male than female.Men are also more likely to have shelves full of books that have never been opened.

Via guardian.co.uk

In the survey of 2,000 people the researchers found different types of readers. Forty-eight per cent of women can be considered to be Page Turners, or avid readers, compared with only 26% of men. Slow Worms are those who spend a long time reading, but who take their books very seriously and always finish them. They can often manage only one or two books a year. This group was made up by 32% of the male respondents and 18% of women.

Ian McEwan observes the responses given by men and women to books he and his son were giving away at a park and concludes that:

Reading groups, readings, breakdowns of book sales all tell the same story: when women stop reading, the novel will be dead.

Image Source: terren in Virginia