Women Read More Than Men: Research Report for Book Industry

Bowker Publishes First Consumer-Focused Research Report for Book Industry

The article in Earth Times gives us a brief summary of the report: women read more than men, though men were catching up in 2008. Mystery books are most popular with book clubs.

An excerpt from the Earth Times article:

"According to Gallagher, some of the detailed insights contained in the new report include the following:


-- 57% of book buyers are women yet women purchase 65% of the books sold
in the U.S.
-- Mystery books are the most popular genre for book club sales, with 17%
of all purchases of mystery books coming directly from book clubs
-- Generation X consumers buy more books online than any other
demographic group, with 30% of them buying their books through the Internet
-- 21% of book buyers said they became aware of a book through some sort
of online promotion or ad
-- Women made the majority of the purchases in the paperback, hardcover
and audio-book segments, but men accounted for 55% of e-book purchases"

Evidently the report, "2008 U.S. Book Consumer Demographics and Buying Behaviors Annual Report," for those of us who might think of buying it, costs $999.00, with a 10% discount for orders made by July 31.

Interesting comments on this report by blogger: Straight From Hel