Are Americans Reading More?

by lisa ~ March 16, 2009

Friends are revitalizing long dormant book clubs, Amazon.com’s Kindle 2 electronic reading device is getting great press, and libraries are thriving. Are Americans shunning more expensive entertainment and returning to their love of the written word?

That’s not to say that Americans are buying more books. The New York Times reported that book sales in the U.S. were down about 1% in the first 10 weeks of this year, and somewhat less than 1% in the U.S. and Britain last year.

Nevertheless, it seems that Americans are buying some books but borrowing or downloading the rest of their reading matter. One book seeing increased popularity is Ayn Rand’s 1957 tome “Atlas Shrugged,” according to The Economist, which has correlated the U.S. government’s intervention in the capital markets with sales spikes on Amazon.com. “The reason is…that life is imitating art,” it theorized.

It seems clear that people are rediscovering simple pleasures like reading. The New York Times said this week that libraries throughout the metro area are increasingly popular. And the amount of media coverage dedicated to the Kindle rivals real news stories like the credit crisis.

While book publishers are buying fewer manuscripts and laying off staff, it seems that Americans are satisfied with the critically acclaimed novels of years past. On Facebook, users are challenging their friends to notate which of the BBC’s list of 100 best-loved novels they have read.

Personally, I’ve always been a voracious reader - and I’ve read “Atlas Shrugged” at least three times. But, since New York’s rock station 92.3 K-Rock switched to a Top 40 format last week, I’ve begun listening to books on CD in my car in order to escape the homogeneity of the New York radio market. I can’t justify the expense of satellite radio, but I can borrow the CDs for free from my local library.

To see the complete article from The New York Times, “Times Are Tough, Libraries Are Thriving,” click here:  http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/nyregion/westchester/15librarywe.html?ref=nyregion

To see The Economist article, “Atlas felt a sense of déjà vu,” click here: http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13185404&fsrc=rss

Lisa Tibbitts is a New York-based corporate communications professional with an MBA in marketing. Follow her on Twitter here: http://twitter.com/FinancialPR.