World Book and Copyright day: 27% of Irish people lack interest in reading

Today, April 23, is World Book and Copyright Day, which was originally established by UNESCO.

The holiday inspired the analysis team of Picodi.com to carry out a survey into book sales in Ireland and the results are quite surprising. According to the results of the survey, a whopping 27% of respondents admitted that they have no interest in books or read very little. That being said, 71% of Irish people admitted to having purchased at least one book in the past twelve months.

When respondents were asked if they had purchased a book in the past year, 81% of women partaking in the study said yes, with only 61% of men answering yes. The most popular genres among Irish readers were sci-fi, fantasy, classical literature, romance, comics and thrillers. The majority of books purchased were obtained at bookstores (56%), with 14% using libraries and 3% borrowing books from friends.

Also read: Family Day on May 4 for Bethany House

Of all people questioned, only 44% said they buy books as they hold a passion for reading, with 24% buying books as a stress remedy and 21% purchasing copies for study purposes.

According to the report, only 3% of Irish respondents purchase a book at least once a week, with 6% buying a book every two weeks, 25% purchasing one at least once a month and 66% admitting to only buying a book a few times per year.