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https://theconversation.com/australians-are-reading-less-than-other-countries-a-new-report-shows-why-243272>
"Recent international research shows Australians are buying and reading fewer
books than people in many other countries. But why?
A report by the European and International Book Federation found that only 64%
of Australians bought a book in the past year, compared to an average 72% of
people across 19 countries.
Similarly, 80% of Australians read a book in the past year, slightly below the
international average of 85%. These differences are slim, but as book buyers
and readers, we are among the lowest in the sample, alongside Aotearoa New
Zealand, Finland, Latvia and the United States.
The number of people who had read a book in the past year in Italy, Spain, the
United Kingdom and Ireland all came in at over 90%.
Local research also suggests reading rates in Australia are falling. Back in
2017, a Macquarie University study found 92% of us read books at least once in
the previous year. By 2021, in the
Australia Reads national survey that
figure had dropped to 75%.
What’s behind these numbers?
Price might be less of a factor than we often assume – and surprisingly,
Australia’s dependence on cars could play a role. International examples
showing how other countries protect and value their book cultures – from
government policies to counter the strength of Amazon to public holidays for
poets – suggest measures to actively boost our own could help."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
