Reading for pleasure

The theory among publishers that book sales rose last year because people were reading more has been borne out in part by a survey recently released by the U.S. Department of Labor. According to the American Time Use survey, reading among people 15 years old and up increased by 21% in the May-December period in 2020 over the same period in 2019.  Read more

I can't remember the last time I enjoyed reading a book where my enjoyment wasn't tied to the euphoric sense of achievement I got from finishing it. This is not because I don't love reading, or would rather watch television. No, it's because of a little app on my phone called Goodreads.

For much of history, reading was a fairly noisy activity. On clay tablets written in ancient Iraq and Syria some 4,000 years ago, the commonly used words for "to read" literally meant "to cry out" or "to listen". "I am sending a very urgent message," says one letter from this period. "Listen to this tablet. If it is appropriate, have the king listen to it."  Read more

The bestselling author of the Twilight series on being a fan of Justina Ireland, reading Terry Brooks as a child and wanting to read every book ever written

People in the UK are turning to books to help them through lockdown, according to a new survey by The Reading Agency.

The figures, released on Thursday to mark World Book Night, suggest 31% of people are reading more since lockdown restrictions were imposed in the UK.