New Report From BookNet Canada: Percentage of Canadian Book Buyers Belonging to a Book Club Doubled in 2019
From BookNet Canada:
Between 2018 and the first three quarters of 2019, the percentage of Canadian book buyers who belong to a book club or reading group jumped from 7% to 14%. With celebrity book clubs being all the rage these days, you might assume that the uptick is Reese Witherspoon’s doing. But results from BookNet Canada’s surveying of Canadian book club members shows that less than half (47%) are members of a celebrity book club. Among these, Oprah reigns supreme (46%), followed by Emma Watson (26%), Emma Roberts (20%), and Sarah Jessica Parker and Reese Witherspoon tied at 17% each.
Another myth busted by the study released this week, Reading Together: Book Clubs in Canada, is the stereotype of the in-it-for-the-wine book club; 64% of members reported that they joined their club mainly to talk about books, while the second most popular reason was to be exposed to new books (56%), followed by the more social reasons: meeting new friends (50%), connecting with existing friends (39%), and talking about life (31%). And where did book club members hear about the books that they discussed? The key influencers for members who suggested picks to their clubs were word-of-mouth (52%), bookstores (49%), and libraries (44%).
Unsurprisingly, adult fiction was the most popular top-level subject read by book clubs, at 74%, with Mysteries or Thrillers at the top of that category (60%). Adult non-fiction wasn’t far behind, however, with 65% of book clubs having read at least one non-fiction pick. In that category, True Crime and Biographies or Memoirs were the most popular subgenres, with 44% each.
Direct to Complete News Release
Direct to Report Highlights: Reading Together: Book Clubs in Canada
5 pages; PDF.
Ordering Info For Full Text Report
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com. Gary is also the co-founder of infoDJ an innovation research consultancy supporting corporate product and business model teams with just-in-time fact and insight finding.
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