One-third of British find the book world too intimidating

One-third of British find the book world too intimidating

Mar 25 2009

A British report indicates that publishers, retailers and librarians are missing out on a potential market of 20m consumers (about 1/3 of the British population) because the book world is too intimidating.

In many lower-income non-professional families, books were seen as alien and unattractive, while reading was considered an anti-social activity for people who, as one respondent said, "don’t know how to live".

Commenting on the research, National Year of Reading project director Honor Wilson-Fletcher said: "These are good solid families who don’t have literacy problems but who just don’t read. They are one step away from book-buying - they do consume lots of leisure products and may have 2-300 DVDs in the house.

"But intentionally or otherwise, a lot of people involved in the book world are conveying the impression that reading is associated with a particular area of society and lifestyle."

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