Women know how to read properly, while men have a desultory and, at best, casual approach to books: this is the finding of a survey into the nation's literary habits.
New research to be released tomorrow suggests that nearly half of women are avid readers who cannot put a book down once they begin it and who reliably get through a long list of titles in an average year. Men, on the other hand, are much less likely to keep up this sort of pace. Twice as many men as women admitted that they never finish a book.
In the survey of 2,000 people the researchers found different types of readers. Forty-eight per cent of women can be considered to be Page Turners, or avid readers, compared with only 26% of men. Slow Worms are those who spend a long time reading, but who take their books very seriously and always finish them. They can often manage only one or two books a year. This group was made up by 32% of the male respondents and 18% of women.
Serial Shelvers have shelves full of books that have never been opened and are not likely to be: 17% of women and 20% of men fall into this category.
The Double Booker has at least two books on the bedside table. These are the butterfly-minded consumers who start a new book in the middle of another and claim they can easily switch from one to another. The gender divide here disappears completely, with 12% of both men and women in this category.
Using materials of the site the reference on GINSC with the indication of the author is obligatory The Portal GINSC is supported by the Kvinna til Kvinna Foundation
