Poles more likely to read books during pandemic

The past year for readership and the book market – after the collapse in the spring due to closed bookstores and libraries – turned out to be favorable. According to the IMAS International survey, every third Pole started to read books, e-books or listen to audiobooks more often. Children's literature is particularly good. 

"Children read a lot, even if there are no books at home. Promoting reading among them is a thankful activity," Michał Rusinek, president of the board of the Wisława Szymborska Foundation, said.

The foundation run by him is a partner of the Hestia Literary Journey competition, which is to promote classical forms in children's literature. Today popular science books are more popular among young readers.

"Reading in Poland is quite a painful topic. The data published annually by the National Library are quite sad, especially when we compare them with the data from, for example, the Czech Republic, where readership is at a very high level," Michał Rusinek noted.

According to the latest data from the National Library for 2019, the readership in Poland can be viewed in a slightly more optimistic way. There was a permanent halt to the decline in readership, which has continued almost uninterruptedly since 2004 when the record 58 percent of the level of readership was recorded. In 2019, 39 percent of Poles have read at least one book (vs. 37 percent in 2018), while the percentage of Poles reading seven or more books a year has remained the same level for three years (9 percent).

According to a study conducted by IMAS International for the KRD on the condition of the book market, during a pandemic, every third Pole (35 percent) uses them more often. Over 17 percent also claim to be buying more of them. The most popular are crime fiction, thrillers, and horror books (36 percent). Every fifth reader reads historical books, romances, and fiction. Books for children and teenagers are also doing very well during a pandemic. 

(Newseria)