[Libs-Or] Gratifying News from the PW Daily for Booksellers Online

[Wyma Rogers]

Reading Still #1 Leisure Activity, Even More Popular 

Reading was named Americans' favorite leisure-time activity by the Harris Poll. 

While reading has been the top response in this national survey since it was first conducted in 1995, this is the highest ranking it has ever achieved. A whopping 35% of the 1,017 adults polled called reading their favorite past time (an 11% increase from the previous year). This year's results also marked the widest margin between reading and the perennial second-place activity of watching TV (21%). Third place, at 20%, was spending time with family and kids and in a distant fourth place, at 10%, was going to the movies. 

The two categories with the biggest increases since 1995 were spending time with kids/family (which climbed from 12% to 20%) and reading (rising from 28% to 35%). Taking the biggest nosedive in popularity over the last nine years were swimming (7% in 1995, down to 2% in 2004), TV watching (25% to 21%) and playing team sports (9% to 5%). It's hard to believe, but 3% of those polled consider doing housework a leisure activity and enjoy doing it more than dining out or playing cards (each 2%).--Kevin Howell