In October, the annual report Bogen og litteraturens vilkår 2018 [Books and Literature Status Review 2018] was published by the Danish Minister of Culture's Book and Literature Panel.
The report shows, among other things, that it is among women that reading patterns have changed the most. In the category “Women who read weekly or more frequently” the number fell by 4.5 percentage points from 2014 to 2017.
More new books, but fewer frequent readers of fiction
In the field of fiction, the number of printed releases increased by 58 per cent from 2009 to 2017; it is especially the numbers of novels and children's books that have risen. However, the amount of time dedicated to reading fiction is still decreasing. This development is most pronounced among 30- to 59-year-olds.
Digital media and the struggle for consumer attention
The lower number of frequent readers is due to, among other things, the growing and more complex media supply of the past decade. The time spent on literature reading is under pressure from other offers, such as film and TV streaming services as well as social media.
Borrowing of online audio books is on the rise
In 2017 about 2,000 new online audio books were published in Denmark; this is the highest number registered since online audio books came on the market. In July 2018, 232,453 online audio books were distributed to Danish public libraries, and this is the highest number ever. Among the reasons for the success of online audio books is that they can easily be taken along, and listened to anywhere and at any time.
Cecilie Ravik