Toronto, ON – May 18, 2022 – New research on how Canadians spend their free time
A survey of leisure time and reading habits from industry non-profit BookNet Canada has found that Canadians still had more free time in 2021 than they did before the pandemic. Canadians spend their free time watching TV, videos, or movies (98%), shopping (98%), and cooking (97%). The activity that saw the greatest change from 2020 to 2021 was listening to radio shows — a 10% decrease for both Canadians who listened weekly and for those who listened daily.
Although leisure time was up since pre-pandemic, it was flat when compared to last year. Time spent reading was also flat — just as in 2020, half of Canadians read at least once a week in 2021.
The survey, which is regularly conducted each winter, asked 1,282 Canadians if they had read or listened to a book in the past year and, as in the previous 7 years, roughly 8 in 10 Canadians said they had. When it came to what they were reading, almost all readers (94%) had read at least one print book in 2021. Over half had read at least one ebook (64%), and just about half had listened to at least one audiobook (45%).
Other highlights of note found in the study:
Readers are using smartphones more than ever to listen to their audiobooks — 42% did so in 2021 which is up considerably from the 28% who did so in 2020.
Print book readers are choosing to read more adult Non-Fiction in 2021 than they did in 2020 — 69% in 2021 up from 61% in 2020. Young Adult books continue to rise across all formats as well when compared with 2020 numbers.
Nearly all readers, 90%, agreed (58%) or sometimes agreed (32%) that it is important that books should be representative of a variety of experiences.
The full study includes data on how readers and non-readers spend their free time, how readers discover and acquire their books, readers' format preferences, popular Fiction and Non-Fiction genres, the value of books across formats, and more. Find it all in the free Canadian Leisure & Reading Study 2021 here: https://www.booknetcanada.ca/canadian-leisure-and-reading-study-2021 .
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BookNet Canada is a non-profit organization that develops technology, standards, and education to serve the Canadian book industry. Founded in 2002 to address systemic challenges in the industry, BookNet Canada supports publishing companies, booksellers, wholesalers, distributors, sales agents, and libraries across the country.
We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund (CBF) for this project. / Nous reconnaissons l’appui financier du gouvernement du Canada par l’entremise du Fonds du livre du Canada (FLC) pour ce projet.
Media Contact:
Ainsley Sparkes
Marketing & Communications Manager
BookNet Canada
asparkes@booknetcanada.ca
(416) 362-5057 x 2310
