A great reader takes pleasure in little else

Exploring leisure activities of readers and non-readers in Sweden

Abstract

In this article we explore people’s engagement in various leisure activities and to what extent they are also book readers or non-book readers. The study is based on a Swedish national survey from the Gothenburg University SOM-institute, pertaining to media use and habits (n 12 878). We have focused particularly on respondents’ leisure activities and cross tabulated the answers with their stated book reading habits. These statistics are examined through a Bourdieuian lens with attention to habitus and capital with consideration of how these matters create varying opportunities to engage in different types of activities. The study is also positioned within the Library and Information Science perspective of critical studies of reading. The findings show that people who engage in arts, culture and media consumption are avid readers to a higher extent compared to the national average. Meanwhile, the largest group of non-readers is found amongst individuals who frequent restaurants, pubs and bars in the evening. The known gender imbalance in reading is also reflected in leisure activities, with reading being more common among those who participate in traditionally female-dominated hobbies like horse riding, whereas it is less prevalent among those engaged in male-oriented pastimes such as tinkering with cars and motorbikes. Generally, people who take part in any of the studied leisure activities are also book readers. This highlights that readers have many interests and are a diverse group of people. It is therefore rarely correct nor helpful to make narrow assumptions about who readers, and indeed non-readers, are.