A trend has been emerging in the past few years. The book industry in Australia has undergone a radical change due to the new developments in internet technology and e-books’ growing popularity.
Survey Results on Australian Book Readers
A survey of Australian Book Readers by the Australian Research Council and Macquarie University in 2016 and the results are revealing. When they asked the respondents about the frequency of leisure activities, 95.7% said browsing the internet, 92% said watching TV, and 65.5% said they read books, which means reading books is the third-highest leisure activity of 8 listed in the survey.
People read books for many reasons: relaxation, escape, learning, and writing enjoyment. When the survey respondents were asked, they answered similarly: entertainment, health, and learning. The survey revealed that younger readers, 30 yrs. Old and below, read more for enjoyment. On the other hand, older readers who are over 60 yrs. Old prefer reading for learning.
This survey also found important data for book purchases in Australia. It was mentioned that data before the survey shows that 43% of Australians bought books. Of those who bought books, 64% said they purchased the books for their reading, 22% purchased it for their children, and 14% as a gift.
According to the survey, 71% of respondents purchased their books from a bricks-and-mortar store like independent local shops, bargain bookstores, department stores, second-hand outlets. These also include major book chains such as Collins Booksellers, Dymocks, and QBD. The remaining 29% bought it in online stores such as Amazon, Apple, and others. It is good to note that many readers bought books from second-hand outlets, which means no financial returns for the writers.
How many books were read in Australia?
The same survey by the Australia Council and Macquarie University showed that 92% of Australians had read books in the past year.
51% of those readers have read between one to ten books, and 41% read more than ten books over the same period.
The survey results showed that Australians, in general love to read books. The number of books bought in Australia in 2018 is a testament to this reading culture.
In the first eight months of 2020, the value of adult fiction sales had increased by 12% compared to the previous year. Children and educational sales also went up by 7% based on data from Nielsen BookScan. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people in lockdown books became a vital entertainment source and escape.
The best way to gauge the number of books read in Australia is to check the number of bestseller books sold. The bestsellers list from December 29, 2019, to August 29, 2020:
- “Bluey: Big Backyard (Puffin),” which sold 156,880 copies;
- “Bluey: Time to Play (Puffin),” which sold 116,050 copies;
- “The Barefoot Investor (Scott Pape, Wiley),” which sold 90,270 copies;
- “Bluey: The Beach (Puffin),” which sold 83,350 copies; and
- “Boy Swallows Universe (Trent Dalton, Fourth Estate),” which sold 81,720 copies.
Rounding up the other bestseller books are Bluey: The Creek (Puffin), which sold 80,260 copies; Bluey: Bob Bilby (Puffin), with 79,010 copies; Phosphorescence (Julia Baird, HarperCollins), with 78,430; Bluey: Fruit Bat (Puffin), with 72,510 copies; and Bluey: Easter Fun! (Puffin, with) 68,160 copies.