What Readers Are Reading...

I found this interesting article on the Romance Writers of America website last week, and thought some of you might be interested to know what kinds of books people are reading, and where YOU fit among them. For the complete article from RWA, click here.

Romance Literature Statistics: Readership Statistics

Romance Writers of America commissioned PubTrack Consumer to perform the creation, implementation, and analysis of the 2011 Romance Book Consumer survey. The 2011 Romance Book Consumer survey was a web-based survey of romance book buyers conducted August through September 2011. Another round of the survey will be conducted in the spring 2012, with the results to be reported in the summer 2012. A complete report will be available to RWA members by mid-January.

The Romance Book Buyer (Statistics from PubTrack Consumer, Q2 2011, New Books Purchased)

•Women make up 91 percent of romance book buyers, and men make up 9 percent.
•The U.S. romance book buyer is most likely to be aged between 30 and 54 years.
•Romance book buyers are highly represented in the South.
•The weighted mean income of the romance print-only buyer is $58,000, compared to $70,000 for the romance e-book buyer.
•According to RWA's 2011 Romance Book Consumer survey, slightly more than half of survey respondents live with a spouse or significant other.

Geographic Location of Romance Readers(Statistics from PubTrack Consumer, Q2 2011, New Books Purchased)

The percentage of people in each geographic area who purchase romance novels:

•Northeast: 17 percent
•Midwest: 26 percent
•South: 38 percent
•West: 19 percent

The Age of Romance Readers

•Mean age for print romance book buyers: 49
•Mean age for e-book romance buyers: 42

READ MORE...

What about you? Where do you fit in these statistics? What are your favorite books to read?