Popularity of audiobooks continues to grow | Lifestyles

A survey of leisure time and reading habits from industry non-profit BookNet Canada has found that 79 per cent of Canadians felt they had enough or more than enough free time in 2023.

The survey, which has been conducted by BookNet every year since 2013, asked 1,247 Canadians if they had read or listened to a book in the past year and, similar to the previous nine years, 80 per cent of Canadians had. Just over half of those readers had read between one and five books in 2023 (52 per cent).

The majority of readers prefer to read print books (59 per cent), followed by ebooks (20 per cent), and audiobooks (13 per cent). The dominance of print preference has been dropping since 2019 (from 65 per cent to 59 per cent in 2023), while at the same time, preference for audiobooks has been rising (from 8 per cent in 2019 to 13 per cent in 2023).

For the first time in the survey, readers across all formats were acquiring books from free sources more than from paid sources. In 2023, 47 per cent of print readers bought their books and 51 per cent found a free source for their reading material. Over half of audiobook listeners acquired their books for free in 2023 (58 per cent) and ebook readers were the group most likely to get their books from a free source (62 per cent).

Readers were most likely to read adult fiction: 68 per cent of print book readers and ebook readers and 62 per cent of audiobook listeners read adult fiction in 2023. The most popular fiction genre was mysteries or thrillers across all formats. The popularity of children’s and young adult books also continued to rise from 2019 to 2023.

Other highlights of note found in the study:

• Canadian readers attended more book clubs and book-related events in 2023, both online and in-person.
• Canadian readers’ interest in abridged audiobooks, audiobooks with sound effects and/or music, and environmentally friendly print books is on the rise.
• Older demographic groups are more likely to acquire free books of all formats than younger demographics.

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.

— BookNet Canada

— AB