The survey involved more than 1,800 respondents from all over the Czech Republic. Photo credit: Freepik.
Prague, Dec 1 (CTK) – Czechs have fewer books at home than a year ago, but they still read just as often as before, an average of two to three books a month, according to a survey conducted by the Knihobot secondhand bookstore. The survey involved more than 1,800 respondents from all over the Czech Republic.
The number of people who have more than 1,000 books, who came mainly from the older generation, has dropped the most.
The survey shows that typical Czech readers are still building their own “library”. They most often read fiction, average two to three books a month, always try to finish them, and predominantly buy them online.
Last year, 16% of respondents had more than 1,000 books at home, while this year, it was 10%. The share of those having 300 to 700 volumes increased by 5 percentage points.
Most readers (58%) are creating book collections themselves; those whose libraries consist of mainly inherited books make up about 10% of the total. These figures have not changed considerably since last year.
The survey also shows that the older the reader is, the more books they have at home.
Almost a quarter of those over 60 have more than 1,000 books in their bookcase, while the same figure for those aged 36 to 60 is 14%, and among young adults aged 18 to 35, only 3%. The contrary, the highest share of young readers (34%) keep a smaller collection of 50 to 150 volumes.
24% of respondents spend at least one hour a day reading books, and 17% read more than four hours a day on average, rising to 28% for seniors.
Last year, 38% of respondents said they were reading a book every day, but there was no equivalent question about time spent per day. People most often (47%) said they read two to three books a month. People aged over 60 read the most.
Only 19% of respondents buy books in brick and mortar stores, while 45% say they buy books online. Online sales prevail in the case of secondhand bookshops as well; only 4% of respondents go to brick and mortar secondhand bookshops, while 25% buy used books online.
One-third of readers spend 300 to 600 crowns a month on books, and 11% spend more than 1,000 crowns. Czechs most often buy books for themselves (97%), though one-third also buy them for their family or as a present.
