The ideal book for a Polish reader is a detective story published on paper, preferably by Remigiusz Mróz – shows the latest readership survey by the National Library of Poland, released shortly before World Book and Copyright Day on April 23.
Forty-two per cent of those asked as part of the National Library (BN) Survey answered “yes” when asked if they had read even one book in the past year. That’s the best result in six years, marking a 3 per cent annual increase and a 5 per cent increase over two years. “For now, we can talk about reasons for cautious optimism, although the level of indicators from the beginning of the 21st century is still far from being reached,” was noted.
BN has been asking Poles about reading at least one book in whole or in excerpts during the 12 months preceding the survey for almost 30 years. In the first half of the first decade of the 21st century, more than half of the respondents declared that they read at least one book a year.
The authors of the study attempted to answer the question of what Poles read and what is the relationship between reading choices and social standing. It turns out that the most “democratic” type of literature, reading regardless of one’s social standing, is thriller and crime literature – the type of books most read by Poles. Remigiusz Mróz opens the list of the most widely read authors for the second year in a row, and for the fourth year, he is in the top five. “It is currently an unrivalled leader,” the study’s authors point out.
Popular literature of morality and romance, as well as moral novels, are women’s choice (30 per cent of female readers declared that they like them), while adult fantasy (fantasy, science fiction and others) is read twice as often by men, especially those aged 25-39.