Few blokes join bookworm club

By NICK PERRY

When it comes to the literary stakes, men are dunces compared with women, according to a Herald-DigiPoll survey.

When asked how many novels a year they read, 40 per cent of women said they ploughed through more than 10.

A paltry 23 per cent of men said they did the same.

In all, 63 per cent of women said they read four or more novels a year, compared with just 42 per cent of men.

At the other end of the scale, 56 per cent of men said they read fewer than four novels a year, while the same was true of 36 per cent of women.

Almost one in four men admitted to reading no fiction at all; for women the figure was 15 per cent.

Freelance journalist Janet Wilson, a member of an all-female book club started by TVNZ staff, said the results were a huge surprise at first, but on reflection, were understandable.

She thought some men probably read more factual information as part of their jobs and placed less emphasis on creative reading.

Others seemed to prefer watching television as a pastime.

But she said the stereotype of housewives spending their days reading trashy romance novels was a complete myth.

"I know from my book club women read everything from sports biographies to people like Lisa St Aubin de Teran, Iain Banks and quite well-known, pointy-headed novelists."

Janet Wilson said she probably read 25 to 30 novels a year.

She was making a resolution to cut down her consumption of women's magazines, which she considered a waste of time.

The survey showed Aucklanders to be avid readers, with 35.8 per cent managing more than 10 novels a year compared with 31.5 per cent of people elsewhere.

And 36.7 per cent of people aged over 40 read more than 10 novels a year. For those aged between 18 and 39, the figure was 27.3 per cent.