Monday News: Pew reading survey, DC Comics resurgence, and Great British Bake Off coloring book

JanetBook Reviewscoloring books / Comics / DC / food / Marvel / Pew Internet Research / reading habits7 Comments

Book Reading 2016 – As Sunita noted on Friday, the new Pew US reading survey results have been released, and one of the most interesting things about them may be their consistency over the past five years. Almost three-quarters of USians have read a book within the last twelve months. And while the average reader conquers a dozen books a year, the typical reader (the median) gets through four. So given the small number of books typically read in a year, it should not be a surprise that 65% of USians have read a print book, as compared to those who have read digital (28%) and audio (14%). Both the digital and audio numbers have been pretty consistent over the past two years, as well. There is also a lot of interesting data on how readers are using digital devices for reading, and for those of us who are frustrated by the prices for traditionally published ebooks, this might clarify some of that logic:

Nearly four-in-ten Americans read print books exclusively; just 6% are digital-only book readers

In total, 34% of Americans have either read an e-book or listened to an audio book in the last year, but relatively few Americans read books in these digital formats to the exclusion of print books.

More than one-quarter (28%) of Americans read books in both print and digital formats (which includes e-books and audio books). Some 38% read print books but did not read books in any digital formats, while just 6% read digital books but not print books.

Relatively few Americans are “digital-only” book readers regardless of their demographic characteristics. However, some demographic groups are slightly more likely than others to do all of their reading in digital format. For instance, 7% of college graduates are digital-only book readers (compared with just 3% of those who have not graduated from high school), as are 8% of those with annual household incomes of $75,000 or more (compared with 3% of Americans with incomes of $30,000 or less). Interestingly, young adults are no more likely than older adults to be “digital-only” book readers: 6% of 18- to 29-year-olds read books in digital formats only, compared with 7% of 30- to 49-year-olds and 5% of those 50 and older. – Pew Internet Research

DC COMICS REBIRTH AN OVERWHELMING SUCCESS; WHERE’S MARVEL? – If you don’t want to take the time to read the LA Times article on the initial success of DC Comics’ “Rebirth,” you can check out this Cosmic News article that summarizes many of the article’s high points. As the Times article notes, “What made DC’s summer 2016 initiative  different was its focus. Not only did the relaunch actually shrink DC’s superhero line from around 50 separate titles to 39, it also marked a makeover for the company’s approach to its own history.” More specifically, the series “seek[s] to remind readers and creators alike about what they loved about the DC Universe and what they felt was missing from “The New 52” — a core optimism and belief in the heroism inherent in the DC heroes’ DNA.” And initial sales, which are 29% higher than DC’s 2011 relaunch, seem to bear out their strategy. At the same time, I find the take below disturbing, because the lack of diversity in DC’s new iteration, especially as compared to changes in Marvel’s lineup, is very troubling.

Regarding Marvel Comics, they are already planning a relaunch starting this November with dozens of variant covers and characters fans don’t want to read about. A majority of Marvel Comics series barely make it past issue twelve, which is why Marvel Comics has been relaunching their comics every other year. Eventually the time will come when fans are sick of all the “#1” issues and special variant covers (just like in the ’90s), and then what? – Cosmic Book News & Los Angeles Times

THIS GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF COLORING BOOK IS THE BEST TECHNICAL CHALLENGE – Yeah, I know everyone is capitalizing on the trend, but come on – this coloring book rocks!

What sets this particular coloring book apart is that it’s all line-drawings of pastries and biscuits, drawn by the GBBO’s official illustrator, Tom Hovey. Hovey is the very man responsible for giving us the details on what each baker’s bakes are projected to look like by the end of the episode.

The book contains 90 illustrations of memorable Signature, Technical and Showstopper bakes. Every GBBO fan remembers firefighter Paul’s impressive lion made entirely of bread; now, instead of carefully placing olive and mustard details you can just color them in using pencils and crayons. – The Nerdist

Janet

isn't sure if she's an average Romance reader, or even an average reader, but a reader she is, enjoying everything from literary fiction to philosophy to history to poetry. Historical Romance was her first love within the genre, but she's fickle and easily seduced by the promise of a good read. She approaches every book with the same hope: that she will be filled from the inside out with something awesome that she didnʼt know, didnʼt think about, or didnʼt feel until that moment. And she's always looking for the next mind-blowing read, so feel free to share any suggestions!

→ Janet