Writers like me shouldn't be discouraged by all the doom and gloom in the popular press about the decline in reading. There's heartening news in the publishing world that bodes well for us all. A March, 2008, survey by The Harris Poll says 27% of Americans purchased more than ten books in the past year.
That may not sound like much, but there are about 220,000,000 Americans over the age of 18, so if more than a quarter of them buy books at that rate, that's over 50 million books sold every month! Not bad at all.
Of course, those are just the heavy users. The Harris Poll says 23% purchased between and 1 and 3 books in the past year, 18% purchased between 4 and 6, and 12% bought 6 to 10. Only one in five Americans (20%) say they have not purchased any books in the past year.
As my novel Heart of Diamonds, a thriller set in the Congo, nears its September release date (it's available for pre-order now on Amazon), I'm heartened by those kinds of numbers.
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