Canadian Book Buyers Double Book Club Membership in 2019
Between 2018 and the first three quarters of 2019, the percentage of Canadian book buyers who belong to a book club or reading group jumped from 7% to 14%, a new report on book clubs in Canada looks at demographics, how picks are chosen, and more has found. Results from BookNet Canada’s surveying of Canadian book club members shows that less than half (47%) are members of a celebrity book club. Among these, Oprah accounts for 46%, followed by Emma Watson at 26%, Emma Roberts at 20%, and Sarah Jessica Parker and Reese Witherspoon tied at 17% each. The key influencers for members who suggested picks to their clubs were word-of-mouth (52%), bookstores (49%), and libraries (44%). Adult fiction was the most popular top-level subject read by book clubs, at 74%, with mysteries or thrillers at the top of that category (60%). Adult nonfiction wasn’t far behind, with 65% of book clubs having read at least one non-fiction pick. In that category, true crime and biographies or memoirs were the most popular subgenres, with 44% each. More information can be found in the full study available at booknetcanada.ca/reading-together.
