(editor's random thoughts: The other day, a friend of mine told me that he has been reading to his 11 and 13 year old daughters. They were really enjoying Orwell's Animal Farm and he was explaining the politics. I went home and started reading the Diary of Young Girl to my 11 year old because I thought she should read it but perhaps she needed her hand held through it. I loved it. She liked it a lot. Hopefully, she will read it again on her own in the next few years. When I had my first baby, one parenting book said to read in front of your children. Then they will become readers. My husband said that advice was for people who did not read. When I am on the New York subway, I see far fewer vacant faces staring out, like in London. Many people have a book with them. But Gainesville, Florida, that was a surprise. I must do some research on why that is.)
Stereotypes about which areas of the United States are “more literate” than others are common, but actual data on the matter was hard to find until Amazon volunteered its records on Thursday.
The company tallied all book, magazine and newspaper sales in both print and Kindle format since January 1, 2011, on a per capita basis in cities with more than 100,000 residents.
It found that academic hub Cambridge, Massachusetts, topped the list of cities that purchased the most reading material, as well as the most nonfiction books. Boulder, Colorado, purchased the most material in the Cooking, Food & Wine category. And Florida had the most cities in the general top 20.
Here is the full list of the most well-read cities in the U.S., according to Amazon sales data. Adjust stereotypes accordingly.
Interesting list, Emily. Am curious about Gainesville, Fl.- who knew?
Agree with hubby that the comment is directed at those who don't read but I still think it's important to read in front of your children. It sends a signal that books matter. Thx for this post!
Delia Lloyd
www.realdelia.com
Posted by: Delia Lloyd | May 27, 2011 at 11:38 AM