A quarter of men who read at least one book a month have positive opinions about book clubs but are unwilling to join one, and many book club choices defy the stereotype of "women's fiction." In addition, more and more clubs are reading books close to publication date, which has implications for publishers.
These and other findings are in a 20-page white paper called "Book Clubs in the USA," released today by BookBrowse, the online magazine for book lovers and book clubs. The paper, based on results from a 3,600-person survey conducted last April and years of in-depth interviews, reveals some surprising statistics about the world of book clubs. Those surveyed were all United States residents who read at least one book a month, whether they belonged to a book club or not.
One non-surprise: book club membership skews toward older, more educated female readers, with spikes in participation rates during empty nesting and retirement ages. Despite the positive interest of some men, many of them are put off by what they perceived as standard book club selections, described by one respondent as "interpersonal dynamics literary fiction." When asked about their ideal book club, most men stressed variety in selected book genres and a balanced gender mix. One man who had been in a book club said, "I was always asked what my take was at certain points of the book. My answers left some of the women open-mouthed; they said they never thought of that."
Still, book club selections are made to member tastes, and few genres are off limits, despite stereotypes about focusing only on "women's fiction." Historical fiction is more popular than fantasy because the former has more fans and potential for meaningful discussion. 80% of book clubs occasionally read local authors and enjoy author visits, though some members are uncomfortable discussing books in front of the authors who wrote them.
Four out of 10 book clubs select their books more than four months in advance, a potential problem for publishers. Though reading guides are only a factor in a third of book club choices, publishers might consider putting them in the first run of hardcovers since fewer book clubs are waiting for paperbacks. With half of book club members reporting that they read in e-book format always or frequently, clubs are discussing books closer to their publication dates than in past years. As the paper says, "there is a case for publishers to position to book clubs as early in the book's life cycle as is practical."
Online book clubs are growing alongside e-reader ownership. Some 22% of those polled belonged to at least one online book club, though the exact definition of such a club is amorphous (some respondents asked if Goodreads counts). Online book clubs tend to be larger than in-person book clubs, with 60% having more than 40 members. 60% of in-person clubs have 10 or fewer members. A third of all book club members belong to multiple clubs.
The full white paper is available on BookBrowse. "Understanding how book clubs operate is important to publishers, librarians and booksellers," said Davina Morgan-Witts, BookBrowse founder and chief editor. "But this white paper is not only for them. There is lots of useful information and advice for authors looking to reach book clubs and, of course, for book club members interested in finding out how other groups run."