Italians took to reading, especially digital reading in a big way in 2022. As it is, the pandemic led many Italians to read more, as has been the case in most parts of the world. Demand for e-books and audiobooks spiked during that time. However, while the same weaned off and even reached the pre-pandemic levels in other regions, Italians continue to be drawn to e-books and audiobooks, the website Italy-24 revealed citing the annual Kobo Book Report 2022.
As per the report, the year 2022 witnessed strong growth in digital reading in Italy, what with the total time that Italians spent reading or listening to e-books and audiobooks respectively being the equivalent of 1800 years. That marks an increase of 62 percent on average compared to what it was in the previous year. Also, the time spent reading e-books or listening to audiobooks taken together stands at a whopping 982 million minutes.
“The past two years have been a wild ride for readers and bookstores alike. In 2022, COVID restrictions have eased, readers have started leaving their homes again, and Kobo, as a digital bookstore, has seen some exciting changes and new trends in reading behavior globally,” said Michael Tamblyn, CEO. of Rakuten Kobo.
Coming to the time of the day when Italians prefer to read the most, it has been found to differ as per various locations in the country. Take for instance, Padua and Turin, residents here have been found to read during teatime in the afternoon, that is between 4 – 5 PM. However, the preferred time for reading in Rome and Florence has been found to be during the aperitif hours, that is between 7 – 8 PM.
Similarly, those in Milan, Genoa, and Treviso, residents there seem to have a liking to read before hitting the bed, that is between 22 – 23 PM. In general, it is during the end of the day that Italians seem to take to reading more than any other time of the day. Also, it is during the weekends that people tend to read more than otherwise.
The report also revealed how the Italians’ choice of reading is influenced by one of their other favorite pastimes, it being movies and TV series. So, be it the Game of Thrones, Bridgerton via The Witcher, or others of the ilk, Italians seem to have a special liking for these, something that also reflects in the books that they prefer to read.
Apart from movies and TV shows, the Kobo Book Report 2022 also reveals the role of social media and specifically TikTok in influencing the reading habits of the Italians. It has been found that GenZ takes to reading the stuff that the social influencers promote. Take for instance Colleen Hoover who turned out to be Kobo’s most popular author. Her book, It Ends With Us witnessed almost 118 percent year-over-year growth. This applies to several of her other novels as well which climbed to the top of the charts several years after their publication, all thanks to them becoming popular on social media.
With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I'll likely make a film sometime in the future.
