I saw this Australian study (full study link) (study summary link) that talks about the 6 different kinds of readers and the 6 "stages" of a reading journey that can act as barriers. The study was done to identify why so few people engage in recreational reading anymore and which strategies increase recreational reading among the different categories and stages. I'm just kinda fascinated by it because it does seem like so few people engage with books specifically as a form of reading anymore, and either people are ravenous readers or struggling readers, but there's often not many people in between. I'm just curious what thoughts people have about the decline in recreational reading, the study, what got you back into reading, what barriers you face to reading (where you get stuck in the process), and any other thoughts you want to mention! I don't have a specific question, just kind of musing.

For those curious, these are the different kinds of readers in the study:

• Avid Readers: those who read frequently and face few barriers
• Engaged Readers: who read frequently but want to read more
• Ambivalent Readers: who have varied reading habits and are unsure if they want to read more
• Aspirational readers: who read infrequently but want to read more
• Lapsed Readers: who haven't read in the past year but want to start again
• Uninterested Non-Readers: who don't read and are unlikely to start

And these are the stages:

• Finding books you might want to read (book discovery)
• Choosing the next book you want to read
• Getting access to those books
• Starting to Read
• Continuing to Read
• Reflecting or Sharing on what you read

Specific barriers mentioned include:

• Lack of time
• Competing priorities from other leisure activities
• A perception of fragmented leisure time
• Cost/Finances
• Decline in visible social norms associated with recreational reading

do you have any to recommend? this year i want to more intentionally support smaller and indie publishers. they tend to select books that are more off the beaten path and aren’t concerned with what will mass sell commercially, and i want to put my money towards that! a few that i love are NYRB and McNally Editions for their rediscovered classics and Two Dollar Radio for their fun and unique picks.