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Becoming a Reader: Significant Social Influences on Avid Book Readers
Abstract
Understanding how social influences can foster avid book reader identification is a key research goal that warrants further investigation beyond a limited early-years lens. The author’s 2015 International Study of Avid Book Readers (ISABR) explored, as one of its key research questions, the influence positive social agents can have on avid book readers, relying on the retrospective reflections of respondents from a range of countries and supporting quantitative data to explore this research focus. Early influences were examined, with data suggesting that maternal instruction is the most prevalent source of early reading teaching. Most respondents (64.3 percent) were the recipients of positive influence from a social agent. Indirect avid reader influence, author influence, fostering access, shared social habit, reading for approval, recommendations and supporting choice, and exposure to reading aloud were recurring mechanisms of influence. The multiple mechanisms of influence identified constitute opportunities for engagement and subsequent intervention by literacy advocates, including librarians.
... We analyse the sociodemographic patterns of self-identified readers of books, i.e., the particular group of people who identify themselves as readers notwithstanding skills or number of books read. Thus, we have a shared premise with Merga (2017) as we authorise the participants to define for themselves whether they are readers of books or not. With this self-identification as a starting point, we analyse the significance of different sociodemographic variables in relation to our participants' reading activity and access to books. ...
... There is a vast range of definitions of readers and reading in the existing literature (see e.g., Ross et al., 2018, 139-140), and our study especially touches on so-called avid readers or committed readers, terms that are used diversely in reading research (see e.g., Ross, 1999;Ross et al., 2018;Stebbins, 2013;Wilson & Kelley, 2010). The approach that we apply here emphasises people's own determination over the amount or frequency of reading: readers are perceived as those who are inclined towards reading books and who subjectively experience being readers (see Merga, 2017;Nolan-Stinson, 2008). In contrast, a key component of being an avid reader can also entail reading frequently or consuming large numbers of books. ...
... In addition to sociology, reading of books has been studied in e.g., information and media studies, cultural studies and literary studies. These domains share the perception that is also typical of the cultural sociology of reading, namely that of reading books as a meaningful leisure activity that provides ingredients for forming and maintaining self-identity in changing circumstances (e.g., Merga, 2017;Pyrhönen & Kantola, 2018;Ross, 1999;Ross et al., 2018;Usherwood & Toyne, 2002). In contrast to these predominantly qualitative approaches, there is only a limited amount of quantitative research examining the organisation of background variables and diversity within the group of people who have a keen interest in reading and to whom it is part of their everyday life. ...
This article advances understanding about book reading as a sociocultural phenomenon in the 2020s. We make a contribution to the cultural sociology of reading by investigating Finnish self-identified book readers by analysing the significance of sociodemographic variables (gender, education, age, and place of residence) in terms of reading activity and access to books. Our study is placed in the context of Finnish reading culture that is characterised by a particular appreciation of reading and measures promoting equal access to culture. Based on an online survey of 955 respondents conducted in 2021, our statistical analyses show that the social stratification of book reading activity that is prominent in population level does not recur within the specific group of people who identify themselves as readers. Among Finnish self-identified book readers, education, gender, and place of residence do not induce significant differences in reading activity. Our analysis that foregrounds inclination instead of quantity as a criterion for readers sheds light on reader equality from a different direction than previous research into nationwide reading habits or descriptive studies on avid readers.
... Across the literature on bibliotherapy and reading for pleasure, there has been further discussion on the mechanisms underlying the positive effect of reading on mental health or wellbeing. Relaxation has been identified as an important aspect of reading for pleasure [51,[54][55][56], with this relaxation being one of the primary positive effects on mental health for readers [3,57]. Dowrick et al., for example, described how the reading group participants in their study would visibly calm when reading, becoming less restless and physically stiller, with participants reporting reduced mental anxiety and being soothed by reading [57]. ...
... Dowrick et al., for example, described how the reading group participants in their study would visibly calm when reading, becoming less restless and physically stiller, with participants reporting reduced mental anxiety and being soothed by reading [57]. It has also been suggested that reading is immersive, which provides an escape from everyday life [3,52,54,56,58]. In Nell's classic study, for example, participants described their reading as being an "island of delight" (p. ...
... For both Josie and Gabriella, their engagement with literacy and creative practices provided relaxation during times of stress and anxiety. Previous literature on reading for pleasure identified relaxation as a key benefit for mental health [3,54,55,58,88]. This relaxation partially comes from reading being an enjoyable activity, as it clearly was for Josie, but also from the engagement with an interesting and diverting narrative [3]. ...
Understanding how students manage their mental health while at university is more important than ever, given the increasing number of undergraduate students experiencing poor mental health and seeking support from their universities. This paper reports on an exploratory qualitative study and discusses how students with mental-health conditions use literacy (reading, writing, and the use of texts) to manage their mental health, focusing on reading for pleasure, creative writing, and bullet journaling. Through in-depth qualitative interviews across the academic year of 2018–2019, 11 students’ reflective accounts of their practices in managing their mental health were collected and then thematically analysed. This paper focusses on the experiences of three students as case studies of how students use literacy to manage times of mental health distress and promote wellbeing through relaxation, the expression of emotions, and the recording of their mental health. These practices enabled the processing of emotions, engagement in supportive relationships, development of a sense of self, and reflection of mental health progress. These findings demonstrate that supporting students to engage in self-directed creative literacy practices could help students to manage their mental health and develop on-going positive strategies while helping universities manage the increased demand for help from students.
... There are lifelong benefits when parents share stories with children. Shared reading experiences enrich children's language and listening skills, cognitive development, social skills, early reading, and problem-solving skills (Merga, 2017). ...
... Further, nearly one-fifth of parents in this study believed that their child was too young to learn about reading. Merga (2017) too found in her study that some parents felt that their child was too young to be read to and that young children sometimes felt socially excluded by this. Research suggests that exposure to reading in the early years will play a role in readers' self-identification as avid lifelong readers (Mancini et.al., 2017;Merga, 2017Merga, , 2017a. ...
... Merga (2017) too found in her study that some parents felt that their child was too young to be read to and that young children sometimes felt socially excluded by this. Research suggests that exposure to reading in the early years will play a role in readers' self-identification as avid lifelong readers (Mancini et.al., 2017;Merga, 2017Merga, , 2017a. Merga (2017) found that young people who are avid readers list their parent's influence and attitude towards reading as instrumental in developing their own positive attitude toward reading. ...
This study sought to examine current trends towards shared stories inurban Pakistan. It explored the experiences of the parent’s attitude towardsreading and children’s interest in reading. It also looked at the associationbetween parents’ qualifications on child reading and shared readingexperiences at home. A cross-sectional survey study design was employedfor this study with universal sampling employed to seek data from theparents during August and September 2021. This study found that childrenbenefits greatly when parents share stories with their children. It alsofound that generally parents who buy and read books themselvessupported children to become readers. The findings of this study provideinsights into building awareness programs for the parents to provide themwith hand on skills to initiate, sustain and promote story reading at home.
... Moreover, the study by Merga (2017) emphasizes that a mother's influence on a child's literacy development is as significant as that of a primary school teacher. This underscores the importance of collaboration between schools and families in promoting literacy. ...
The study of elementary school teachers' literacy identities and perceptions across different socioeconomic backgrounds is crucial for educational systems worldwide. Teachers play a key role in shaping students' literacy development by embodying and promoting their own literacy identities in the classroom. This study aims to examine the influence of sociocultural factors on shaping the literacy identities of Turkish primary school teachers from different socioeconomic backgrounds and with varying literacy perceptions. This paper adopts a phenomenological approach, with data collected through interviews, written reflections, and daily activity notes. Overall, the findings indicate that literacy identities are formed through the interplay of family, friendships, emotional experiences, educational systems, personal motivation, individual characteristics, teaching experiences, and university exposure. It was found that teachers from higher socioeconomic statuses have more opportunities to develop positive literacy identities. Implications for research and practice are provided.
... So, to see them as real people, is just lovely. (Kate) This contention is supported by research where writer influence, and interaction with writers was sometimes attributed as a social influence that shaped a positive orientation toward reading in adulthood (Merga, 2017). ...
Writer visits can encourage young people to meaningfully connect with books and their authors, potentially fostering greater reading engagement. While school library professionals facilitate writer visits in schools, the research gap around the benefits of these visits may make it difficult to advocate for these events. A focus group with school library managers was undertaken to inform the creation of a new tool to fuel school library advocacy for writer visits. Findings will underpin the creation of this tool, but also have relevance for writers and publishers, and for school library professionals seeking to use focus groups for needs analysis.
... The teacher's role in motivating students to read is central. Teachers act as role models, create supportive reading environments and encourage students' free-time reading Cremin et al., 2014;Hellmich & Foya, 2017;Kauppinen & Aerila, 2018;Merga, 2017). Cremin and others (2022) illustrated the role of teachers using the concept of a Reading Teacher. ...
... In Australia as in England, school libraries are in transition; digital library systems and web technologies not only reposition librarians, but can change the nature of reading (Kucirkova and Cremin 2017;Mills, Unsworth, and Scholes 2022). In both countries too, local studies indicates that the role of school librarians is often poorly understood by school leaders (Cremin and Swann 2017;Merga and Mason 2019), that children may experience limited access to school libraries (Merga 2017b;BMG 2023) and that many school based library spaces are under-resourced (Scholes 2020) andunder-used (Hempel-Jorgensen et al. 2018). ...
... Furthermore, teacher read-alouds can help children to develop positive attitudes towards reading. For example, Merga (2017) found avid readers linked read-aloud experiences at school with developing their identity as a reader. The effectiveness of teacher read-alouds is likely to vary greatly and be determined by the extent to which the book aligns with the children's existing interests, preferences, lives and/or successfully introduces children to new genres or topics that they enjoy. ...
Book covers are often the first component seen before a reader engages with a book’s contents; therefore, careful consideration is given to the text and image features that constitute their design. This study investigates the effects of the presentation of verbal (text) and visual (image) features on memorability and aesthetic evaluation in the context of book covers. To this aim, 50 participants took part in a memory recognition task in which the same book cover information was encoded in a learning phase, and either text or image features from the book covers acted as an informational cue for memory recognition and aesthetic evaluations. Our results revealed that image features significantly aided memory performance more than text features. Image features that were rated more beautiful were not better recognized as a result. However, differences in memory performance were found in relation to familiarity and, in a non-linear fashion, the extent to which the book’s contents could be inferred from the image’s informational content. Additionally, reading behavior was not found to influence memory performance. These results are discussed with regard to the interplay of text and image informational cues on book cover perception and provide implications for future studies.
Did your school encourage a life-long love of reading?
Children who identify as readers are three times more likely to have good mental wellbeing. A reading culture that permeates a school can transform it into a space where reading is supported, encouraged, normalised and valued. Creating a Reading Culture in Primary and Secondary Schools will help teachers and librarians to:
advocate for the importance of a whole-school reading culture with recent research in this field
select from a number of research-supported strategies underpinning a whole-school reading culture to tailor your school's approach according to resourcing and priorities
develop a clear trajectory for building and sustaining stakeholder engagement and resourcing, including securing external funding for related initiatives
plan and manage a multi-faceted approach to enable real change within your school
Drawing on the author's internationally-recognised experience in this field, this book will be essential reading for anyone looking to develop reading in schools.
This study draws on interviews with 26 individuals who attained an advanced degree and whose parents did not attend university and who reported having at least one older sibling. Participants were asked about independent reading practices in their youth and the reading practices of their older siblings. Participants reported many memories of their own independent reading development and ways in which their older sibling(s) mediated or influenced their out‐of‐school reading practices. From an analysis of these interviews and related research literature, this study draws on Gee's theory of Discourses to suggest that family interactions around reading may have not only improved participants' reading abilities but also allowed participants to form dispositions or identities that included habits of recreational reading. Authors suggest ways educators and parents might encourage shared family and sibling out‐of‐school literacy practices as well as new directions for literacy research.
What is already known about this topic Independent or recreational reading habits can affect academic longevity.
Census data reports that 77.9% of U.S. children have at least one sibling.
Research on the influence of siblings on literacy development, and especially on at‐home reading, is scarce.
Extant studies on literacy development and sibling relationships suggest that siblings can greatly affect the literacy development of one another.
Reading is often misunderstood as a solitary practice, rather than a practice that often includes social interactions around reading materials and the mobilisation of identities (Discourses), which may affect the motivation for individuals to read.
What this paper adds Interview participants, all of whom were first‐generation university graduates with at least one older sibling, were asked about independent reading practices in their youth and the reading practices of their older siblings.
Interview participants reported that they formed strong habits of at‐home reading in their youth.
96% of interview participants reported that their older siblings played a role in their literacy development.
Analysis of these data, which draws on Gee's theory of Discourses, suggests that family interactions around reading may not only have improved participants' reading abilities, but may have also encouraged participants to form dispositions and identities that included viewing themselves as readers.
Implications for practice/policy As a result of the lack of attention to sibling relationships and their potential influence on literacy development, educators and parents may be missing opportunities to educate young people by neglecting to offer guidance and resources to older siblings, for example, who could use reading resources both for their own literacy development, as well as for that of their siblings.
As recreational reading involves mobilising identities (Discourses) and is a highly social process, educators can and should create opportunities for students with siblings to choose from a wide range of reading materials, and students should be encouraged to talk with friends, siblings and others about what they read in a variety of settings, both at home and at school.
this paper analyses 194 open-ended interviews with committed readers who read for pleasure, focusing in particular on interviewees' responses to questions about how they choose and how the reject a book. The analysis suggests that a comprehensive model for the process of choosing books for pleasure-reading must include five related elements that are examined in the paper. . .
There is abundant evidence demonstrating that free voluntary reading (henceforth FVR) is highly beneficial for language acquisition and literacy development, far more beneficial than direct instruction (Krashen, 1993). In this paper, I briefly review this evidence, and also present evidence suggesting that FVR has other advantages:
Exploration of how the leisure socialization process can be investigated requires answers to basic questions of when and with whom leisure is learned. From interviews of adults in a Western community, profiles of the social context and meaning of a wide range of leisure activities have been developed. Activities were found to have been evenly divided among those begun as children and in adult years. Family associations were primary in learning 63 percent. Activities were classified by form and social orientation and then related to periods in the family life cycle. The findings suggest that leisure socialization is a lifelong process. Research implications are outlined that would fill in the picture of a developmental approach to leisure careers.
Libraries are occupying spaces that are no longer dedicated solely as book repositories with stacks, reference services, and story times. Starting with an examination of how libraries are coping with digital and virtual competitors, this article presents two explorations of expansions of the Linebaugh Public Library in Rutherford Country, Tennessee (Murfreesboro) to nontraditional sites. One library is sited in a recreational center with computers in the main room and books in the backroom; the other is a new building located on the grounds of an elementary school that contains no books at all, only e-books with computers throughout. These moves provide a model for initiating such a venture in other public library systems. The role of the librarian in these new spaces is included. The primary investigator will use the history of the library, the minutes of board meetings, interviews with library personnel, study of the spaces, and review of the literature to document the process that led to the changes. Patron observations and interviews will be used to document the use of the facility that is already in place (in the recreational center).
We use the last two waves of the Italian Time Use Survey to analyse the intergenerational transmission of reading habits. This can be explained by both cultural and educational transfers from parents to children and by imitative behaviour. Imitation is of particular interest, since it suggests the direct influence parents can have on a childi?½s preference and habit formation, and opens the way for active policies promoting good parenting behaviour. We investigate the imitative behaviour of children using a household fixed-effects model, where we identify the impact of the parentsi?½ role by exploiting the different exposure of siblings to parentsi?½ example within the same household. We find robust evidence on the existence of an imitation effect: on the day of the survey children are more likely to read after seeing either the mother or the father reading.
Self-determination Theory (SDT) is a motivational theory of personality, development, and social processes that examines how social contexts and individual differences facilitate different types of motivation, especially autonomous motivation and controlled motivation, and in turn predict learning, performance, experience, and psychological health. SDT proposes that all human beings have three basic psychological needs – the needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness – the satisfaction of which are essential nutrients for effective functioning and wellness. Satisfaction of these basic needs promotes the optimal motivational traits and states of autonomous motivation and intrinsic aspirations, which facilitate psychological health and effective engagement with the world.
Leisure activity participation has been associated with reduced risk of dementia. It is unclear whether reduced participation is the cause or consequence of preclinical dementia. Methods: We prospectively examined the relation between leisure activities and dementia risk in a cohort of 469 community-dwelling non-demented subjects older than age 75. We derived cognitive- and physical-activity scales based on baseline leisure activity participation, measuring activity-days per week. Results: During follow-up (median 5.1 years), 124 subjects developed dementia. A one-point cognitive-activity score increment was associated with reduced dementia risk (hazard ratio, 0.93, 95% CI 0.90 to 0.97); increasing physical activity did not affect dementia risk. The cognitive-activity association persisted even after excluding subjects who developed dementia within the first seven years of follow-up. Results were similar for Alzheimer and vascular dementias. Conclusions: leisure activity participation is associated with reduced dementia risk, even after accountingfor possible preclinical dementia.
