Respondent Behavior

Jun 4

These first questions address romance readers’ habits. You’ll learn how long they have been reading romance and what percentage of the books they read are romance.

Please note, to participate in this study; respondents needed to have read at least one romance book published by an American publisher per year and be over 18. This was purposely broad to get a wide variety of perspectives.

Chart 8: Length of Time Reading Romance

**Main Insight:** Long-time fans of the genre prevail amongst respondents.

Further Insights: The vast majority of readers surveyed (45%) have read romance for more than 10 years. The next largest group (24%) have read for 3 to 5 years. 61% of respondents have been reading romance for at least 6 years, which leaves 39% who started reading in the past 5 years.

Hoang, H. (2018). The Kiss Quotient Cover [Photo]. Berkley.

This is significant because romance has had some impactful books top the charts in recent years. A notable title, released approximately 5 years ago, is The Kiss Quotient by Helena Hoang.

This debut novel presents “a multicultural love story centered on an autistic woman who has trouble navigating the nuances of dating and courtship.”

In one month after its June 5, 2018 release date, it was already on its fourth printing. When asked why she felt compelled to write the book, Ms. Hoang stated, “I wanted to share the perspective of an autistic woman, because I don’t think that’s a perspective you see very much. Why can’t you make an impact with romance? It seems like the perfect place to do it.”⁹

Could this increase in diversity lead to a broader audience pool?

Chart 9: Books Read Per Year (All Genres)

**Main Insight:** Survey respondents read more books than the average reader, who reads 12 books a year on average.¹⁰

Further Insights: 37% of readers surveyed read 100+ books per year.

The next largest group (24%) reads 40 to 60 per year, and the third largest group (15%) reads 61 to 100 books. 76% of readers read at least 40 books per year.

Nevertheless, how many of these books are romance books?

Chart 10: Books Read Per Year (Romance)

**Main Insight:** Romance readers are extremely dedicated to the genre.

Further Insights: 51% of respondents read 80 to 100% romance books. Another group (28%) read 60 to 80% romance books. When romance readers commit to the genre, they remain loyal.

In an interview I conducted with KRK, the bookish content creator behind @katesreadingknook, she stated the following quote.

This quote was a prevalent sentiment throughout this whole project. Romance readers are die-hards!

Chart 11: Most Used Formats (All Genres)

**Main Insight:** Ebooks eke out a slight majority, with 54% of participants stating they use ebooks most often while reading in general.

When asking KRK about her reading habits in regard to format, she said the following.

As stated in the existing demographics section, 29% of readers typically carry a romance novel with them, whether in print, ebook, or audio form.

A remarkable 78.3% of readers read more than one novel per month, with 46.4% reading at least one book weekly.¹¹

That’s a lot of books!

Chart 12: Most Used Formats (Romance)

**Main Insight:** Ebooks dominate, with 63% of study participants saying that is their format of choice for reading romance.

Ebook sales accounted for 60% of total romance unit sales in 2022.¹²

It’s easy to understand why. Given how fast romance readers read, it makes both economic and practical sense that ebooks remain popular with them.

Nevertheless, younger consumers of romance books are much more likely to buy print books than ebooks.

63% of romance books bought by readers aged 13-24 in the first half of 2022 were print formats, versus under 40% for all other age groups.¹³

Chart 13: All About Ebooks

**Main Insight:** 60% of respondents read ebooks on a smart device instead of an e-reader.

While I was not surprised by Amazon’s dominance with Kindle being the most used e-reader, I was slightly surprised by how many people read ebooks on smart devices (phones/tablets/computers) instead of e-readers.

Lack of Access to Public Libraries in Puerto Rico

With most of this study’s participants living in the United States, having a device is either their gateway or their barrier to accessing millions of ebooks. In fact, 85% of Americans have a smartphone.¹⁴

Nevertheless, in my interview process, I spoke with a Puerto Rican influencer who does not have access to digital libraries on the Puerto Rican mainland despite living in the US.

During my interview with Bookstagrammer Jinny Soto-Castillo @thereadingjinny, we talked about the closure of local public libraries in Puerto Rico due to Hurricane Maria in September 2017. Sadly, many of these libraries have become private, which has resulted in a significant reduction in access to reading materials for many people.¹⁵

Jinny's story reminded me of the significance of public libraries. I believe that making books affordable to everyone should be a priority, and libraries and educational institutions, particularly digital libraries, are essential in achieving this goal. With digital libraries, readers can access ebooks for free on any smart device.

Given how many people read ebooks on smart devices, one solution could be to provide Puerto Ricans with digital library cards to be used on Libby, “a free app where you can borrow ebooks, digital audiobooks, and magazines from your public library.”¹⁶

Chart 14: Sub-Genres of Romance