National Book Day: moment of reflection

More than half of Rio's residents do not have the habit of reading books. The unusual conclusion of the national survey Portraits of Reading in Brazil – resulting from a partnership between the Instituto Pró-Livro and Itaú Cultural – is that, for 53% of the population of the Marvelous City, reading is not a habit or priority in their lives, a fact announced practically on the eve of celebrate National Book Day, next Sunday (29), when the National Library of Brazil was also founded, located in the center of the capital fluminense.

The less than admirable result places Brazil's second largest metropolis – which was once considered the country's cultural capital – in an uncomfortable 22nd position in the national ranking in terms of number of readers.

Also revealing, similar research, entitled ‘Portraits of Reading in Book and Literature Events’ shows that 59% of non-readers at the International Book Biennial of Rio de Janeiro 2019 presented ‘lack of time’ as the main reason for ‘not reading’, followed by preference for other activities, which had 23% of answers. Thirdly, for 20% of those interviewed, the answer would be ‘not having patience’ (to read) or having difficulty (reading).

On the other hand, the online reading modality has advanced significantly in the country, according to a survey by the online academic content platform ‘Minha Library’, according to which, in the period from January to September this year, more than 6 million hours were dedicated to reading online, corresponding to 92% of all last year. In any case, the same study shows that 44% of the Brazilian population have never read a book during their lives, while another 30% have never purchased a book.

Regarding such a 'complex' situation, the manager of the FGV Library System, Gabriel Leal, highlights that the The emergence of new devices can serve as an instrument for 'reconciling' technology with the habit of reading. “Reading, today more than ever, must be approached as an exercise in citizen development, reading mediated by digital platforms can be more economically advantageous”.