Men reading has been a subject close to our heart for some years now.

Our latest research, the 2021 National Reading Survey tells us that the numbers of New Zealand women reading have remained the same since 2018 but men’s reading rates continue to drop, with 79% picking up a book in the past year, compared to 81% in 2018 and 84% in 2017.

Well, so what, you might say. We would say that reading for pleasure has never been more important. Men who read and who model reading to their children is one of the most important ways to grow a reader. A child who develops a reading for pleasure habit during childhood will carry that habit into adulthood. Reading for pleasure is a super power - it lifts people’s lives and horizons. According to OCED research it is the single most important indicator of a child’s future success, and it's an even more powerful factor in life achievement than socio-economic background.

So that’s one good reason, and here’s another: our research tells us that when asked to rate how important reading was to their wellbeing, those who read books in the past 12 months rated reading at 6.8 out of 10 in importance. Common reasons for this rating included:

Relaxes me (Male, 55-64 years)

Reading provides a quiet and often contemplative time to immerse myself in a book. I find this relaxing in many ways and on several levels…my stress levels decrease, and I feel relaxed and happy. (Male, 55-64 years).

Keep mind busy and active (Male, 18-21 years)

When we polled a group of men after our 2018 research to uncover what prevented them from reading for pleasure they had a large list of competing priorities, including work, family and sport commitments which reduced the amount of spare time they had.

Most of them had read widely as boys but stopped reading either when they started work or families. They found other ways to source the information they needed and a lot of that information was sourced online. However all recognised the importance of reading for pleasure, and all worried about boys not reading as much as they should.

These men became something of a focus group, and our conversations led to the creation of 'Blokes vs Books', a joint campaign with NZSA in 2020.

Reading should be fun and should be something you want to do. Finding the right book and finding time are common refrains from getting back into the reading habit. Just ten minutes each day can create a habit and a recommendation from a friend about a book they recently enjoyed will get you started. Men who read grow boys who read.