Books: Research into the reading, buying, and borrowing of books in New Zealand

Browsing is the most common way of choosing what book to read. Coming closely behind is selecting an author, and selecting a subject. However, men put choosing the subject first, and browsing wins only by averages. Those who read a lot mentioned more ways of choosing what to read than those who read less. Young adults have a wider range of ways of choosing than older people. Selecting a book because its author is known is most common amongst the over-sixties. The youngest age group is least likely to choose a book because of the subject only, most likely to select a book because they have heard about it already.