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Image: Archi Banal
Image: Archi Banal

BooksMay 4, 2023

How do we read in 2023?

Image: Archi Banal
Image: Archi Banal

Ye olde paper book? Kindle? iPad? Jules Older set out to discover how we read in Aotearoa today.

At dinner, four of us were talking about how we read. Turns out, all four read differently:

  • Book (treebook, not ebook)
  • Kindle
  • iPad 
  • Audiobook

This got me wondering: how do other New Zealanders read? So I asked people from north and south, old and young. I sent them this questionnaire:

Tick one: 

▢ Only read treebooks

▢ Only read ebooks (on devices)

▢ Mix ‘em up (Percent on each? Thoughts?)

Pick one: 

If you read ebooks, do you read them on a…

▢ Phone (brand?)

▢ Tablet (brand?)

▢ Computer (brand?)

▢ Kindle

▢ I mainly ‘read’ audiobooks

Pick one:

▢ I buy books (treebooks and/or ebooks)

▢ I borrow from the library

▢ Both (rough percentage for each?)

Then I asked for their age, gender and where they live. To my considerable pleasure, I received well over 600 responses, the bulk of them from school kids. Responders’ ages ranged from eight to 82. 

So, in the early months of 2023, here’s how we read.

Kids

Among the respondents, 316 read only on paper, 56 read only ebooks, and 306 read both. A surprising 108 listen to audiobooks. As for digital readers, 119 read on an iPhone, 46 on Android, 27 on a tablet, 181 on a computer, and 107 on a Kindle. Where do they get their books? Some 387 buy them, 458 borrow from the library, and 114 swap with friends. 

Kids explained not only how they read but why they read. Here are some of their responses:

  • Reading is a great way to have fun and pass the time
  • It helps me learn
  • I don’t really like to read
  • I like to read to escape realty [sic]
  • I like to read because it is like a holiday in my head

Others explained how they read:

  • I like to read books made out of paper before going to bed every night. I also read books on Epic! not only at school but sometimes at home. I do both to get a mix of everything.
  • Feels like a treat holding a book
  • I like reading paper books because I can visibly track my process, and the light from computers can hurt my eyes if I’m reading at night
  • I read on the Kindle at night when I am going to bed because I can read it in the dark
  • I like owning physical copies of books that I enjoy, and I just generally prefer reading a physical book and flipping over the pages
  • Being able to read from a book rather than an ebook or audiobook allows me to retain more knowledge and a better understanding about the plot and story
  • I like to read ebooks because it has lots of comic books
  • i like to mix up the ways i read so that i dont get bored

To summarise, at least among Auckland school responders, paper reading still trumps e-reading, and a fair number of kids bounce between paper and screen. A smaller but impressive cohort listens to audiobooks. As for what kind of devices they read on, to my surprise, most use a computer. The iPhone is the next most popular device, followed by Kindle, tablet and Android. Most kids get their books from the library, a fair number buy them (or maybe their parents buy them), and — something I didn’t think of — a bunch of respondents swap books with friends. 

(My thanks to staff and students at Point Chevalier School and Mount Albert Grammar School for diligently distributing and filling out the questionnaire.)

Children reading in 1940. Russell Lee, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Adults

I found it much harder to find adult responders than school kids. One reason: Adults don’t have a teacher telling them, “Please take this survey. Now.”

The adults who did respond were as thoughtful as the kids about why they read the way they read. First, let’s look at the numbers; then, their comments. 

Eight women read only treebooks, three mix ‘em up, and two read ebooks. Five men read tree, 20 a mix, and only one reads ebooks exclusively.

There’s no real difference between North and South Island respondents. 

Generational differences?

Folks in their 20s and 30s still prefer treebooks, a smaller number mix tree and e, and only one reads ebooks exclusively. Those in their 60s through 80s are evenly split between treebookers and mixers. Not one said they only read on a device.

Buying vs. borrowing vs. sharing?

Most adult respondents mix it up: 22 said they buy, 15 borrow from the library, and five share with friends. Eight listen to audiobooks, about which they wax eloquent.

Device preferences?

As for what kind of screens adult digital readers read on, it’s another mix, with several choosing more than one device. Here are the numbers: iPad 3, Kindle 6, tablet 3, computer 4, and phone 3.

Here are some of their thoughts on why they read the way they do:

  • Have tried virtually every format but now limit myself to treebooks — a clear winner
  • Read on an HP tablet — very convenient when on travels and in bed
  • I prefer a real book. I think it’s because I work on screen, so when I read for pleasure, I like the real thing — I read the imprint page, look at how it’s been put together, look at the production. I like to feel the heft of a book, the quality of paper and so on. I also like visiting good bookstores, perusing the shelves, sometimes picking up a title on instinct, not knowing anything about the author or the book, but there’s something inexplicable that’s attracted me. I buy it. I like to support bookstores and indirectly, writers.
  • For a lot of people I know, podcasts have become one of their major “reading” activities
  • I buy new tree books, particularly if they are likely to be very popular (and the wait time at the library is likely to be long). We have a shared Kindle account so my wife, myself, and our overseas daughter can “share” a book over the waters without postal costs.
  • Resisted the Kindle for a long time but now am a convert. Plus, it’s the only way I can (afford to) keep my son in books!
  • I mainly “read” audiobooks.  I like to always have an audiobook going — I listen when I’m hiking, driving, knitting, folding laundry etc.
  • I enjoy buying books as gifts, and I pass secondhand books on to other people either as loans or gifts
  • I definitely prefer to hold a hearty paperback in my hands, but ebooks are fantastic if you’re travelling

Conclusions

In 2023, a hefty percentage of New Zealand kids and adults of all ages have become accustomed to digital reading. While some read only online and others pick up nothing but paper, many combine the two. 

At least from the wallets of those I surveyed, booksellers should be thriving. 

And rumours of their death notwithstanding, libraries are very much alive. New Zealanders rely on them for ebooks as well as treebooks. A fair number of readers also share, swap and give away their books.

Predictions

I have but three.

The first is easy: More and more of us will get comfortable reading digitally. Not only does my research suggest this, but British and American research does too. In late 2021, ourculture e-magazine reported, “While books sales in all formats increased over 2020 and 2021, ebooks and audiobooks saw especially significant growth. Ebook sales increased 16.5% and audiobook sales increased 14.3% over the past year. The popularity of both formats will likely continue to grow.”

Second: Books made from trees will be with us for a long time to come. Whether they’ll still be a staple or something more like the literary equivalent of vinyl and film remains to be seen. But for now, overseas trends indicate that they’re still going strong. In The 21st Century Text, Naomi Curzon writes, “The printed book is still the most popular medium despite the growth in ownership of digital devices.” She also reveals, “Americans are still reading despite the digital devices and social media that are occupying more and more of our time and attention; and they are still reading books — in whatever form — at about the same rate as in 2002, before digital devices became ubiquitous.”

And third: The big change in future reading is that ears will soon be challenging, or even overshadowing eyes. Audiobooks, podcasts, voice notes — listening is the new reading. In this case, the survey respondents’ experience is backed by international trends. In 2019, Erica Wagner wrote, “Readers are finding new ways into text. No one can have missed the dramatic rise in the sales of audiobooks. Audible, the audiobook retailer and publisher, saw its revenue in the UK rise by 38 per cent in 2018: the year before, the company posted a 47 per cent sales increase.”

I say, expect more of that to come.

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BooksMay 1, 2023

The big stories behind some tiny badges

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Stephanie Gibson and Claire Regnault’s new book is a treasure trove of Aotearoa history, people and place, told through the medium of the badge. These excerpts are a few of our favourite, from the literary to the land march.

Margaret’s Magical Scarf

Margaret Mahy (1936–2012), the celebrated author of books for children and young adults, wore this badge adorned scarf when she gave readings in schools and libraries. The scarf bears the many badges that Mahy picked up during her travels. Not surprisingly, they celebrate the power of books.

A Scholastic book badge simply states “Reading counts”, and other badges encourage people to “Be a read-a saurus”, “Make a book date” and “Buzz to your library”; they announce that “Books are bewitching”, “take you higher” and that “Happiness is a good book”.

A host of well-loved children’s characters also populate the scarf, from Lewis Carroll’s Alice and Beatrix Potter’s Mrs Tiggy-Winkle to Jill Marshall’s “sensational spylet” Jane Blonde, and the elusive smiling lion from Mahy’s own children’s classic A Lion in the Meadow. 

Most of Mahy’s scarf badges testify to her life with books, but they also hint at other interests, including two fan badges for the World Wrestling Federation stars Ravishing Rick Rude and “Macho Man” Randy Savage. 

A photo of a scarf with a lot of different badges pinned to it.
Scarf with badges and charms attached, 1980–90s. Scarf knitted by Bridget Mahy, New Zealand. 2389 x 300 mm. Gift of Bridget Mahy and Penny Mahy, 2021. Te Papa (GH018458)

The Fiery Canoe: Teresia Teaiwa (1968–2017)

Badges are an effective way to carry a tiny portrait of a loved one near one’s heart. Such badges are a particularly important part of remembrance culture among Pacific communities, and are sometimes worn on lanyards around the neck. 

This badge is both a memorial and an acknowledgement of a significant legacy in education in Aotearoa and the Pacific. Teresia Teaiwa (1968–2017), born in Hawai’i, was of Banaban, I-Kiribati and African American heritage. She founded the Pacific Studies programme (PASI) at Victoria University of Wellington in 2000, eventually becoming the director of Va‘aomanū Pasifika (Pacific Studies and Samoan Studies), and posthumously associate professor. Teaiwa (whose name can mean the “fiery canoe”) was a renowned scholar, activist and poet, influential throughout the Pacific region. 

The design of the badge was based on a photograph of Teaiwa which showed one of her typical hairstyles and Pacific earrings (she would always wear at least one thing from the Pacific every day). Behind her is a rebbelib, a Marshallese navigational stick chart she owned. The silhouette concept was inspired by iconic images of American activist Angela Davis – one of Teaiwa’s academic supervisors and a friend – with her afro hair style.

Walking the whenua 

Hīkoi (walk, march) was a long-established tradition for Māori, in which walking the boundaries of their districts helped people learn which whenua (land) belonged to them. In the 20th century, hīkoi became a key protest strategy for Māori fighting for their lands. In 1975, the Māori Land March left Te Hāpua in the far north to march to Parliament in Wellington. Organised by Te Rōpū Matakite o Aotearoa (“those with foresight”), the march called for “not one more acre of Māori land” to be lost. It was led by Whina Cooper (Te Rarawa, 1895–1994), who presented a petition to the government signed by 200 Māori kaumātua (elders) and 60,000 people. The march brought Māori concerns about land loss into the wider public awareness. Not long after, the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 was passed, enabling breaches of the Treaty to be investigated. 

In 2004, a hīkoi opposing the Foreshore and Seabed Act also left Northland for Parliament. The legislation enabled the Crown to own New Zealand’s foreshore and seabed, which was seen by many as a breach of te Tiriti o Waitangi. The badge “No raupatu in our time” refers to when Māori land was forcibly confiscated (raupatu) as a result of the New Zealand Wars of the 1860s. 

A photograph of two badges side by side. One saying Support Maori Land March and the other saying No raupatu in our time
Right: Support Maori Land March badge, 1975. Possibly produced by Te Rōpū Matakite o Aotearoa, New Zealand. 44 x 5 mm. Gift of Meg Bailey, 2020. Te Papa (GH025627) Left: No raupatu in our time badge, 2004. Made by Rainbow Copy, New Zealand. 46 x 6 mm. Gift of Meg Bailey, 2020. Te Papa (GH025629)

‘Power to the people’ 

In the 1970s, the New Zealand government promised to “get tough” on law and order and immigration. Raids took place in the early hours of the morning or late at night, when police would enter homes or stop people in the street to find so-called ‘overstayers’ – visitors from overseas whose work permits had expired. These dawn raids, as they came to be known, mostly targeted Pacific people, despite the majority of overstayers being British, Australian and South African. 

These badges commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Polynesian Panther Party by young urban Pacific and Māori activists in June 1971. They were inspired by the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense in the United States (founded in 1966), and adopted similar iconography: berets, black clothing and leather jackets, clenched fists, and the leaping panther symbol.

The Polynesian Panthers aimed to highlight the needs of New Zealand’s growing Pacific communities, and the racism and discrimination they experienced, including harassment by police. They informed people of their legal rights, advocated for tenants, ran food co-ops and homework centres, helped with prison visits, promoted Pacific languages and supported Māori protests. The government formally apologised for the dawn raids in 2021. 

A photograph of a beret with the polynesian panthers badge pinned to it; and a photograph of the badge beside it.

Tiny Statements: A social history of Aotearoa New Zealand in badges by Stephanie Gibson and Claire Regnault (Te Papa Press, $40) can be purchased from Unity Books Auckland and Wellington.