Heavy Readers and their Unread Books. Explaining a Common Habit.

While heavy readers only form a small percentage of the entire group of readers, they seem to own many unread books (Schmidtchen 1993). Despite anecdotal evidence from both professional and recreational readers (e.g. Bayard 2009, Eco 2011), academic examination of unread books is still sparse (notable exception: Zeckert 2007). Learning more about heavy readers and their unread books can contribute to understanding the everyday uses of books and literacy in the home environment. This paper investigates the reasons why heavy readers accumulate books faster than they can read them. Assuming that these readers receive positive emotional response from acquiring and keeping unread books, the Uses-and-Gratifications-Approach provides a useful strategy to examine their behavior.

Due to the exploratory nature of my research, guided, problem-centered interviews with four subjects of different age and sex were conducted and analyzed via computer supported qualitative content analysis (Mayring 2014). The subjects were classified as heavy readers and own a vast pile of books to-be-read (TBR pile). The initial findings provided a variety of motives as well as gratifications of reading and owning a great number of books. I conducted a hermeneutical interpretation of the findings in order to understand the behavior of the interview partners better and to search for the needs behind their motives. This in-depth interpretation allowed to relate the findings to theories from different disciplines, namely psychology, sociology and behavioral economics. Although the results are not representative, they provide insights into a field in which there is almost no research to date.

Some of the outcomes of the study concern: (1) the typical socialization characteristics for becoming a heavy reader as well as everyday habits that support reading, (2) the consumption cycle of books from discovery to acquisition to (not) reading and beyond, (3) insights into the decision making process and (4) explanations for retaining and accumulating even more unread books.