Monday, June 8, 2015

Tucson Officially Declared City of Bookworms

Posted By on Mon, Jun 8, 2015 at 9:00 AM


We are surrounded by convenience. Entertainment is readily available to us and the only work it really costs us is choosing something to watch on Hulu. There’s nothing wrong with that in moderation, but what happened to reading books for fun? With so many options and the busy day of the average person, is there anyone left who unwinds with a book and their imagination?

According to the largest online retailer out there, Tucsonans are out-reading almost every other city in the country.

Amazon.com named Tucson the fourth Most Well Read City in America on June, 2. The ranking of the top 20 cities was based on the sales of books, newspapers and magazines from Amazon in both print and Kindle formats from April 2014 to 2015. Only cities with populations over 500,000 residents were considered.

The top three cities were Seattle, Portland and Las Vegas.

The data Amazon collected revealed a few trends in the reading habits of the cities included on their list. Apparently everyone really likes “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn, because it was the top selling book in seven out of the 20 cities, including Tucson.
Tucson’s spot in the top five might surprise some, considering findings on the state’s overall reading statistics.

According to Literacy Connects, a local nonprofit that works to spread literacy to all ages, 530,000 adults in Arizona read at a fifth grade level. In elementary schools, 73 percent of fourth graders are testing under proficient in reading.

Tucson seems to be a special hot spot for the bookworms of the state. With local bookshops, like Antigone Books, continuing to stay in business and the popular Festival of Books, it’s clear we love to read here.

The Pima County Public Libraries will be offering a variety of activities and events where Tucson book lovers can celebrate the written word.

If you don’t want to leave your house (or your swamp cooler) this summer, Amazon is clearly a useful tool for entertaining yourself. Come to think of it, the heat probably plays a huge part in our win. What better way to spend some of the summer then staying indoors with a good book that was only a click away.

To see the list of the Most Well Read Cities or to view suggested summer reads, visit Amazon.com.

For a schedule of Pima County Library events, visit Library.pima.gov.  

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