Interview Results
Several themes emerged from the interviews. One of the most common was subjects reporting that they had read since childhood, had come from a family of readers, had always read, or couldn’t remember a time when they were not readers. Only one respondent did not report reading fiction since childhood. She reported that she had always considered herself a reader, but for most of her adult life she read mostly nonfiction, believing fiction to have little value, educational or otherwise. However, that all changed when she began working in a public library. Influenced by patrons and coworkers, she began reading fiction and in the six years since has become a dedicated reader and advocate of fiction reading. Having a leisure reading background and identifying themselves as readers appeared to be very important to the subjects, as none were asked about childhood reading experiences and yet everyone discussed it in their responses.33 This gives even more support to the idea that for adults to be leisure readers, they must start reading at a young age. A full 100 percent of the interview sample stated that reading was an important part of their life since childhood; many also said that libraries played an important role in their lives, both as children and as adults. So in order to get a lot of adult leisure reading patrons, it is necessary to start with the children, once again showing the essential importance of public library children’s services.
When asked if they saw a connection between leisure reading and learning, all respondents replied with an enthusiastic “yes!” All felt that leisure reading played an important educational role in their lives and thought that it could also be an important educational tool for other people. This question was asked at the end of the interview, after subjects had talked about their responses to the survey questions and identified some examples of learning from their own reading.
Another theme was that learning while reading fiction was much easier and much more fun than more traditional types of learning. All participants had some college education, with most having a bachelor’s degree. One woman said, “It’s an easy way to learn a lot. You can learn a lot while enjoying yourself. I couldn’t read a textbook to save myself, even while I was in school. But if I am really interested in a subject I can get through any fiction book.” Other subjects also emphasized the enjoyment aspect of learning through fiction reading. In response to the question: what makes fiction reading fun for you? One respondent states:
I like learning, it’s an enjoyable way to learn. When I read a book that takes place in another country or another time, I learn about that country, I learn about that time, and yet there is a really good story that goes with it so it’s not like I’m just reading some dry nonfiction-information kind of thing. … It’s just such a fun way to learn without having to dig into a book that’s just dry facts.
Lack of TV watching was also important. Five of the seven respondents emphasized their lack of TV watching, with one saying “TV is boring, you just can’t get engaged with TV in the same way that you can with a book. … It’s pretty simplistic and unsatisfying.” Later the same subject goes on to say: “We actually have our TV in the basement, it’s just too much bother to … go down there and watch TV… and when we do it’s usually movies anyway.” The only type of TV watching mentioned by any of the subjects was educational programming, which was mentioned by one subject who talked about how educational programming sometimes leads her into new areas of reading. This same subject later stated: “I don’t watch [much] television, I prefer books to television.” So for even those who do watch TV, it’s done in a very limited way, and for some it’s done for learning, not leisure. One hypothesis that could be formulated from these results is that people who read, and are dedicated to reading as a leisure activity, are not big TV watchers and may actively dislike watching television programs. It could also be said that people who do watch a lot of TV are less likely to pursue reading as a regular leisure activity.
Regarding the specific types of things subjects learned through fiction (educational outcomes), responses were divided into eleven types of responses: people and relationships; other countries, cultures, history; enriches life, livelier mind, engages and sparks imagination; faith and religion; personal problems and therapy; news and current events; different perspectives, challenges assumptions, makes you think in a different way; makes you want to learn more, leads to other reading (sometimes nonfiction); incidental information acquisition; vocabulary; becoming a better reader or writer; and just generally increasing chances of success in life.
The most often-discussed outcome was learning about other times, places, or cultures, receiving seventy-seven total mentions by all seven interviewees. This was the only category to receive a mention by everyone and had twice the number of mentions as the next closest outcome. The next most common outcomes were learning about other people and relationships, and learning about and dealing with personal problems, with thirty-three and twenty-eight mentions, respectively. This corresponds with Ross’s study where she found that readers felt that they learned a lot about themselves and others from their reading.34
None of the other categories received more than twenty-five mentions. Learning about other countries, cultures, and times was the only category mentioned by all subjects, which makes sense, given it is also the most common. Four of the other categories–people and relationships; personal problems; news; and perspectives and challenges–were all mentioned by six of the seven interview subjects. While subjects were asked about news, people and relationships, and personal problems, no questions directly asked about new perspectives and challenges from reading.
It is always interesting when a majority of respondents volunteer information about a subject that is not asked about by the interviewer. In this case, subjects talked frequently about how reading helped them learn about other perspectives, challenged their own ideas and assumptions, and made them think in a different way. Not surprisingly, this was sometimes related to responses to category 2 (other cultures, places, times) but not always. Interestingly, subjects used a variety of books to illustrate this concept of changing or challenging perspectives. Titles mentioned include Tony Hillerman’s mystery novels, a variety of historical romance novels, including ones by Stephanie Laurens, a series of Christian novels about a family of orphans and their lives and careers, Hawaii by James Michener, Shogun by James Clavell, Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, and a series of contemporary novels set in Upper Michigan. Seemingly any book that is different from the reader’s daily life, whether it be another world in a science fiction or fantasy novel, or another time and place in a historical fiction novel, another part of the United States in a contemporary novel, or even just about people who have lived lives different from their own, causes this phenomenon. As long as the characters and settings were different from those in their daily lives, subjects felt that they learned about new perspectives and ideas, and their own ideas and perspectives were challenged, which many reported as leading to personal growth and development.
This also echoed Ross’s study; her first category of responses is “Awakening/new perspectives/enlargement of possibilities.”35 For Ross’s subjects this was the most commonly occurring result, and was cited by more than one-third of all her respondents. The other result from Ross’ study that was very important to her readers was learning about themselves and developing an identity from reading. This was not often mentioned by the subjects in this study. One of the most likely reasons for it is that in this study the author talked to readers about any fiction reading experience, while Ross focused her interviews on talking with people about the “great book.” It is likely that if readers had been asked to talk about a book that had a big impact on them, these results would have included similar responses, but because of the focus on the leisure reading experience as a whole, this was not an emphasized part of the responses. It also may be that the readers did not see this aspect as one that was particularly educational. The other important difference is that in this study all types of readers were surveyed and interviewed, from readers who read less than two books a month to those that read more than three books a week. Ross only studied heavy readers, which may also account for some of the differences in the results.
Conclusions
Types of Educational Outcomes
Based on the results of the factor analysis of items one through fourteen of the survey and the eleven response categories drawn from the interview data, four educational outcome categories have been created for purposes of analysis of the results. These four categories will be most useful in applying the results of this research and in future versions of the survey as additional items can be created based on the four categories.
- People and relationships–This category was important to many of the respondents. It includes learning more about yourself and others; learning how to understand, empathize, and interact with other people; gaining insight into your and others’ relationships; and generally helping with personal problems. It also includes learning more about your own faith/religion as well as that of other people. People who were concerned with this type of outcome generally responded positively to items 2, 4, and 8. (See appendix for survey items.) These readers also tended to like contemporary fiction and some also enjoyed Christian fiction, because it helped them understand others’ struggles with their faith, and because of the emphasis on families in many of the titles. This was one category that did not relate to any specific genres, though readers of contemporary fiction often mentioned this area. The results showed that readers could learn about themselves and others from any type of reading experience.
- Other countries, cultures, and time periods–This category included learning about other countries, other cultures (either in the United States or another country), and learning about other time periods (historical works set in any part of the world). It also included relating what had been read to news stories. One example is a woman who had read the Flashman books, talked about how she thought about them when she heard stories about Afghanistan (book 1 of the series is mostly set in Afghanistan) and how it helped her understand what was happening in Afghanistan today. This was also a popular outcome, possibly because it was one that respondents could easily think of when asked for examples. Historical fiction was the genre most associated with this area, although many other genres, especially romance, can also be set in historical times. Titles mentioned were the previously mentioned Flashman series by George McDonald Fraser, for learning about Victorian England and the various parts of the British Empire; Tony Hillerman’s mysteries, for learning about the Four Corners area in the modern day United States; The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith, for learning about Africa; and any of the historical epics by James Michener, for learning about the history and people of different parts of the world. This category was related to survey items 12 and 14. (See appendix for survey items.)
- Enriches life–This category encompasses the more abstract aspects of the reading experience and was largely created from the interview results. These include reading that leads to having a livelier mind, increases “literary IQ,” sparks the imagination, makes you want to learn more about something you have read, leads to other reading, and just increases learning in general. This category is almost entirely from the interview portion, as respondents talked in general about the value of reading for them. Many talked about reading a fiction book that then led them to read nonfiction books in a similar subject. One woman, after reading the Laura Ingalls Wilder series, went on to read biographies and journals of other pioneer women. Others talked about how they felt that reading just made them smarter, better people. A common example was increasing vocabulary and increasing familiarity with certain words, simply by reading them over and over in different books. They felt that reading was essential for personal growth and development, and that, without reading, their minds would stagnate. Another subject felt that reading was necessary to her development as a writer. She felt that without reading regularly (and what she read did not matter a great deal), she could never really become a good writer; she had to know what other people were writing in order to improve her own writing. Overall, reading, even reading books that could be categorized as “fluff” or “escapist,” has some educational value and fills readers’ needs for lifelong learning and education. Readers who were concerned with this category also responded positively to survey item 2. (See appendix for survey items.)
- Different perspectives–This was a frequently mentioned category that crossed through all respondents and all genres. It includes learning about different perspectives, whether it be to better understand people of a different race, class, or culture within the United States, or getting a different perspective on a political problem or world event by reading about people who were involved in it. Also mentioned among responses in this category was having assumptions challenged, being moved to think in a different way, or think about something that respondents had not thought about in the past. This category is closely related to both people and other countries and cultures. Many of the examples given from those categories also crossed over into this area, but it is a separate category because it was one that was repeatedly emphasized by all respondents. This was also a category used by Ross in “Finding without Seeking,” one that seems to be of universal importance to readers. This was a category in which it was not always easy for subjects to identify a specific example, but one that they came back to again and again. For example, one reader said that reading The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency made her think differently about modern Africa and the people who live there. Respondents who were concerned about this area responded positively to items 2, 4, 8, and 12. (See appendix for survey items.)
Implications for Library Services and Areas for Future Research
As has been demonstrated, readers value educational outcomes from a leisure reading experience, even though the educational outcome is not likely to be the primary reason for choosing a particular book. However it was important enough to the respondents in this study to have a fairly large influence on their reading experience. In terms of RA services these results should have an impact on the way librarians interact with readers.