Readers think 1/2 of their pleasure reading would be considered to be "trash"

Dedicated adult pleasure readers feel that about half of what they read for pleasure would be considered to be “trash.”

Victor Nell (Lost in a Book, 1988) interviewed 32 dedicated pleasure readers, mean age 37.2.  All read at least a book a week for pleasure and relaxation (most read a lot more) (p.162).  Included in the interview was this question:

“If all the fiction I had read for pleasure only for the last 12 months were laid out for judgement by my high school English teacher and the head of the English Department at which I studied as an undergraduate, they would classify ___ percent as ‘trash’ that was not worth reading.”

The results: Mean = 42.65%. SD = 26.43  (page 242)