A Nation of Bookworms?

Nation of Bookworms? is in a comparative perspective addressed to foreign readers and presents the Czech population in terms of reading culture. The starting point is statistical research on readers and reading (2007, 2010, 2013 and 2018), organised by the National Library of the Czech Republic and the Institute for Czech Literature of the CAS, and oral research conducted in 2009-2015 using the method of reader biographies. Individual chapters contextualize Czech cultural realities and analyze individual segments and phenomena of reading culture - reading, digital reading, public libraries, the book market, reading socialization (school, family), time spent reading and value preferences (favourite titles and authors), etc. The author asks questions about the main features of the Czech reading culture today, at the time of the ongoing digital revolution, as well as about how it differs from reading cultures in other countries. The book contains many useful tables and charts.