A recent study conducted by OnePoll found that, among 2,000 British men and women surveyed, almost three-quarters of the men indicated they would choose to watch a film or television adaptation rather than read the book. The reasons ranged from lack of time to simply not enjoying the process of reading. The same number of women would, conversely, choose the book. Forty-six percent of the men admitted to reading fewer books now than in the past, one in five men confessed to pretending to have read a specific title to appear more intelligent, and 63% of the men in the study said they don’t read as much as they would like.

The research was commissioned by the Reading Agency in the UK to promote World Book Night, the annual celebration and promotion of reading books involving volunteers giving away tens of thousands of books in their communities. Sue Wilkinson, CEO of the Reading Agency, said “We know reading is really important, so we’ve got to get more people in general, particularly men, to pick up a book. It seems that men recognize the value of reading books but admit that they don’t do it as much as they might.” World Book Night took place on April 23, in honor of Shakespeare’s birthday and UNESCO’s International Day of the Book.

More on this study can be found at paperblog.