ABSTRACT
“Reading interests” refers variously to the following: an individual's interest in doing reading itself, as demonstrated by the amount of actual reading done; what a reader wants to read “about” as expressed by a list of topics or subject areas or genres that the reader reads by preference; or the elements in a text, sometimes referred to as appeal factors, that engage a particular reader with a text. Apart from examining bestseller lists and circulation records, two of the most direct ways to find out about reading interests are to ask the readers themselves and to ask the writers who have demonstrated their ability to interest readers by writing popular, bestselling books. Research on reading interests foregrounds the individual reader, whose interests, choices, tastes, reading behaviors, reading competencies, opportunities, frustrations, and pleasures in reading are given a starring role.
