Leisure Reading

Exactlywhatisleisurereading?Overtheyearsofleisurereadingresearch,a
varietyofdefinitionshavebeenused,withthecommonfactorsbeingthatthereadingwas
partofnonwork,nonschoolrecreationalactivity.KnulstandKraaykamp(1998)using
datathatwasinitiallycollectedinthe1950shaveoneoftheolderdefinitionsofleisure
reading.Intheirretroactivereviewoffortyyearsofleisurereadingdata,leisurereading
isaproportionoftheamountoftimethatisspentreading,asapartoftheamountoftime
dailydevotedtoleisureactivitiesoutsideofworkorschool.(30)KnulstandKraaykamp
(1998)wereconcernedwithteensovertheageof12andallagesofadults,sotheir
definitionappliestobothadultandteenreadersandistheonlyonetobeso
comprehensiveintermsofage.Intermsofreadingmaterials,books,magazinesand
newspapersonlywereconsideredpartofthetotalreadingcount.
Greaney(1980,340)inhisstudyofthefactorsrelatedtoamountandtypeof
leisurereadingforchildren,definesleisurereadingasanoutofschoolactivity,andnotes
thatleisurereadingrequiresacertainlevelofreadingproficiency.Greaneyisconcerned
withleisurereadingasaproportionoftotalreading,asabetterindicatorthanhoursper
weekspentreading.LikeKnulstandKraaykamp(1998)Greaneysdataonreadingwas
gatheredthroughselfreporteddiariesofleisuretimeactivities.Whencountingthetime
spentleisurereadingfromthediaries,Greaneydefinedleisurereadingasreadingofany
kind,excludingschooltextsandothermaterialsassignedatschool.Whatsleftoutof
Greaneysdefinitionarebooksthatstudentsreadoutsideofschoolaspartofaleisure
readingpromotingprogram,suchasAcceleratedReaderoranyotherprogramthatlinks

schoolbasedgradesorrewardswithstudentsreadingselfselectedtextsoutofschool.
Greaneysdefinitionisexclusivetoschoolagechildrenandteens,butcouldbeextended
toapplytocollegeagestudentsandworkingadults.Greaney includes books, magazines,
newspapers and comic books in his reading counts.
More recently, Hughes-Hassell and Rodge (2007) in their study of urban
adolescents, define leisure reading as:
the reading students choose to do on their own, as opposed to reading that is
assigned to them. Also referred to as voluntary reading, spare time reading, recreational
reading, independent reading, reading outside of school, and self-selected reading, leisure
reading involves personal choice, choosing what one wants to read, and reading widely
from a variety of sourcesnot just books. (22)
Hughes-Hassell and Rodge have the most comprehensive definition as they count
anything in which students are reading text, whether on a printed page or on a screen.
Their counts of leisure reading are the most comprehensive as they include all the leisure
time literacy activities in which 21st century teenagers regularly engage. Again their
definition is limited to in school teen readers, but could easily be expanded to college age
students and/or working adults.
In my previous works I used the term leisure reading (Moyer 2005, Moyer 2007)
as inclusive of fiction reading, pleasure reading and recreational reading. As this work
was done with adults and all the research used in the literature review was exclusive to
adult readers, issues to related to school promoted leisure reading were never addressed.
Leisure reading was assumed to be any reading (usually fiction) done outside of work, or
any reading activities pursued as a hobby.

It is important to clearly define leisure reading in terms of both teen and adult
readers. I define leisure reading as the following: the reading or listening to any texts, in
the reader has some element of control over text choice, and are read as part of as an
enjoyable leisure time activity.
The definition includes the selective reading of fiction, nonfiction, graphic novels,
comic books, newspapers, magazines, and online reading done as a leisure time activity.
It also includes audiobooks, just as it includes any sort of reading aloud, whether oral
reading done by parents to children, or one adult reading to another, or a professional
narrator reading an audiobook to a listener. Leisure reading includes silent reading and
reading aloud , as comprehension of written texts and listening comprehension are
important parts of leisure reading. It also includes books read for book groups because
either the participants choose to be in the group, or have some level of responsibility in
choosing the text. Book group members also have the choice to read the text and the
choice to attend the meeting and participate in the discussion. (Long 2003)
This definition includes texts that are read for a school leisure reading programs
because it implies some level of student choice. Sometimes in school leisure reading is
referred to as independent reading and can include programs such as Sustained Silent
Reading (SSR) or Drop Everything and Reading (DEAR). This type of reading is not
always included in scholarly definitions of leisure reading, which often define it as out
of school reading. (Alvermann 2001; Hughes-Hassell and Rodge 2007; Greaney1980;
KnulstandKraaykamp1998;Moyer2005;Moyer2007) However I think it its important
to include this type of self selected reading when discussing teen leisure reading.
Krashen (2004) and other proponents of Free Voluntary Reading programs do include

school based independent reading in their definitions, arguing for the importance of
connecting in school reading with the gains that can be by students who do a lot of out of
school reading.
Leisure reading is usually done for enjoyment, but that does not mean that leisure
reading does not include learning as a purpose. For many readers the information they
learn while leisure reading is an important outcome of leisure reading (Moyer 2007,
Ross, 2000, Radway 1991) Other leisure readers enjoy reading informational materials
such as hobby magazines or newspapers, or the many types of narrative nonfiction.
Leisure reading always includes the option to learn from the reading materials.

References
Alvermann, D. (2001). Reading adolescents reading identities: Looking back to see
ahead. Journal of Adolescents and Adult Literacy, 44 (8), 676-690.
Greaney,V.(1980)Factorsrelatedtotheamountandtypeofleisurereading.Reading
ResearchQuarterly,15:3,337357.
HughesHassell,S.,&Rodge,P.(2007,September).TheLeisureReadingHabitsof
UrbanAdolescents.JournalofAdolescent&AdultLiteracy,51(1),2233.
Knulst,W.&Kraaykamp,G.(1998)Trendsinleisurereading:fortyyearsofresearch
onreadingintheNetherlands.Poetics,26:1(September),2141
Krashen, S. D. The Power of Reading: Insights from the Research. Westport, CT:
Libraries Unlimited
Long, E. (2003) Book Clubs: Women and the Uses of Reading in Everyday Life.

Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Moyer,J.E.(2005)AdultFictionReading:ALiteratureReviewofReadersAdvisory
Services,AdultFictionLibrarianshipandFictionReaders.ReferenceandUser
ServicesQuarterly,44:3(Spring),220231.
Moyer,J.E.(2007)LearningFromLeisureReading:AStudyofAdultPublicLibrary
Patrons.ReferenceandUserServicesQuarterly,46:4.
Radway,J.A.(1991)Readingtheromance:women,patriarchy,andpopularliterature.
2nded.UniversityofNorthCarolinaPress:ChapelHill,N.C.
Ross,C.S.(2000)FindingwithoutSeeking:WhatReadersSayabouttheRoleof
PleasureReadingasaSourceofInformation,AustralasianPublicLibrariesand
InformationServices13:2(June),7280.