I'm an avid reader, rarely without a book, so I sometimes forget that not everyone is such a fan of reading. However, since becoming an author, I'm constantly surprised by how many people say they only read fiction while on vacation.
I find myself wondering what they do with their time if they don't read, which is silly really because they presumably have their own hobbies of choice, or they watch television, play computer games or hang out on social media sites. There are so many alternatives to reading and only so much time in the day to do them.
Vacations used to take people completely away from their usual routines and often their hobbies so it made sense that this might be the time when they would pick up a good book or two while relaxing on the beach, round the pool or at the lake, because there was not much else to do.
Summer has traditionally been a good time for book sales, especially of those books which fit into the 'beach-read' category. But with the advent of laptops, tablets and smart phones, and more and more places offering Wi-Fi, I have to wonder what effect this will have on summer reading. While e-readers may tempt dedicated readers to load up with more books than they might otherwise carry on vacation, tablets and smart phones may just as easily tempt those less obsessed readers away from books altogether.
What do you think? Would the ability to be able to be connected to your social networks, watch online news etc., reduce your reading time on vacation? Or do you like to disconnect from the electronic world while on vacation?
