TORONTO -- When the pandemic struck Canada in early March, spurring lockdowns and the closure of non-essential businesses, Canadians were suddenly parted from pastimes such as going to the movies, hanging out with friends in a bar or attending concerts.According to industry experts, Canadians increased their reading during 2020, particularly in the spring when books were a balm on the new reality of a deadly virus sweeping across the globe.
“That may not seem like a significant amount, but that is a fairly significant increase because that number doesn't normally change. It usually sits around 68, 69 per cent of all Canadians. But it's been more around 73 per cent since COVID.” It’s likely a reflection of how people’s schedules changed when the pandemic hit, and other leisure activities were taken away, Genner said.
One example is Emily St. John Mandel’s “Station Eleven,” a 2015 release featuring the aftermath of a flu-stricken world. The book landed back on the Canadian best-selling list in March alongside her 2020 release “The Glass Hotel” as the pandemic started to become real to Canadians. Waubgeshig Rice’s “Moon of the Crusted Snow” was another release that saw an increase in sales around the beginning of the pandemic.
“Huge, huge increase in bread-baking books,” Genner said. “There was a massive increase in baking books, cooking in general, but baking [bread] was the most specific one and it really, really saw a huge lift.” Genner added that outside of teaching children, parents who were working from home would also potentially need ways to keep their kids occupied during times when they couldn’t be actively paying attention to them.
She added that there’s been “a strong interest in books written by authors with diverse backgrounds throughout all categories, including BIPOC and LGBTQ2+ writers.” Husseini added that people have been “increasingly looking for books to support their wellbeing including topics such as stress management, meditation, mindfulness, and health,” as well as improving their surroundings.
“Online revenue grew 214 per cent for the 13-week period compared to last year, remaining strong through the reopening period.” Audiobooks, on the other hand, didn’t see quite the same jump, largely, Genner thinks, because most people were no longer commuting to work during the first wave of lockdowns.Despite the increase in digital sales, and despite the appetite Canadians had to read during the pandemic, shutdowns still had a significant financial cost.for the first six months of 2020, compared to the same time period the year before, “show a decrease of at least three million units and 63 million dollars.