A recent survey conducted in November on Shenzhen's annual three-month-long Reading Months reveals different facets of the city's reading culture.

Female readers shrinking

A November 2001 survey showed that the city had an equal number of male and female readers. The second survey in 2002 showed that the equilibrium had shifted towards men with 41 out of 100 readers being women. This year's survey, however, shows that there are even fewer female readers, with their number decreasing from 41 last year to 34 out of 100. In contrast, the proportion of Shenzhen's population is one man for every three women.

The survey points to a trend that increasing numbers of Shenzhen women are withdrawing from the reading competitions in favor of taking care of their families.

Piracy

This year's survey also shows that many books in the market are pirated copyrights. With book prices increasing, pirated books, although often of poor quality, have found a growing market.

Reading time not enough

Most local readers spend no more than an hour a day reading. They should spend more time reading to be proportionate to the city's cultural development, the current survey says.

Insufficient promotion

According to the survey, many locals are not aware of the annual reading month. The previous promotion, which featured posters, was centered around the Book City area. The survey suggests that posters should be displayed throughout the city.

Centralized book sales

Many readers complained that bookstores were not distributed evenly in Shenzhen. The most popular outlet is Book City in central Shenzhen because it has the city's largest variety of books. The survey indicates that more books could be sold if there were more large bookstores scattered throughout Shenzhen.

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