More than half of Argentines didn't read a book in last year

The Miami Herald
October 5, 1999

More than half of Argentines didn't read a book in last year

Buenos Aires, Oct 4 --(EFE)-- More than half of Argentine adults did not read a
single book in the last 12 months, and 61 percent have never read anything by
Jorge Luis Borges, according to a survey published in Monday's edition of the
daily La Nacion.

Only 27 percent of those polled said they had read a book in the last month, while
36 percent said they had read a book in the last six months, and 42 percent
claimed to have read in the last 12 months.

The figures were not very different from those of a similar Gallup poll conducted in
1998.

When asked to name Argentina's most important writer, more than half of all
respondents failed to give an answer, while 32 percent named Borges.

However, only 38 percent of those polled said they had ever read any of Borges'
works.

According to the survey, 46 percent of Buenos Aires residents read a book in the
last 12 months, while the figure dropped to 24 percent for the rest of the country.
EFE

ar/b