This article advances understanding about book reading as a sociocultural phenomenon in the 2020s. We make a contribution to the cultural sociology of reading by investigating Finnish self-identified book readers by analysing the significance of sociodemographic variables (gender, education, age, and place of residence) in terms of reading activity and access to books. Our study is placed in the context of Finnish reading culture that is characterised by a particular appreciation of reading and measures promoting equal access to culture. Based on an online survey of 955 respondents conducted in 2021, our statistical analyses show that the social stratification of book reading activity that is prominent in population level does not recur within the specific group of people who identify themselves as readers. Among Finnish self-identified book readers, education, gender, and place of residence do not induce significant differences in reading activity. Our analysis that foregrounds inclination instead of quantity as a criterion for readers sheds light on reader equality from a different direction than previous research into nationwide reading habits or descriptive studies on avid readers.

中文翻译：

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阅读文化是一种共同的精神：对芬兰自我认同读者的研究


本文加深了人们对读书作为 2020 年代社会文化现象的理解。我们通过分析社会人口变量（性别、教育、年龄和居住地）在阅读活动和书籍获取方面的重要性，对芬兰自我认同的读书者进行调查，为阅读的文化社会学做出了贡献。我们的研究是在芬兰阅读文化的背景下进行的，其特点是对阅读的特殊欣赏和促进文化平等机会的措施。基于2021年对955名受访者进行的在线调查，我们的统计分析表明，在人口层面上突出的图书阅读活动的社会分层在自认为是读者的特定人群中并没有重现。在芬兰自我认同的读书者中，教育程度、性别和居住地不会导致阅读活动出现显着差异。我们的分析将倾向而不是数量作为读者的标准，与之前对全国阅读习惯的研究或对狂热读者的描述性研究不同，从不同的方向阐明了读者平等。