Accountants spend more time reading for pleasure than teachers, members of Parliament, journalists, taxi drivers and vicars, and most of their reading is done either in bed or while commuting to work, according to a survey of 1,600 people commissioned by the organizers of World Book Day, an annual celebration of books and reading in the U.K. held earlier this month.
Among the professionals surveyed, accountants spend the most time reading for pleasure, at an average of five and a quarter hours a week. Clergy logged the least, with an average of two hours and 40 minutes a week reading for pleasure.
"This just goes to show that you shouldn't believe everything you read about the reputation of accountants," Kieran Poynter, U.K. chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers, said of the findings.
The accountants surveyed read all types of fiction and are the most voracious readers of humor titles. They named J.R.R. Tolkien and Jane Austen as their favorite authors.
Secretaries ranked second, spending an average of four hours and 59 minutes reading every week, followed by politicians, who read for just under five hours a week (four hours, 58 minutes). Journalists come a close fourth, at four hours and 57 minutes a week, followed by taxi drivers, who read an average of four hours, 46 minutes a week (half of which is done while waiting in their cabs). Lawyers came in sixth place, at four hours, 33 minutes a week, followed by teachers and chefs at average of four hours, 27 minutes a week.
-- WebCPA staff
