I imagine that for some of us the pandemic feels far away while others have been profoundly affected by it. Earlier, I posted a chart from the 2024 reader survey showing the overall effect of the pandemic on reading, however, I’ve now had a chance to look at many of the comments survey participants made.
While reviewing the comments I discovered a few themes emerging: many participants indicated that they chose lighter novels, others mentioned that the pandemic allowed the time to explore more complex reads, still others mentioned turning to new sources of reading such as magazines and sites like Substack and Medium or a shift to reading easily downloaded ebooks because libraries and bookstores were closed.
Below are a few comments that stood out for me:

Explored old favourites: “The pandemic provided a remarkable opportunity to ‘read’. And books seemed at least as important as vaccines in helping us to focus, heal, and calm down. Personally, I turned to the 25 or so historical novels of Patrick O’Brian,the Aubrey/Maturin cycle, once again. This might be the third ‘circumnavigation’ of the entire cycle. The series is so rich, so deep, I will always hold the two experiences as ‘connected’. Historical fiction is like that: a deep, rich, soothing pool of peace. And believe me, the novels are at least as good the second, the third time around.”
Discovered Audio books: “I’m using Audible significantly more. I’m also reading wider (more genres with more diverse characters) and have rediscovered my love of shorter works ( short stories and novellas).”
Found people online: “Found online reading groups . Saved my sanity.”
Read more, read differently: “During the Pandemic, the volume of books I read increased dramatically. In the past, I never read more than one book at a time, and a rarely ever “read” audiobooks. During the pandemic I started using Hoopla & Libby and was reading multiple books at a time, both e-books and audiobooks. It helped to not feel so isolated during that crazy time!”
Could not concentrate: “I found it harder to concentrate so read a few less books. Wanted to watch reruns of favs shows on tv more it seemed as it was mindless.”

New genres: “I used to read mainly historical fiction and non-fiction but during the pandemic discovered thrillers and rediscovered mysteries.”
Alternative reading sources: I focused more on magazines like National Geographic, Smithsonian, Atlanic, Mother Jones, etc., often reading entire issues instead of selected articles. I found I craved facts and information, while many friends craved the escapism of fiction. Oh.. and baking…a lot of bread, biscotti…
The pandemic was a very difficult time. In terms of my own reading, I found it very difficult to settle down to read and when I did choose a book, I often rejected it after a few chapters. On a personal note, I’m eternally grateful for the care our Canadian healthcare workers provided and the efforts our different levels of government took to keep us as safe as they could.
FOR MORE ON READING & WRITING HISTORICAL FICTION FOLLOW A WRITER OF HISTORY. There’s a SUBSCRIBE function on the right hand side of the page.

M.K. Tod writes historical fiction. Her latest novel THAT WAS THEN is a contemporary thriller. Mary’s other novels, THE ADMIRAL’S WIFE, PARIS IN RUINS, TIME AND REGRET, LIES TOLD IN SILENCE and UNRAVELLED are available from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Google Play and iTunes. She can be contacted on Facebook or on her website www.mktod.com.
2 Responses
Very interesting, Mary. And on the other (author) side, I saw my book sales (and page reads) soar, especially for my time-travel titles.
How interesting, Harald. Thanks for sharing that.