In January we asked our readers to tell us about their reading habits. Here are the answers from the more than 600 teens who responded (thank you very much for helping us out). We randomly chose three people to win $100 for participating. Congratulations to: Mark Zamudio of Temple Intermediate School (Rosemead), Alma Mendez of Garey HS (Pomona) and Victor Magallon of Bell Gardens HS. Note: Some percentages do not add up to 100 because respondents checked all the answers that applied.

RESPONDENTS WERE:
Gender:
Female 58%
Male 42%
Ethnicity:
Latino 66%
Asian 22%
White 11%
Black 8%
Others 9%
ANSWERS:
Do you like to read?
Yes 79%
No 21%
If you chose “no” in the first question, why not?
I get bored when I read 28%
I haven’t found books that I like 24%
Other 23%
I’m a slow reader 18%
It isn’t cool 7%
What kind of books do you like to read?
Fiction 62%
Mystery/suspense 59%
Action/adventure 56%
Romance 45%
Fantasy 44%
Horror 43%
Comic books/manga 37%
Poetry 29%
Science fiction 27%
Biography/autobiography/memoir 25%
War 25%
History 23%
Classic literature 18$
Westerns 4%
How many books did you read for fun (not for school) in 2010?
1 – 5 35%
6 – 10 21%
More than 20 17%
11 – 15 12%
16 – 20 8%
0 7%
How many days do you usually read for fun each week?
1 – 3 52%
Every day 17%
4 – 6 17%
0 14%
What prevents you from reading more for fun?
I don’t have enough time 51%
I read as much as I want to 35%
I’d rather watch TV, go online, play video games or hang out with my friends 28%
I read so much for school that I don’t want to read for fun 16%
Books cost too much 11%
I don’t like reading 9%
The public libraries are closed 3%
Do you have a card for the public library?
Yes 78%
No 22%
When was the last time you visited a public library?
In the last month 50%
More than a year ago 17%
In the last three months 16%
In the last year 16%
There are no libraries in my community 1%
Where do you get the books that you read for fun?
Public library 59%
School library 48%
Buy them at a bookstore or online 38%
From friends 34%
Borrow from a teacher 33%
My family already owns them 28%
Besides school books, what do you read most?
Books 31%
Magazines 25%
Websites 19%
Comic books/manag 15%
Newspapers 10%
What’s the last book you read for fun? Or what book are you currently reading for fun? (Below are the most common answers)
A Child Called “It” by Dave Pelzer
Burned, Impulse and Fallout by Ellen Hopkins
The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
The Last Song and At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Pretty Little Liars series by Sara Shepard
Always Running by LuisĀ  Rodriguez