In an 1869 etiquette manual, the Anglican moralist Charlotte Yonge explained why women read more than men: ‘There are so many hours of a girl’s life when she must sit still,’ according to Yonge, ‘that a book is her natural resource.’ Most American parents today would nod in recognition at Yonge’s claim that girls read more. That may be because reading thrives on the absence of opportunity cost. Books find readers when more lucrative work is ruled out by gender (earning eighty-three cents on the dollar, American women outspend on books) as well as age (literature reading is highest among those too young or old for paid employment). Once a sign of economic power, reading has become the province of those whose time lacks value.

Leah Price, What We Talk About When We Talk About Books (2019)