The Nature of Adult Reading Groups in Japan

Purpose: Although numerous reading groups for adults exist in Japan, the nature of these groups requires clarification. This study focused on social science reading groups to clarify the circumstances and conditions that influence participation and the nature perceived by participants. Accordingly, we examined how participants view reading groups, what motivates and prompts participation, what types of feelings participation evokes, and what consequences and effects follow participation.Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 men and women in their 30s to 60s. Grounded theory methods were used to analyze the interview results to create an integrated category relationship diagram of nine categories.Results: Participants’ expectations, self-perception of their situation, and reading style influenced motivations. The expectations of reading group participants are diverse, but the load of the reading group can filter out participants with strong motivations to participate. When participants with different expectations and motives gather and discuss in a reading group, the book of interest can bring common ground among diverse comments. The reading group can make participants aware of connecting the information to the knowledge they previously had and obtain new insights from the diverse free discussions and comments among participants. Although many reading sessions may not prove meaningful, if participants experience a strong sense of realization, those reading sessions may influence later ones. To clarify, reading sessions may result in evaluating the reading session, utilization of their jobs or human networks, and introspection. We confirmed that these outcomes of reading sessions further raised expectations and selections for participants.