(New York, N.Y. August 16, 2001) - A study released in June 2001 by Bear Stearns sheds light on how Americans spend their leisure time and money and predicts leisure trends moving forward. And good news for magazines - projections indicate that Americans will read more in the coming years. Overall, the majority of Americans tend to enjoy more passive leisure activities such as reading, watching television and going to the movies. Reading (books and magazines) fared well in comparison to other leisure activities. The study projects that the amount of time people spend reading will increase by 30% in the next two years. Reading enjoyed the largest predicted increase for any of the leisure activities that the study measured. As a vacation leisure activity, reading is expected to increase by 22%, making it one of the top five activities with an anticipated increase of more than 20%.