. By 17th century, print was no longer used just by scholar officials. Merchants used print in their everyday life, as they collected trade information. . Reading increasingly became a leisure activity. . The new readership preferred fictional narratives, poetry, autobiographies, anthologies of literary masterpieces and romantic plays. . Rich women began to read and many women began publishing their poetry and plays. Wives of scholar-officials published their works and courtesans wrote about their lives.