Posted on 01/11/2022 2:56:18 PM PST by MAGA2017
Americans say they read an average of 12.6 books during the past year, a smaller number than Gallup has measured in any prior survey dating back to 1990. U.S. adults are reading roughly two or three fewer books per year than they did between 2001 and 2016.
...results are based on a Dec. 1-16 poll, which updated a trend question on book reading. The question asks Americans to say how many books they "read, either all or part of the way through" in the past year. Interviewers are instructed to include all forms of books, including printed books but also electronic books and audiobooks, when entering the respondent's answer.
The decline in book reading is mostly a function of how many books readers are reading, as opposed to fewer Americans reading any books. The 17% of U.S. adults who say they did not read any books in the past year is similar to the 16% to 18% measured in 2002 to 2016 surveys, though it is higher than in the 1999 to 2001 polls.
The drop is fueled by a decline in the percentage of Americans reading more than 10 books in the past year. Currently, 27% report that they read more than 10 books, down eight percentage points since 2016 and lower than every prior measure by at least four points.
The reasons for the decline in book reading are unclear, with Americans perhaps finding other ways to entertain themselves. It is uncertain whether concerns about COVID or COVID-related restrictions are leading to a decline in visits to libraries or bookstores, similar to the documented declines in air travel and movie theater attendance Gallup found in the same poll. However, unlike those activities, for reading, Americans can order books or download electronic books or audiobooks without leaving their homes.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.gallup.com ...
In 2010, a new engineer that worked with me proudly declared that he no longer owned any books, and hoped to never own one again. Many at the table around his age agreed.
Books are viewed as boring, bad, and triggering since you can’t censor them as easy once they are printed.
12.6 books a year on average? To me, that seems quite high. I read constantly if I read 10 books in a year, that is a banner year. [Of course, every now and then I tackle a 1000 pager.] They must be including comic books and graphic novels. And even then it seems exaggerated. Methinks many people are either outright lying or might not understand the meaning of the word “book”.
Just love reading "books on dead tree"
Why would someone proudly declare that they no longer owned books? That is depressing.
Books require attention spans.
Hollywood dispensed with those decades ago.
NetFlix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, PornHub, Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, etc...
More people can’t read.
Books require contemplation and thinking, most people today want sound bites and to be entertained.
Right now I’m working on “The Americans: The Colonial Experience” by Daniel J. Boorstin.
I too read long books as a rule. Well I don’t go looking for them. I probably read about 14-16 books a year but I also do Bible Study and a program called GriefShare which requires not only reading but research. I reread a lot and I like classics.
12.6 books a year on average is certainly better than none. I don’t really keep track of it but I guess I read about 20-25 books a year. Often these are books I have read in the past but want to revisit. My wife reads more. Between the two of us we probably have 500-plus books in our house.
THE BOOK STORES WERE CLOSED-———
WAKE UP
Reading and comprehension go hand in hand.
Given our last presidential election was stolen in broad open daylight I’d say yes comprehension is in short supply.
I never see people in commercials reading books
I don’t think I read a book last year. I refer to some books for reference for a quote or facts. But I have read just about all the books there are on topics I am interested in. Any new books are political, but I get enough of that here and other news/opinion sites.
I must be the exception. I read 106 books last year.
I have amassed massive collections of books.
Every day I get two emails, Freebooksy.com and book barbarian, with free Kindle books.
I’ve got 8000 free kindle books.
I’ve also bought some huge collections from Book Warehouse.
Some of those have been collections like 2000 books for $49.
So I’m pretty sure I’m over 8000 books from Book Warehouse.
And then there is HumbleBundle.com which has book bundles, usually tech, but some cooking and other stuff. And I’ve bought several bundles from them.
I spend way more time collecting books than I do reading.
Haven't been to the movie theater since 2004 either.
I suppose I'm odd.
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