Are You Like Most Readers?

I love the Pew Research Center. I love the idea of a “fact tank”. Just the sound of it makes me want to go swimming.

They recently released their latest data on reading in the U.S.A. with previous years, nearly three-quarters of Americans read a book in the last year, with an average of 12 books read (mean). The typical American reads 4 books a year (median). I had to remind myself again what the difference was between the mean (average) and the median (middle number).

They found that print book reading is still outnumbering digital formats:

39% of Americans only read print books
29% read both digital and print books
7% only read digital formats

When it comes to audiobooks:

23% of 18 – 29-year-olds have listened in the past 12 months, up from 16% in 2016
16 % of high school graduates have listened to an audiobook in the past 12 months, up from 9% in 2016
17% of adults in rural communities have listened to audiobooks in the past 12 months, up from 10% in 2016

Demographic patterns for reading remain consistent as in past years. College graduates are likely to read more than those who have not attended college, while young adults read more books than those 65 and older.

Tell me below. What kind of books do you read? How many?

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This post was previously published on Catherine Lanser and is republished here with permission from the author.

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