Two-thirds of Americans say they "never" read books for pleasure
Almost half (47%) of Americans are reading 10 or fewer books per year, according to new data from YouGov Omnibus. Almost one-third (31%) of Americans say they generally read between one and five books per year. Another 16% say they read between six and ten books per year, while 12% say they don’t read books at all.
Women generally read more books than men. Men (34%) were more likely than women (29%) to respond that they read between one and five books, or between six and ten books (18% vs 14% of women) over the course of a year. But women were more likely than men to say they read 11-15 books (10% of women vs 8% of men) or 16-20 books (8% of women vs 5% of men). Women (9%) are also more than four times likely as men (2%) to say they read more than 50 books per year.
Data from YouGov Profiles shows that two-thirds (66%) of people say they “never” read books for pleasure. Another 11% say they read for pleasure “every day,” while an equal number (11%) say they read for pleasure two to six days a week. Men (69%) were slightly more likely than women (63%) to say they “never” read books for pleasure.
When it comes to preferred reading formats, about half of people still pick physical books over e-readers or other formats. About one-quarter (26%) say they typically read books in physical paperback form, a near-equal number (24%) say they typically read hardback books. Another 16% read e-books, and 65% chose “none of these”. Women were slightly more likely than men to say they read paperback books (28% vs 23%), hardback books (26% vs 23%), and e-books (17% vs 15%).
Learn more about YouGov Plan & Track and YouGov Omnibus.
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