Sep 13, 2026 - Health
Americans are still in a reading rut
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Just over 16% of Americans read for pleasure on an average day last year, according to new government data.
Why it matters: America's reading slump is sticking — remaining near the lowest level in at least two decades.
- Researchers say reading, even for fun, comes with a host of benefits for emotional intelligence, employment, health and more.
Zoom in: Not only has the share of leisure readers fallen, but so has the time spent doing it.
- Americans spent an average of 16 minutes per day reading for pleasure in 2025, seven minutes less than a decade ago, according to the data.
- For comparison, people spent an average of 2.6 hours watching TV daily last year.
By the numbers: Back in 2005, 27% of people 15 and older read for pleasure on an average day, but the numbers are lower today, per data from the American Time Use Survey.
- In the 2025 survey, women (19%) were more likely to be readers than men (13%), and so were people 65 and older (27%).
Reality check: People are still buying books. Barnes & Noble and independent bookstores have mounted a comeback, opening new stores and reporting higher sales.
- And "romantasy" — steamy fiction that mixes romance and fantasy — is now a billion-dollar business.
