Axios Indianapolis
September 29, 2026
1 big thing: America's reading rut
Aside from this newsletter (obvi), do you read for fun? Survey says, probably not.
- 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 have declined over the past two decades, per data from the American Time Use Survey.
- There are gender and age gaps at play — in the 2025 survey, women (19%) were more likely to be readers than men (13%), and so were people 65 and older (27%).
Between the lines: Limited time and increasing competition for attention are taking a toll on reading habits.
- Researchers have found the declines in reading are correlated with increased use of other digital media.
The other side: There's hope.
- People are still buying books. Barnes & Noble has mounted a comeback and we all know Indianapolis is in its independent bookstore era.
- Plus: As you'll see later in the newsletter, we're experiencing something of a book club renaissance.
2. Jump start your reading with these recs
So, you're in a reading rut.
That's OK! It's not too late to get out of it — and a good reading recommendation is often the first step.
- "The Calamity Club" was last month's most-borrowed e-book on Libby, the library app tells Axios.
State of play: Author Kathryn Stockett's bestseller explores poverty and friendship through the eyes of two outcast women in 1930s Mississippi.
- It's her first book since her 2009 breakout, "The Help."
The intrigue: Libby's top 20 features several BookTok favorites that have either already been adapted for the screen or are slated to be.
- Those titles include "Yesteryear" by Caro Claire Burke, a thriller about a tradwife influencer that Anne Hathaway is set to star in and produce, and "The Deal" by Elle Kennedy, the basis for Amazon Prime Video's hit hockey romance series "Off Campus."
The fine print: The data reflects North American public libraries using Libby.
What's next: These are some of the most anticipated new releases this fall.
- "Taipei Story": "Yellowface" and "Babel" author R.F. Kuang's novel about a Chinese American college student spending a summer in Taipei.
- "Hollow Bones": Bestselling author Jodi Picoult's novel about an emergency preparedness official shaped by losing her mother on 9/11.
- "A Court of Splintered Harmony": Sarah J. Maas returns to her hit romantasy series.
3. Pit stop: Indy's public transit problem
4. Stat du jour: America's library hotspots
Hoosiers are outpacing the nation when it comes to public library checkouts, federal data shows.
The big picture: Public libraries nationwide reported 6.5 checkouts per person in FY 2024, according to the Institute of Museum and Library Services survey.
- That figure includes physical items and electronic materials like e-books.
Zoom in: Users of Indiana libraries had an average of nearly 9 checkouts, the eighth most in the nation.
By the numbers: Ohio (13.28), Utah (11.37) and Washington (11.23) had the most checkouts per person.
- West Virginia (3.5), Georgia (3.1) and Mississippi (1.9) saw the fewest.
Between the lines: U.S. library circulation per person is rebounding from its pandemic-era drop, helped by a boom in digital borrowing.
- Electronic material checkouts reached a decade-high 2.1 per person in FY 2024, per IMLS.
- Physical checkouts remain twice as common, at 4.3 per person.
The bottom line: Take this as a reminder to finally get your library card — or return those expired books.
Axios Indianapolis
