The Truth About Who is REALLY Reading Books These Days

I’ve written A LOT about how important reading is because I read A LOT and think you should too. But I wanted to find some facts on how people like you read.  So I surfed over to BookStatistics.com and found out:

• 40% of people admit to lying about having read certain books, according to a study published last year by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council
• One person in three has purchased a book just to look intelligent
• Kids’ reading drops at age 8
• Only 38% of adults in 2006 said they had spent time reading a book for pleasure the previous day
• 65% of college freshmen in 2005 said they read little or nothing for pleasure
• 30% of 13-year-olds in 2004 said they read for fun “almost everyday,” down from 35% in 1984
• Since 1982 literary reading fell in virtually all groups and segments.  By age, the rate of decline is steepest among young adults, with the percentage of 18 to 24 year olds that describe themselves as reading literature falling to 42.8% in 2002 from 59.8% in 1982. The percentage of 25 to 34 year olds fell from 62.1% in 1982 to 47.7% in 2002
• While women still read more literature than men, that percentage fell to 55.1% in 2002 from 63% in 1982.  The study also found that only 37.6% of men read literature in 2002, down from 49.1% in 1982
• In 2002, 57% of the US population read a book
• Most readers do not get past page 18 in a book they have purchased
• 63% of adults report purchasing at least one book during the previous three-month period. (Most were probably exaggerating)
• 2002:  70% of Americans haven’t visited a bookstore in five (5) years
• Only 32% of the U.S. population has ever been in a bookstore
• The time Americans spend reading books:  1996: 123 hours;  2001: 109 hours
• 1992: 76.2 million adults in the U.S. did not read a book
• 2002: 89.9 million adults in the U.S. did not read a book

“Half of the American people have never read a newspaper. Half have never voted for President. One hopes it is the same half.”
—Gore Vidal, author

If you are NOT a reader…become one!