First: I wanna clarify this. I know that loads of people read like 100 books a year, or read all the time. I know these people exist. I’m asking about people that are like… average. An average american who just.. reads. Doesn’t track everything or sets goals of like 100, or never stops reading… Anyway, I’ve been searching this up, and i find answers like 15-50, even 100. I find this highly unlikely, especially for average US citizens. Half the people i know don’t even pick up 5 books a year, let alone 15! I just don’t believe these stats. I read somewhere that people read 8 a month on average? That can’t be right for an average person. That’s like 2 books a week… I know people do read this much, but still… For an average person? So be real… how many books do people actually read a year?
by Great_Advertising389
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I’m just going by my friends and I would say 8-12
I think the average is about 12 but I would guess the median is maybe 1 or 2.
My friends average like 3-5 and they’re basically all audiobooks while they commute lol
I think that’s a case of the people who read a lot skewing the average higher, because there are a LOT of people who read 100 books (especially people who only read romance/thrillers/mysteries/YA, genres that are usually easy to read & fast paced).
I know a few people that read, but besides myself & a close friend those people read probably a few books a month at most. Everyone else I know doesn’t read, or only reads a book or two on vacation.
Based on your post, I don’t foresee you accepting the answers that you are almost certainly going to get. The numbers you looked up all come from various surveys conducted in various ways and locations, which is why you got such a wide range. But simply refusing to believe the statistics isn’t really very rational.
I’d definitely take those numbers with a grain of salt, maybe look up what research methods were used for the initial data collection. But fifteen books a year feels like a fairly accurate number to me. I *definitely* do at least eight a month, but even my drunk, stoned roommate reads one or two a month and half the time I’m convinced she can’t actually read.
What makes you think that people don’t read? Are you just basing this off your friend group?
Probably somewhere between 0 and 1.
This morning’s New York Times newsletter said that less than half of adults read one book (or more) for pleasure in a 12-month period. Here’s the study they were citing: https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/93659-nea-finds-worrying-drop-in-reading-participation.html?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20231125&instance_id=108580&nl=the-morning®i_id=66530689&segment_id=150941&te=1&user_id=cb7393c0aa64f4b2b0dc868f6ca39d68
EDIT: The study was conducted by the National Endowment for the Arts, and although there’s nothing in the linked article about how they sampled their study participants, I would assume all participants are American, since the NEA is an American organization.
Average American? Rounds down to 0. Average American who reads sometimes? Probably 3-5
I would guarantee the median of average adult Americans is between 0 and 1. Out of the 30-40 people in my coworker / friend circle that I know pretty well there is exactly 1 other reader in that group that reads anything outside of business material. The average will be higher from the higher end folks skewing it up but median Would be a better figure here.
The statistic I saw recently is that men read an average of 3 per year and women read an average of 5.
Here’s what I would consider a reliable source: [https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2015/10/19/slightly-fewer-americans-are-reading-print-books-new-survey-finds/](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2015/10/19/slightly-fewer-americans-are-reading-print-books-new-survey-finds/)
That research, which is a few years old, finds that the average American reads a dozen books in a year. Could be higher post-COVID.
I very much doubt if the average is a lot higher than 12.
Before I made reading a priority a few years ago, I was a pretty average reader. I’d say I got through maybe 10-15 each year once I finished school.
Keep in mind that you’re going to get highly skewed answers from this subreddit. I’d wager that it’s probably around five. Most adults are completely burnt out from reading after finishing high school/college.
Most of my friends don’t read anything at all, and I’d guess a national average would be around 1 or even 0. Me and my dad both read though, and I think we’re both right around 50 books a year on average. This year I had a baby though so I think I’ll only get to maybe 30 by the end of this year, but last year I read over 80.
Per Gallup as of two years ago, the average is [12.6](https://news.gallup.com/poll/388541/americans-reading-fewer-books-past.aspx).
We’re not American but still an English speaking country. If going by people I know who read I would say the average would be like 4-6
The true median is probably lower than the average. Because the people who DO read, read voraciously. If 1 person reads 0 books, and another reads 30, the average is 15. But that doesn’t mean both people actually read 15 books a year. So I think removing the outliers, the “average American” probably reads 1 book a year if that.
I read probably 20-30 min a night before bed and I’m only at 18 books for the year. To be fair they’re all 500+ page books but I have no idea how some people read 50-100 a year unless you’re counting audio books.
The commute radio usually says Americans might read one book a year or so after they are out of school, and that seems likely to me. They are probably mostly non-fiction, as-you-need-it books, like parenting books, car manuals, etc. that don’t come up as much in school.
I read more than most people, and I average about a book a month, depending on the size of the book. For example, I read “The Power of Habit” in about a month, while working on learning computer science. Some of my books are references, like “Python in a Nutshell” that I will never finish and are not meant to be read through all at once, and some are highly technical and need to get read front to back like my Comptia Security+ Study Guide. I read a lot for work, so in my free time it makes sense to do something else like watch TV or exercise.
When I was younger, I used to read more science fiction and fantasy, but I recently learned those books are like synthetic THC, and I don’t have time to go into imaginary worlds because I need go keep filling my fridge, doing laundry, driving to work, etc. and can’t be silly in my head. Those books are like candy, and the others are like meat and vegetables.
I am the only avid reader in my friend group and at work (and I still “only” read 50-70 books a year. A lot for sure, but many people on this sub put me to shame). A few of my friends are in a monthly book club, so read 10-12 books per year. Many of my coworkers enjoy reading, but don’t go out of their way to read and/or are picky about the books they do read and will read 10-15 books per year. My fiance enjoys reading, but will only read before bed and get about 10 pages in before he passes out so he reads around 5 books per year. That being said, I have some other coworkers and friends who literally never read books.
If you want to get down to brass tacks and include every single American? I wouldn’t be surprised if the number is in the range of 0-1. But for average people, who enjoy reading and just do it when they can or when they find a book they like? I’d say in the 5-10 range.