# Americans, on average, read how many books per year? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 8, 2004, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-on-average-read-how-many-books-per-year/223466 "2004-01-08T18:05:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nisosbar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c37758/32.png) [@nisosbar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nisosbar)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-on-average-read-how-many-books-per-year/223466/1 "2004-01-08T18:05:30Z")
It’s very low, isn’t it, like 2 or 5? ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-on-average-read-how-many-books-per-year/223466/2 "2004-01-08T22:01:04Z")
Well i know I read 18 last year. Maybe we should do our own averaging here. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-on-average-read-how-many-books-per-year/223466/3 "2004-01-08T22:34:13Z")
And I think, in order to avoid bias, we should eliminate anyone who actually counts the number of books they read in a year. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-on-average-read-how-many-books-per-year/223466/4 "2004-01-08T22:46:01Z")
Or those with a number low enough so that they can keep count. 😃 BTW, is the question how many books are read each year by Americans who read books? Or is it the total number of books read divided by the total number of Americans? And are we limiting this to adults? What about kids? What about kids who are read to? Do we count books read as school assignments? As technical or work-related texts? Not quite as simple a question as it first appeared. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-on-average-read-how-many-books-per-year/223466/5 "2004-01-08T22:47:16Z")
I don’t count how many books I read a year…but including new text books for the upcoming year, probably 50-75 a year… Anyone know on average how many books non-Americans read? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![nisosbar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c37758/32.png) [@nisosbar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nisosbar)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-on-average-read-how-many-books-per-year/223466/6 "2004-01-08T22:53:13Z")
Well, some organization (I don’t remember which one) did some kind of study a while back; I was hoping someone was familiar with it, and that they refresh the survey annually? I’m ashamed to say I read only 14 books (eek) last year, but one of my New Year Resolutions is to read 1 book every two weeks this year - and I’ve already got two down! 🙂 I started **Curfew** by Phil Rickman today - but this one is long, so it could take a while… ☹ ---
**Author:** ![mailman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8491ac/32.png) [@mailman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mailman)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-on-average-read-how-many-books-per-year/223466/7 "2004-01-08T23:03:49Z")
Read cover to cover, every word? I go to bookstores and heavily browse books all the time, but have never really considered that “reading” a book. Would that count? If it did, my numbers would sound like fiction, [yuk, yuk.] ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-on-average-read-how-many-books-per-year/223466/8 "2004-01-08T23:08:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Exapno Mapcase \* > \*\*Or those with a number low enough so that they can keep count. 😃 > > \*\* Hey I’m a slow reader… and most of them were pretty big books 🙂 Besides I never take the time to ready so it was my goal to do 12 last year and i beat it by 6… I’m shooting for 24 this year. ---
**Author:** ![BlackPheonix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dfb087/32.png) [@BlackPheonix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackPheonix)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2004, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-on-average-read-how-many-books-per-year/223466/9 "2004-01-08T23:45:42Z")
I have no idea. I don’t count 😛 ---
**Author:** ![aerodave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@aerodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aerodave)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-on-average-read-how-many-books-per-year/223466/10 "2004-01-09T00:16:07Z")
I read maybe 2 books a year. I always resolve to read a lot more, but i just don’t enjoy fiction that much, and non-fiction seems to take too much of my time. I tend to read a lot of professional publications, magazines, and news. But just not books. ---
**Author:** ![peritrochoid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@peritrochoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peritrochoid)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-on-average-read-how-many-books-per-year/223466/11 "2004-01-09T00:39:10Z")
If you mean read through completely, I’d say I read zero books per year. If you count books that I read 3/4 of the way through or so, I’d say about 20 books per year. I probably buy 50 per year, intending to read every one of them, but not always getting round to it. I haven’t completed a book, cover-to-cover, in a long, long time. I get distracted with a new book and put the previous one down, only to return to it months later and find myself needing to start over. ---
**Author:** ![watsondog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@watsondog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watsondog)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-on-average-read-how-many-books-per-year/223466/12 "2004-01-09T00:56:21Z")
Maybe about 150-200 books a year. I’m not American, though, so maybe it doesn’t count ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-on-average-read-how-many-books-per-year/223466/13 "2004-01-09T01:02:50Z")
The only people who could answer this question would be a polling organization. And you would have to hope that they get a representative sample of all ages (0-100 say), both sexes, people of all sorts of educational achievement, and a good definition of what you meant by “book” and “read”. It’s probably easier to find out how much people in America spent on reading material last year because money is a lot easier to quantify than “read”. ---
**Author:** ![sunstone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunstone/32/3372_2.png) [@sunstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunstone)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-on-average-read-how-many-books-per-year/223466/14 "2004-01-09T04:33:39Z")
I read somewhere between 110 and 160 books per year. I am a US citizen. I paid for less than 10 of them…Public Libraries are great places!!! I suspect that folks who read a lot use libraries, so the amount spent on books really wouldn’t work for those bookworms like me. ---
**Author:** ![county](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce7236/32.png) [@county](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/county)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-on-average-read-how-many-books-per-year/223466/15 "2004-01-09T05:28:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sunstone \* > \*\*I read somewhere between 110 and 160 books per year. I am a US citizen. I paid for less than 10 of them…Public Libraries are great places!!! > > I suspect that folks who read a lot use libraries, so the amount spent on books really wouldn’t work for those bookworms like me. \*\* Ashcroft probably knows. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-on-average-read-how-many-books-per-year/223466/16 "2004-01-09T06:08:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sunstone \* > \*\*I read somewhere between 110 and 160 books per year. I am a US citizen. I paid for less than 10 of them…Public Libraries are great places!!! > > I suspect that folks who read a lot use libraries, so the amount spent on books really wouldn’t work for those bookworms like me. \*\* In order for that to be possible, there would have to people reading several thousand books a year to balance out the people who read no books at all. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-on-average-read-how-many-books-per-year/223466/17 "2004-01-09T06:16:33Z")
**sunstone** _reads_ somewhere between 110 and 160 books per year. ---
**Author:** ![nisosbar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c37758/32.png) [@nisosbar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nisosbar)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-on-average-read-how-many-books-per-year/223466/18 "2004-01-09T17:13:58Z")
Some depressing statistics: > [@](#): > > Ron Pugsley, from the U.S. Department of Education and ILN Spokesperson, said illiteracy and low literacy skills remain one of society’s most damaging problems, not just in the developing world but in industrialized nations as well, including the United States. He laid out a series of facts and statistics to paint an alarming picture of the scope and detriments of low literacy skills: > > 885 million adults in the world are illiterate, two-thirds of them women; > > 40 million adults in the U.S. have trouble reading to their children or helping them with their homework; > > More than 8 of every 20 adults with low literacy live in poverty compared to only 1 in 20 with strong literacy skills; > > More than 40 percent of the US workforce and more than 50 percent of high school graduates do not have the basic literacy skills to do their job well; > > Workers lacking high school diplomas earn $452 a month on average while those with bachelor’s degree make an average of $1,829; > > Seven of 10 prisoners cannot perform basic reading and writing task. > > ``` > Dr. Donna Ogle, President of the International Reading Association, said "The problem persists despite the dedicated effort of tens of thousands of professional teachers and volunteer tutors. We believe the reason is threefold: First, the attack on the problem has been splintered, under-funded and has lacked sustained focus. Second, the public is woefully unaware of the problem and the very serious impact it has on our well-being as a society. Third, we have lacked a comprehensive, easily accessible database on literacy. Today, on the thirty-fifth annual International Literacy Day, we announce a program to overcome those obstacles." > > ``` ☹ I try to make donations to literacy programs, but I never realized what a serious problem it is. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-on-average-read-how-many-books-per-year/223466/19 "2004-01-09T18:20:53Z")
According to [here](http://www.booksellers.org.uk/newlibrary/document_view.cfm?document_id=488%5B/url) the US had $26.8 billion in sales in 2002. Say $20 per book that’s about 1 billion books or about 4.5 books/person in the US. This doesn’t included newspapers, magazines etc. Now that’s every single man, woman and child. Likely it’s not 280 million readers out there. Say 200 million. The number then climbs to ~6.5 or a book every two months. Personally I’m working on 4 right now. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2004, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-on-average-read-how-many-books-per-year/223466/20 "2004-01-09T19:04:44Z")
**Grey** - But a huge percentage of those book sales are self-help books, especially diet books. How many people sit down and read through those books by Dr. Atkins, or Dr. Phil? The New York Times has had to separate advice books from its main bestseller lists, otherwise The South Beach Diet and similar books would constantly top the bestseller lists. (As an aside, I note that The World Almanac 2004 and The Old Farmer’s Almanac 2004 are both on the paperback advice bestseller list. That’s going to make it awfully hard to identify the terrorists.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-on-average-read-how-many-books-per-year/223466.md?page=2)