Book Reading: Topics
- As of 2022, 40% of American adults had read some form of literature (defined as a novel, short story, poem, or play) for pleasure (not for work or school) in the previous 12 months (Indicator V-05a).1 This was the lowest rate recorded in surveys that extend back to 1982. As with book reading generally, the greatest decline in literature reading over these decades was seen among younger adults; in this case, those ages 18–24.
- In 2017, the SPPA started to ask questions about the media Americans use to engage with literature. When readers who “listened to recordings, broadcasts, or web streams” of novels, short stories, or poetry are included in the count of literature readers, the share of people partaking of literature in 2022 increased from approximately 40% to close to 46%.2 The increase was most dramatic among 25–44-year-olds and people age 75 or older.
- In both 1982 and 2022, women were far more likely to be literature readers than men (Indicator V-05b).3 Although the rate declined for both groups over that time period, it declined less sharply for women, which widened the gap between the sexes, with women being 67% more likely than men to read literature in 2022. But listening had somewhat of a leveling effect, as men have embraced listening to a greater extent than women. When both reading and listening to literature are considered, the gap between the genders narrows to 50%.
- Americans with more formal education were more likely to be literature readers in both 1982 and 2022 than those with lower educational attainment, but over those 40 years the reading rates declined at every level of education. The greatest percentage drop was among those with a terminal high school diploma (with a decline of 52%). But this group also saw the greatest boost in share when listening is considered, with an uptick in their literature reading rate from 26% to over 31%.
- From 1982 to 2022, the share of Americans with bachelor’s degrees who had read even one work of literature (a novel, short story, poem, or play) in the previous year decreased 24 percentage points (from 80% to 56% percent). Among Americans with advanced degrees, the share shrank from 85% to 61%. When listening is included, however, the literature reading rate in 2022 for both groups increased approximately 10%.
- The 2017 SPPA included a new set of questions about a wider array of humanities literature, providing a window on Americans’ reading of history, biography (including memoirs), and works on religion and spirituality. The survey found that the share of Americans reading most types of books ranged from 31% for biography to 39% for books on religion and spirituality (Indicator V-05c). Poetry was the exception, with a far smaller share, 9%, having read such material in the previous 12 months (12% if listeners are included).
- The reading rates for most types of reading material examined here differed substantially by gender. For example, the share of women who had read a novel or short story in the past year was 47% and only 28% for men. Women were also more likely to have read a book on religion or spirituality than their male counterparts. Conversely, men were more likely to have read a history book than women (with a rate of 40% compared to 29%). When it came to biography and memoirs, however, men’s and women’s reading rates were virtually indistinguishable.
- For every type of literature about which SPPA asks, Americans with more formal education had higher reading rates (Indicator V-05d). For example, in 2022, 53% of Americans with a terminal bachelor’s degree had read at least one novel or short story in the past year, and 37% had read at least one work of history. In comparison, only 25% of Americans with a terminal high school diploma had read either type of work. The relationship between book reading and educational attainment was weaker in the case of religious and spiritual texts. Observed reading rates for this type of book were all in the 36–44% range for every education cohort included in this analysis.
- The greater an American’s age, the more likely they were to have read a book on religion and spirituality (Indicator V-05e). Americans 65 or older were also more likely to have read a history or biography than their younger counterparts. Although literature reading in general has declined over the long term, poetry saw a fairly dramatic increase in readership from 2012 to 2017 (not pictured). The 2022 SPPA revealed a reversal of that trend, particularly among 18–24-year-olds, whose poetry reading rate dropped from 17.5% to 9%, similar to the rates of other age groups (though when listeners are included, the 2022 rate increases to 13%).
* Novels, short stories, poetry, and plays, other than for work or school.
** This percentage includes those who read (regardless of the format) or who listened to recordings, broadcasts, or web streams of novels, short stories, or poetry (SPPA did not ask about listening to plays).
Source: National Endowment for the Arts, Survey of Public Participation in the Arts. Data analyzed and presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).
* Novels, short stories, poetry, and plays, other than for work or school.
** This percentage includes those who read (regardless of the format) or who listened to recordings, broadcasts, or web streams of novels, short stories, or poetry (SPPA did not ask about listening to plays).
Source: National Endowment for the Arts, Survey of Public Participation in the Arts. Data analyzed and presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).
* Other than for work or school.
** This percentage includes those who read (regardless of the format) or who listened to recordings, broadcasts, or web streams of novels, short stories, or poetry (SPPA did not ask about listening to plays).
Source: National Endowment for the Arts, Survey of Public Participation in the Arts. Data analyzed and presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).
* Other than for work or school.
** Percentage includes those who read (regardless of the format) or who listened to recordings, broadcasts, or web streams of novels, short stories, or poetry (SPPA did not ask about listening to plays).
Source: National Endowment for the Arts, Survey of Public Participation in the Arts. Data analyzed and presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).
* Other than for work or school.
** Percentage includes those who read (regardless of the format) or who listened to recordings, broadcasts, or web streams of novels, short stories, or poetry (SPPA did not ask about listening to plays).
Source: National Endowment for the Arts, Survey of Public Participation in the Arts. Data analyzed and presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).
