Reading Habits of Americans
By: Alexa Hamblin
Updated: August 22, 2007
Are you a bookworm or are magazines and web sites more your cup of tea? If you answered yes to the latter, you are not alone. An AP study conducted earlier this month found one in four Americans didn't read a single book last year. We asked some folks around town how many books, if any, they read last year and answers varied widely from 30-40 books to, yes, zero. Those with little to no books under their belts say they just don't have time to read, or head to the internet for information, rather than books. Past studies have paralleled this, blaming the internet, movies and TV for a lack of enthusiasm for literature. Most of the people we spoke to were not surprised to hear one in four Americans never picked up a book in 2006.
"I don't find it surprising," says Peter Marsh, an English Literature major, "I think we're a fairly illiterate nation, considering our wealth."
There are plenty of avid readers out there, though. According to the study, they're mostly female or elderly. The most read books last year? According to the AP study -- the Bible and other religious books.
