Print still dominates
- a recent blog roundup reports Americans still prefer print books over digital or audio formats. (thebookselfblog.wordpress.com) - The same piece notes relatively few Americans participate in book clubs these days. (thebookselfblog.wordpress.com) - That snapshot frames current reading habits around print resilience rather than digital or audio dominance. (thebookselfblog.wordpress.com)
Americans still read books mostly on paper: 64% said they read a print book in the past 12 months, compared with 31% for e-books and 26% for audiobooks, according to a Pew Research Center survey released April 9. (pewresearch.org) Pew said 75% of U.S. adults read all or part of at least one book in the previous year. The survey was conducted Oct. 6-16, 2025, among 8,046 adults. (pewresearch.org) Print is still the only format used by a majority of Americans, even after years of digital growth. Pew said print reading slipped from 72% in 2011 to 64% in 2025, while e-book reading rose from 17% to 31% and audiobook listening rose from 11% to 26%. (pewresearch.org) That shift has slowed. Pew said there was little change since 2021 in the overall share of Americans who read books or in the formats they use. (pewresearch.org) Book clubs remain a niche habit rather than a mass one. Pew’s April 2026 write-up said participation is “much less common” than book reading, even as reading itself remains widespread. (pewresearch.org) A separate YouGov survey points to another limit on the reading boom narrative: 59% of Americans said they read at least one book in 2025, while 40% said they read none. (yougov.com) YouGov found the median American read two books in 2025, while the average was eight, a gap driven by a small group of heavy readers. In that survey, 19% said they read 10 or more books, and 4% said they read 50 or more. (yougov.com) The picture in April 2026 is not a digital takeover. Americans are still reading, but paper remains the default format and organized reading groups remain uncommon. (pewresearch.org)
