Answer: Book
Meanwhile, the majority of all U.S. adults — 54 percent to be exact — currently read e-books on an electronic reader, such as the Kindle or the Nook, or on a tablet computer or smartphone, according to a Harris Poll. And this is important because how we read — that is, whether it’s a hard copy book or an e-book — appears to impact how much we read. Those who read either more or exclusively in the e-book format are more likely to read more than 20 books in an average year (30 percent) than either those who read more/only in hard copy (18 percent) or those who read in both formats equally (21 percent). E-reading adults also report a higher average readership per year (22.5 books) than either hard copy hardliners (16 books) or those who read both formats (15 books). But if you prefer the look and feel of a “real” book in your hands, you have lots of company. 46 percent say they only read hard copy books and an additional 16 percent say they read more hard copy books than e-books. Just 6 percent of readers say they read e-books exclusively, shunning all “dead tree” books. Want more?
- Overall, 84 percent of U.S. adults say they read at least one book a year.
- 36 percent of U.S. adults say they read more than 10 books a year.
- On average, Americans read about 17 books a year.
- Women, meanwhile, (23) read twice as many books as men (11).
- 65 percent of Americans purchased at least one book in the past year, while 9 percent bought more than 20 books.
