How Are Reading Habits Changing?

 

 

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released the results of its American Time Use survey and the findings indicate that fewer Americans are reading for pleasure. 

Two decades ago, in 2004, the survey found that 28% read for pleasure in any given day. Now, that number dropped to 16%. We have gone from 1 in 4 to 1 in 6 people reading for pleasure today. 

The Atlantic recently noted that the books that people read are simpler than they used to be, saying: “New York Times bestsellers today have sentences that are about one-third shorter than they were a century ago.” 

The recent survey noted that fewer than half of all people in the US read at least one book last year. This means the simple majority of people did not read a book for pleasure last year. 

But, we can’t say the sky is falling. The nation’s population keeps growing, so a smaller percentage of people being book readers, though not a good thing, still means many people are still buying and reading books. 

People read plenty – books, blogs, websites, newspapers, magazines, newsletters, emails, social media posts, texts, etc. There is a lot of content out there. How publishers and authors go about crafting books that people want to read and that are price-competitive will always be the industry’s challenge.

“Learning to spell in English can be a harrowing experience. According to a study in the British Journal of Psychology, children take two to three times longer to grasp English spelling, compared to more phonetic orthographies like German or Spanish.” --Enough Is Enuf: Our Failed Attempts To Make English Easier To Spell by Gabe Henry

Do You Need Book Marketing Help?

Brian Feinblum can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors like you to promote your story, sell your book, and grow your brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator! 

 

About Brian Feinblum

This award-winning blog has generated over 9,800,000 page views. With 5,600+ posts over the past 15 years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2026, 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.”  Copyright 2026.

 

For the past three decades, Brian Feinblum has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and as the director of publicity at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler.

 

His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully) and (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/10-things-my-dog-taught-me-about-marketing-books). He was recently interviewed by the IBPA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0BhO9m8jbs

 

He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, three times at BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association, Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, five times at Morgan James Publishing Red Carpet, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. He served as a judge for the 2024 IBPA Book Awards.

 

His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.

 

Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog.

 

You can connect with him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum/ or https://www.facebook.com/brian.feinblum