46% of Americans Didn't Read a Book in 2023

Nearly half of all U.S. adults said that they had not read a book in 2023, according to a YouGov survey conducted between December 16-18. Of the 1,500 polled adults, 46 percent said they had not listened to or read a book in the past year, while 27 percent said that they had read between 1-5 books and nine percent said they had read 6-10. Eleven percent of Americans are particularly voracious readers, having read 20 books or more in that time frame. 

Mystery and crime stories as well as history books were the most read genres in 2023, with 37 percent and 36 percent, respectively, of readers who had consumed at least one book of that genre selecting the option. Poetry was the least read genre, read by eight percent of readers in 2023. A slightly higher share of men read poetry (nine percent) than women (six percent) and the genre was more popular among younger age groups (six percent 18-29 year olds, 5 percent 30-44 year olds, three percent 45-64 year olds, three percent 65+).