Good for those of us in the book business! THGM has done a survey of American readers and they have released their U.S. book-reading survey results. As it turns out, America is a nation of bookworms, and paper is still readers’ preferred format.
U.S. readers say they plan to read more in 2023 than they did in 2022. Although eBooks and even audio books are increasingly popular, paper books remain the preferred format for readers. This according to a survey of 945 book readers in 56 countries, including 374 U.S. readers, conducted by THGM Writing Services.
The United States is a nation of bookworms, with 39% saying they were heavy readers of 20+ books in 2022. This compares to 27% of global readers being heavy readers of 20+ books in 2022.
But most American readers (61%), regardless of how many books they read in 2022, plan to read more in 2023. The top five genres in the United States were:
• History (41%)
• Mystery (40%)
• Biography (38%)
• Fantasy (34%)
• Science fiction (33%)
Each of these is significantly higher than for global readers, although the top five genres are the same in the U.S. as around the globe. I’m really impressed that folks are into history and mystery still. I would think that the Science fiction numbers would be higher. However, “The results of the survey are encouraging,” said THGM Writing Services President David Leonhardt, “Reading is alive and well. Americans have every intent to keep on reading, and they are reading all genres of fiction and non-fiction.”
Americans adore their Kindles
As to format, Americans adore their Kindles. It was the top format for 29% of American readers, well above the global rate of 20%. Even so, Americans prefer paper to eBooks or audio books, with 34% of U.S. readers choosing paperbacks the most and 16% choosing hard cover books. I’ve always been surprised that ebooks have never quite taken off the way everyone thought that they would. However, audiobooks are surging in popularity. Although audio books have a solid following and eBooks have gotten a lot of attention, paper is still the preferred book-reading format in the United States and around the world.
“Those who predicted the imminent end to printing on dead trees, did not take book readers into account,” said David Leonhardt, “American readers like the feel of paper. They like the smell of paper. They like to physically turn a page. But they also love their Kindles.”
Complete survey results
• US
• Global
• Canada
About the survey
The survey was conducted in December 2022. Because this is an Internet poll, no margin of error is assigned to the results. The results have not been weighted by age, gender, location or any other factor.
This was not a random survey. Respondents tended to self-identify as “readers”. People who do not read books or have not read books in a while mostly declined to participate. When citing this survey, it would be most accurate to refer to American readers.
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