Americans reported reading 12 books on average in 2022. That’s the lowest number since Gallup started polling on this in the 90s. Survey data from 2023 show nearly half of US adults didn't read—or listen to—even one book that year. It's no wonder; book reading has to compete with endless news feeds, social media sites, streaming services, and even podcasts for free time. Teachers are starting to worry about this. College professors report their incoming freshman seem unable to stick with long, complicated texts. At the high school level, teachers are taking novels off their curriculum entirely, sticking to excerpts and movie-versions of the classics.

Book reading in the digital age is more convenient than ever. You can listen to an audiobook in places you would never read a physical book—when you're driving, for example, or doing the dishes. And just one e-reader can store thousands of books, which makes reading more transportable and accessible. But even the ease of modern tech hasn't reversed the overall decline. And it begs new questions: do our brains interact with a screen the same way they interact with a paper page? And does listening to a book really count as reading it? Americans are consuming fewer books than ever. Does that matter in 2025?

Guests:

Della Cassia, freelance writer (https://www.dellacassia.com/)

Victoria Waller, educational therapist and author of Yes! Your Child Can: Creating Success for Children with Learning Differences (https://www.drvictoriawaller.com/the-book)

Jonathan Malesic, writer and professor at Southern Methodist University (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/25/opinion/college-university-students-reading.html?unlocked_article_code=1.U04.5KzJ.G2qOw1rujKCq&smid=url-share)

Anna White, avid audiobook reader

Naomi Baron, professor emerita of linguistics at American University and author of How We Read Now: Strategic Choices for Print, Screen, and Audio (https://www.amazon.com/How-We-Read-Now-Strategic/dp/019008409X) and Who Wrote This? How AI and the Lure of Efficie