# Most Americans read a few books or none at all last year

Canonical page: https://data.verasight.io/culture/most-americans-read-a-few-books-or-none-at-all-last-year/

> Indexed question in Culture.

## Reading

A plurality of Americans (38%) read just one to four books in the past year, and a quarter (25%) read none at all, a combined 63% who finished four or fewer, according to a December 2025 Verasight survey.

Fewer were heavier readers: 16% got through five to nine books, 10% read 20 or more, 7% read 10 to 14 and 4% read 15 to 19.

## Topline

How many books did you read last year?

Most Americans read a few books or none at all last year.

- 1-4: 38.2%
- 0 - none: 25.2%
- 5-9: 15.8%
- 20 or more: 9.6%
- 10-14: 7.4%
- 15-19: 3.8%

## Methodology

- Mode: Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
- Population: US adults age 18+
- Field dates: 2025-12-03 → 2025-12-08
- Base (unweighted): 1,000
- Margin of error: +/- 3.2%
- Module: soc_pol
- Sponsor: Verasight
- Weight variable: weight
- Weighting targets: age, race/ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, metropolitan status

## Source

- Canonical question URL: [https://reports.verasight.io/r/verasight-human-v-synthetic#books-read-last-year](https://reports.verasight.io/r/verasight-human-v-synthetic#books-read-last-year)

## Citation

Verasight Human/LLM Comparison Survey #2025-172, fielded December 3-8, 2025, N=1,000 US adults age 18+, +/- 3.2%.

Canonical question URL: [https://reports.verasight.io/r/verasight-human-v-synthetic#books-read-last-year](https://reports.verasight.io/r/verasight-human-v-synthetic#books-read-last-year)