Are you reading less these days? Researchers say you're part of a bigger trend
Americans are reading less for pleasure these days.
That’s according to research from the University of Florida and University College London. And it’s not a little dip - we’re talking a 40% drop in daily leisure reading for people 15 and older over the past two decades.
This shift is especially prevalent for specific groups, like Black Americans, people with lower incomes, and people in rural areas.
We dug deeper into the findings from this study... and took a closer look at Seattle's reading habits.
Guest:
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Jill Sonke, co-director of the EpiArts Lab at the University of Florida.
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Brooke Bosley, co-founder of the Black Futures Book Club.
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Spencer Ruchti, author events manager for Third Place Books.
Related stories
- Reading for pleasure in free fall: New study finds 40% drop over two decades News | University of Florida
- Fewer People Are Reading for Fun, Study Finds - The New York Times
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Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.
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Libby Denkmann
Host, Soundside
Libby Denkmann joined KUOW in December 2021 as the host of the midday show Soundside. She’s a native Pacific Northwesterner who grew up in Redmond, graduated from the University of Washington, and covered local news as a producer and reporter with KIRO Radio.
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Maleeha Syed
Producer, Soundside
Maleeha is a producer on Soundside, a show that helps listeners get to know the PNW and each other. Before KUOW, she worked at Cascade PBS, first as a communities reporter and then as a podcast producer on shows like Northwest Reports and Your Last Meal. Before moving to Seattle, she worked as a reporter at the Burlington Free Press in Vermont, but is originally from San Antonio.
More stories from Maleeha Syed »
