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Pew survey finds slightly fewer Americans reading print books

A new survey from the Pew Research Centre has found the number of print book readers in the US has dropped slightly from the previous year, while the number of ebook readers has remained flat. Sixty-three percent of American adults read at least one print book in the past year, compared to 69% in the 2014 survey and 71% in 2011. By comparison, 27% of Americans read an ebook in the past year, similar to the previous year and up from 17% in 2011. Audiobooks remain relatively stable at 12%. The results ‘reveal a somewhat surprising generational pattern in book reading’, according to the Pew report. Eighty percent of younger adults aged 18-29 had read a book in the past 12 months, compared with 71% of adults aged 30-49, 68% of those aged 50-64, and 69% of those 65 and older. The average number of books read in the previous year was 12.

 

Category: International news