Americans are reading less — and smartphones and shorter attention spans may be to blame. 7 tips to help you make books a joyful habit.

There’s something special, even magical, about getting lost in a good book. But for a growing number of Americans, both adults and adolescents alike, interest in reading books — and the stamina it can take to finish them — is waning.

An Economist/YouGov poll of 1,500 Americans found that 46% didn’t finish any books last year, and it’s part of an ongoing trend: A 2023 National Endowment for the Arts report called out the “sharp decline” in reading over the last decade. Americans now read an average of 12.6 books per year, according to a 2022 Gallup poll — “a smaller number than Gallup has measured in any prior survey dating back to 1990.” The biggest shift is in “the most voracious readers” — college graduates, women and older Americans — who are still reading, but the amount of books has dwindled.

As writer Jeremy Anderberg, who reviews books on his Substack Read More Books, puts it: “We’re reading more words than ever before, but we’re reading fewer books.”

That doesn’t mean people aren’t buying books — in fact, Barnes & Noble is making a comeback, opening more than 60 new locations, and Publishers Weekly is reporting a 7% increase in industry-wide sales this year — but they aren’t necessarily reading them. (There’s even a Japanese name for people who buy books and never get around to reading them: tsundoku.) In trying to understand it, one writer quipped: “Our eyes have been bigger than our attention spans.”

Teachers are also seeing a generational shift in the reading habits of students, including some Gen Z-ers who reportedly don’t view reading as important. Younger students are impacted too: An Education Week Research Center survey asked educators how the reading stamina of students in third through eighth grade has changed since 2019. The survey found that 53% reported that reading stamina in students decreased a lot and 30% said it decreased a little, compared to only 10% saying it increased a little or a lot. Meanwhile, professors are saying that students are arriving at college unprepared, baffled and overwhelmed by having to read multiple books cover-to-cover.

Why are people reading less?

There are several reasons why reading books is on the decline. But a big part of the problem is likely staring you in the face right now: your smartphone. Along with TV, smartphones unlock a constant stream of dopamine-inducing content and allow you to immediately switch to something else the second whatever you’re doing gets remotely boring. It’s often too tempting to resist — and along with the constant notifications, it’s impacting our attention spans. Even the mere presence of a smartphone is distracting. “We’re a country addicted to our smartphones and we all know it,” Anderberg tells Yahoo Life.

Jen Miller, a middle school librarian who talks about books to her more than 670k followers on TikTok, agrees. “In a time when there is so much for us to consume and it’s all right at our fingertips, usually on our phones, it is easy to opt for the immediate gratification of scrolling on social media or streaming a show,” she tells Yahoo Life.

It doesn’t start out that way, though. Kathryn Starke, a national literacy consultant, reading specialist and founder of Creative Minds Publications, says that every young child is “naturally excited” about learning to read. “However, if a child struggles to learn to read or is not presented with a variety of engaging and interesting books, they often stop reading,” she tells Yahoo Life. “I believe that fewer adolescents and adults are reading books because of the above points, which begin in elementary school. I also believe that you have to make time to read books, and many people — especially adolescents — put their time elsewhere.”

What counts as actual reading is also changing. “I think both adolescents and adults think reading something quickly on your phone, tablet or social media is equivalent to reading a book when, in fact, it’s actually often skimming and scanning information or stories,” says Starke. Shorter attention spans cause more people to want to read quickly, she says, which only makes sustaining longer books more of a struggle.

Students are increasingly using individual computers at school where, she says, they’re reading a variety of short digital texts and not entire novels or books. “Reading stamina must be built often, so if students aren’t learning how to read entire books at home or school, that habit often carries into adulthood,” she says.

The surprising benefits of reading books

Not reading means missing out on a slew of benefits, beyond boosting language skills and vocabulary: It’s basically a workout for your brain. Engaging in reading keeps your memory and critical thinking skills sharp and fosters problem-solving. It also lowers your heart rate, reduces stress and eases muscle tension. Curling up with a book before bed can help you sleep better. It can even help you live a longer life; one study found that book readers had a 20% lower risk of dying over the next 12 years compared to non-book readers thanks to the cognitive engagement books provide.

And that’s just scratching the surface. “It broadens our horizons,” Nadia Odunayo, founder and chief executive officer of the StoryGraph, which offers personalized recommendations based on your reading history, tells Yahoo Life. “It teaches us things. It makes us more empathetic, as we step into different characters’ shoes. It provides an escape from our day-to-day, so it’s good for our mental health and well-being.”

Miller echoes that sentiment: “Reading is an escape and a time to relax.”

She quotes Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop’s metaphor of reading as a mirror, window and sliding glass door: “Reading helps the reader see themselves in books, which is empowering and validating. Reading also allows the reader to build empathy while reading about others’ life experiences that are much different than their own. It provides a window into someone else’s world. And reading also allows for that escape to enter another world for a time, letting the world they are in disappear for a little while.”

7 tips on how to read more books

Want to try reading more? “The obvious answer is to put down your phone and pick up a book,” says Anderberg. “It’s easy to say, but it’s very hard.” Instead, putting a few strategies in place makes it more likely that you’ll actually reach for a book — rather than your smartphone or TV remote — and carve out some time to read. Here are some suggestions that experts swear by:

Find your match

Think you’re not much of a reader? It’s more likely that you just haven’t found the right book. “When I have a reluctant reader approach me about getting a book, I try to find their match,” says Miller. “My thought is that individuals that do not like to read just have not found the right book for them.”

Miller knows that firsthand. Her students are typically “shocked” to learn that she didn’t find books she liked and that resonated with her until she graduated from school. “I think people assume that as a librarian, I have always loved to read, when in fact, I did not start reading for pleasure until I was an adult,” she shares. “It just took the right book to start me down a path of reading and then ultimately the path to librarianship.”

It’s harder for adolescents who are mainly reading what’s assigned to them in school. But when students have the opportunity to choose their books and read for pleasure, Miller says that increases the chances that they’ll find genres they click with and ultimately enjoy reading. “Finding that joy in reading is so important for keeping readers and avoiding the drop-off in reading that occurs for many young people after elementary school,” she says.

Anderberg agrees, explaining that if you can learn to cultivate your love for reading, then you won’t have to discipline yourself to read. “You’ll want to pick up a book because you’re interested and want to turn the page to find out what happens next,” he says.

Starke says that “there is the perfect book for every reader.” So how to begin finding it? She recommends starting by figuring out your favorite genre or topic of interest and visiting the library to check out at least three to five books that match. Most libraries give you two to four weeks to read a book, so Starke says the time crunch can help motivate readers who want to know the ending of a book before having to hand it in.

Anderberg also recommends sampling a whole bunch of books. “Find those airport bestsellers — try out pop history, murder mysteries or rom-coms — to find what you like,” he says. “You’ll know it when you find it because you’ll want to sit down and read it.”

For seasoned readers who find themselves in a slump, return to a book you loved in the past. “Curl up with an old favorite,” Suzanne Skyvara, vice president of marketing and editorial at Goodreads, tells Yahoo Life. “It’s like comfort food for your brain.”

And don’t be afraid to ditch a book you don’t like

No reading strategy will stick if you’re slogging through an unenjoyable book — and really, unless you’re a student on assignment and have no choice, life’s too short for that. “Stuck on a book that’s just not clicking? Don’t let it derail you,” says Skyvara. “It’s totally OK to put it down and try something else. There are so many amazing stories out there waiting for you.”

Anderberg’s rule of thumb before quitting a book: “100 minus your age is how many pages to give a book” before deciding it isn’t for you. “If I’m not feeling it, I feel free to put it down.” Maybe you’ll revisit it later or maybe you’re too busy for this particular book or you’re not in the right headspace, he says, adding: “Your mood and circumstance have to fit the book sometimes and when those don’t match, it’s OK to put the book down.”

And if you feel guilty about it, remember this: You’ve already supported the author by buying or checking out the book.

Schedule in reading time

Put time on your calendar to read each day, suggests Odunayo. “It can be just five to 10 minutes, but have it there and stick to it,” she says. “Work your way up to a focused hour of reading each day.”

If an hour isn’t realistic for you, find an amount of time that works. For Atomic Habits author James Clear, it’s reading 20 pages first thing in the morning every day. Anderberg, who reads more than 100 books a year, also has a reading routine. “I wake up before the kids, make a cup of coffee and read for 30 to 45 minutes,” he says. “And at night, I read for 30 minutes before lights out. It’s an hour a day every day.”

He recommends aiming to carve out 30 minutes to read daily, whether it’s over a lunch break or sometime in the middle of the evening or if that’s not possible, binge reading over the weekend. “You can even set a timer on your phone or watch for 30 minutes and say, ‘It’s OK for me to not pay attention to my phone or computer for the next 30 minutes, and I’m not going to stop until the timer is up,” he says. “It’s going to be very hard at first, but as you practice it gets easier and easier.”

Take your book to go

Assume the identity of a reader, suggests Odunayo. “When you go out, always have a book or e-reader on you,” she says. That will help you take advantage of the surprising number of daily, hidden opportunities to squeeze in some reading time, whether it’s cracking open a book while waiting in line at the post office or while on eternal hold with your cable company. Having your book with you means you can easily fit in a mini-reading session while making the time pass by faster.

Or create an easy-to-follow rule around reading: “I have a rule right now where whenever I’m commuting or on the subway or on a bus, I say to myself, ‘You cannot use your phone. You have to read,’” says Odunayo.

Read with others

Just as you’re more likely to show up at the gym or yoga class if a friend is meeting you there, you’re more likely to crack open a book if people are counting on you to read it. “Starting a book club with family, friends or neighbors is another great way to ensure that you are reading a whole book,” says Starke. “Then you are rewarded with the opportunity to gather socially and share — book-themed décor and snacks are always encouraged.”

Set goals and challenge yourself

There’s nothing quite like a challenge to fire up that motivation. “A fun way to motivate yourself to read is the Goodreads Reading Challenge,” Skyvara says. “You set your own goal — most people aim for 11 to 25 books a year, or about one to two per month. It’s so satisfying to mark books as read and watch your progress bar move closer to your goal. And don’t worry; if life gets crazy, you can always adjust your goal so you maintain your motivation.”

Or simply set a stretch goal: Whether it’s reading a few extra sentences or five more pages than you normally would or striving to complete a chapter, setting goals that allow you to stretch yourself can help improve reading stamina. Choosing a book series is another effective way to keep reading and rereading, says Starke, “thus building the stamina to read more and more lengthier books.”

Model being a reader

If you’re a parent, one of the best ways to encourage your kids to read more — along with choosing books, including comics and graphic novels, that align with their interests and passions — is to read more yourself. “They’re not seeing the adults in their lives reading,” says Anderberg. “There’s something very powerful when a kid sees you make a choice to sit down with a book instead of doing busywork or pulling out your phone.”

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