If any reading goals are at the top of your New Year’s resolutions list, chances are you’re already steps ahead of most folks.
Americans aren’t reading much these days, and that’s relatively unchanged from recent years past, in which a small segment of the population is doing most of the reading.
In 2025, 40 percent of U.S. adults didn’t read a book at all, according to a recent survey by market research firm YouGov. The typical American read just two books, according to a median data point. (The average number of books read is four-times higher than the median, but this is caused by more dedicated readers… just like the average net worth of an American is higher than the median because billionaires’ wealth skews people’s number.)
Numbers split when broken down by education and politics. Generally, the more educated, the more books read. “Those with postgraduate degrees read a median of five books and an average of 13.6 books, for example, while those with a high school education or less read a median of zero books and an average of 4.6,” YouGov explained.
When it comes to politics, Democrats tend to read more on average than Republicans, but they both share a median of two books read per person. Independents read less than both parties, per the survey, across both the average and the median. “Americans who pay more attention to what’s going on in government and public affairs are more likely to read more books than those who pay less attention,” YouGov continued.
The most popular genres are mystery and crime, followed by history, biographies and memoirs, thrillers, fantasy, and more. Taking a closer look, the most-read genre numbers are relatively similar across genders, but there are two unique areas in which they split: More than double the number of men, versus women, read a history book in 2025. Almost triple the number of women read at least one romance title, compared to men, last year.
Ahead, ESSENCE knows there’s a lot coming this year from our favorite authors. A wide variety of titles are coming down the pipeline, from Vanessa Riley’s mid-January tale of Black woman pirates during the 17th century in Fire Sword and Sea to Leodora Darlington’s complex romance novel The Exes, coming early February. See the rest of our most anticipated book releases of 2026.