Percentiles
Books a year: how do you compare?
Median 4 US adults · approximate
Books read or listened to in the past year. Rounded from Pew and Gallup reading surveys (about a quarter read none; the median is around four).
US adults · approximate
| Count | Share with exactly this | Share with fewer |
|---|---|---|
| 0 books | 23% | 0% |
| 1 books | 8% | 23% |
| 2 books | 9% | 31% |
| 3 books | 8% | 40% |
| 4 books | 7% | 48% |
| 5 books | 7% | 55% |
| 6 books | 4% | 62% |
| 7 books | 3% | 66% |
| 8 books | 3% | 69% |
| 9 books | 2% | 72% |
| 10 books | 4% | 74% |
| 11 books | 1% | 78% |
| 12 books | 4% | 79% |
| 13 books | 1% | 83% |
| 14 books | 1% | 84% |
| 15 books | 3% | 85% |
| 16 books | 1% | 88% |
| 17 books | 1% | 89% |
| 18 books | 1% | 90% |
| 19 books | 1% | 91% |
| 20 books | 2% | 92% |
| 21 books | 1% | 94% |
| 22 books | 1% | 95% |
| 23 books | 0% | 96% |
| 24 books | 1% | 96% |
| 25 books | 1% | 97% |
| 26 books | 0% | 98% |
| 27 books | 0% | 98% |
| 28 books | 0% | 98% |
| 29 books | 0% | 98% |
| 30+ books | 0% | 98% |
Survey shares, rounded. The slider on the main page runs past this table up to the record: a full-time reviewer, About 1,000 books a year, three a day, the pace of a professional reviewer.