Print books on top

Far more readers still turn paper pages than swipe screens

Despite what some might think, reading is still cool. In a recent telephone survey of 1,502 adults, the Pew Research Center found that the percentage of Americans who’ve read any sort of book in the last year has held steady (73 percent) since 2012, and people are far more likely to read a traditional book than a digital one—65 percent of Americans have read a print book in the last 12 months, while 28 percent have read an e-book and 14 percent have listened to an audio book. The pollster also noticed a shift in how people are consuming digital products: More Americans are reading e-books on tablets and smartphones than dedicated e-readers. Since 2011, the percentage of people reading e-books on tablets has tripled and the percentage of readers on phones has doubled.