First: I wanna clarify this. I know that loads of people read like 100 books a year, or read all the time. I know these people exist. I’m asking about people that are like… average. An average american who just… reads. Doesn’t track everything or sets goals of like 100, or never stops reading… Anyway, I’ve been searching this up, and i find answers like 15-50, even 100. I find this highly unlikely, especially for average US citizens. Half the people i know don’t even pick up 5 books a year, let alone 15! I just don’t believe these stats. I read somewhere that people read 8 a month on average? That can’t be right for an average person. That’s like 2 books a week… I know people do read this much, but still… For an average person? So be real… how many books do people actually read a year?
I feel like the number of books a person reads is so subjective. I have friends who are speed readers. I am not a speed reader by any means. I would say I am average or slightly below average speed wise. My friends who are speed readers read “more” books than me, but I read more than them time wise. One thing I have learned is I retain most of what I read and my speed reader friends do not. I can’t even talk to them about a book since they don’t remember anything, while a book I read 2 decades ago I can pretty much recite. Ok I can’t recite, but you get the point. :) For me, I have only read 20 books this year and that is with a very full busy schedule. I do devote days to literally reading all day….my favorite days that happen very infrequently.