NPR/Ipsos poll: “Most Americans want to read books. We just don’t”

The NPR story about “Most Americans want to read books. We just don’t” piqued my curiosity. The poll found a gap between the desire to and acting on a desire to read. Maybe it’s incidental that National Library Week runs from April 6 through the 12^th?

Implicit in the Ipsos poll, it seems to put a higher virtue to perusing fiction vs. non-fiction. According to the poll’s design the U.S. seems to have a cultural belief that fiction more effectively exposes readers to the world around them. A “Vox” article from January 2025 diligently seeks the source of “men don’t read literature” conclusion. It finds the validity elusive.

As a boy, I was no reader. As a boy, my face was glued to the TV. I was extremely introverted, unsure and quiet, and seldom social. Maybe it distracted me from the emotional neglect of my mom..?

Now, I avoid fiction because finding a number of deftly and propulsively written non-fiction overwhelms me enough. Why should I double my overwhelmednesss? Still, as happenstance about 20% of my reading might be fiction.

Today, having healed my psyche, and regretting that I had no reading habit during boyhood, a part of me is motivated to make up for my years-long avoidance of books, and not building my wit.

One reason to read less or not to read, from poll respondents, reflects me. “I have trouble finding books that interest me,” 13% of respondents. The more I read and discern which authors’ writing styles I prefer, this makes it difficult to choose and commit to reading a book that deserves my time and attention. The choosing is more trial-and-error than I like.

As I age, the 21^st-Century prizes of a time and attention are vital. The older you are, the less you have and the less flexible they are. Ipsos makes this clear:  “I think reading is up against the fact that we just don’t have enough time in the day. It’s not one particular thing,” said Newall. Vice Pres. of Public Polling at Ipsos.

I don’t understand why a reading habit is marked as feminine.I have wondered why, when I go to book club, which my local public-library-sponsored, I am usually the lone man at the table. It’s hard not to absorb the persistent conclusion that women read more than men. But, with my scholar brother as an example I know that a reading habit improves your wit and your whole self.

I’m pleased the NPR and Ipsos did the poll. I want to be better-read. I want to become an ever more self-improved man. Struggling with my attention span makes it difficult to reads as rapidly and consistently as I tell myself I aspire to. I consciously work to avoid TV, YouTube and the litany of other digital distractions. Almost like “Americans want to read. But” – I do. I just read fewer books than I tell myself to aspire to. I’m doing better than the pull quote, “but don’t”.

The poll might convince those who want to read more to do that more often instead of sinking into a habit of turning to YouTube videos about whatever you have a media “sweet tooth” for.