One in four Americans read no books last year



People from the West and Midwest are more likely to have read at least one book in the past year. Southerners who do read, however, tend to read more books - mostly religious books and romance novels - than people from other regions.

Those who said they never attend religious services read nearly twice as many as those who attend frequently but the Bible and religious works were read by two-thirds in the survey, more than all other categories. Popular fiction, histories, biographies and mysteries were all cited by about half, while one in five read romance novels. Every other genre - including politics, poetry and classical literature - were named by fewer than 5% of readers. More women than men read every major category of books except for history and biography. Industry experts said that confirms their observation that men tend to prefer nonfiction.


Book sales in the US have been flat in recent years and are expected to stay that way indefinitely. Analysts attribute the listlessness to competition from the internet and other media, the unsteady economy and a well-established industry with limited opportunities for expansion. The publishing business totaled $35.7 billion (26.4 billion) in global sales last year, 3% more than the previous year, according to the Book Industry Study Group, a trade association. About 3.1 billion books were sold, an increase of less than 1%.