Only 19% of People Are Doing Most of the Reading... Why?

I’ve been reading a lot lately about habits. I just finished reading Atomic Habits, and now I’m reading Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg. I know… you are probably thinking how many books about habits can she read? (stick around and find out☺️).

I haven’t been merely think about how to build habits, but how they shape who we are over time… and it’s had me thinking about something I’ve never really questioned before… why are some people readers… and some aren’t? Is it personality? Preference? Time? Or is it something simpler?

I keep coming back to the idea that for many of us, reading started as a habit that was introduced early, encouraged, and… at some point… clicked. We found a book we loved, we felt something, we got curious, and without really realizing it, a pattern took root. You pick up another book, and then another, and eventually it becomes something you just… do. Something you return to. Something that feels like part of you.

I also think there’s a strong connection between reading and curiosity. Readers tend to be people who want to know more. You see a book cover and wonder what’s inside. You hear your friends talking about a story they loved, and you want to experience it too. There’s a pull toward discovery, adventure, toward stepping into someone else’s world, toward understanding something new. That doesn’t mean non-readers aren’t curious. Curiosity shows up in so many ways. But reading offers a very specific kind of curiosity. A slower one. A more immersive one. The kind that asks you to stay a little longer, to sit with something, to imagine, to question. Explore.

There’s also something powerful about identifying as a reader, because identity shapes behavior in ways we don’t always notice. There have been plenty of times in my life where reading wasn’t easy… seasons where I was too stressed to focus, or where I just couldn’t seem to find the right book, or where life simply felt too full. But I always came back. Not because I forced myself to, but because something felt off without it, like there was a small, quiet space in my day that had been left empty. So I’d adjust. I’d DNF(did not finish) and pick up a different kind of book. Maybe nonfiction instead of fiction, or something lighter, or I’d just read a few pages at a time instead of diving all the way in. And eventually, the habit would return. Because it wasn’t just something I did… it was something I was.

What’s interesting is that not everyone experiences reading that way. According to LitHub, the median American read two books in 2025, while the average reader read eight. To put it more harshly, 19% of American adults did 82% of the country’s reading. That’s a huge gap, and it makes you wonder what separates those groups. Is it time? Access? Interest? Or is it simply that some people, at some point in their lives, built a habit that stayed with them?

I don’t think being a reader is something you either are or aren’t. I think it’s something that grows. It grows from exposure, from encouragement, from finding the right story at the right time, from those small, repeated moments of choosing a book over something else. And over time, those moments stack until one day you realize you don’t have to think about it anymore… you just reach for the book.

So I’m curious what you think. Do you see reading as a habit that’s cultivated over time, or is it simply a form of entertainment that some people naturally gravitate toward more than others? And if you are a reader, was there a moment where it clicked for you? I’d love to hear.

Looking for something new to read? Check out this new series by Andrea Rose.

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Two worlds. One prophecy. A love that could doom them both.

Harper

Elves don’t exist.

They definitely don’t crash through portals in the middle of the DMV, looking like a gorgeous God of Thunder, and announce that I’m the chosen one destined to save their world.

Aaran is definitely real, dangerous, magic-wielding, impossible to ignore, and terrifyingly persuasive. After he saves my mother from a brutal, early death, how am I supposed to say no to helping him?

I can barely keep my own life together—my driver’s license is about to expire, for god's sake. How am I meant to fight a witch queen, survive her monsters, and save an entire world I didn’t even know existed?

Aaran

My mission was simple: find the human woman and bring her to Domhan to fulfill the prophecy.
Caring for her was never part of the bargain.

I shouldn’t have healed her mother of the cancer. The effort nearly killed me. But my world is dying, and I couldn’t stand the thought of Harper losing the last person she loves, even if it costs me everything.

The oracle claims her magic is powerful and untapped. If they’re wrong, we won’t survive long enough to reach the witch queen. If they’re right, maybe Harper will save us all, if dark magic and constant danger don’t tear us apart first.
Every step we take binds her closer to me. Desire may be the one magic neither of us can control.