Americans reported reading 12 books on average in 2022. That’s the lowest number since Gallup started polling on this in the 90s. Survey data from 2023 show nearly half of US adults didn’t read—or listen to—even one book that year. It’s no wonder; book reading has to compete with endless news feeds, social media sites, streaming services, and even podcasts for free time. Teachers are starting to worry about this. College professors report their incoming freshman seem unable to stick with long, complicated texts. At the high school level, teachers are taking novels off their curriculum entirely, sticking to excerpts and movie-versions of the classics.