PC Slower Than It Used to Be?
A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Crashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?
Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteiTechGuides is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more
When was the last time you finished a paper book—not just started one or read a few pages? That answer comes from your own memory: current U.S. surveys measure whether people read any part of a book, not when they last completed a printed one.
Print reading is still common, but that does not mean people finish every book
In a Pew Research Center survey conducted October 6–16, 2025, 64% of U.S. adults said they had read a print book in the previous 12 months. That is a measure of any reading, not finishing: Pew counted people who read a book “all or part of the way through.”
Pew also found that 75% of U.S. adults had read a book in any format during that period. Its format figures were 31% for e-books and 26% for audiobooks. Those categories overlap, since someone may use more than one format. Pew Research Center’s April 9, 2026 report says, “Print continues to be the only book format used by a majority of Americans.”
So the figures offer a snapshot of reading formats, not a tally of completed books. They cannot tell you whether someone reached the last page, set a book aside unfinished, or finished a paper book yesterday.
#1 Best Overall
Why surveys do not answer the question
Pew asks respondents how many books they read “either all or part of the way through” in the past 12 months. Because a partial read qualifies, that question cannot establish a completion rate or identify a person’s most recent finished book.
Another U.S. survey illustrates why it is important not to treat one estimate as a universal answer. YouGov reported that 46% of U.S. adult citizens had read at least one physical book in 2025. Its survey covered 2,203 adults from December 15–19, 2025, and also reported 24% reading a digital book and 23% listening to an audiobook. These are self-reported reading estimates, not completion records. The difference between YouGov’s 46% and Pew’s 64% should not be read as a contradiction: the surveys differ in population, wording, and design. YouGov’s 2025 results do not identify when respondents last finished a physical book either.
What other countries’ reading figures can—and cannot—show
Statistics from other countries describe different populations and behaviors, so they cannot fill in the missing U.S. completion figure.
- Canada: BookNet Canada’s 2024 study describes English-speaking Canadian adults. Among Canadian book buyers, an average 3.6 new books were purchased per month, including an average of 2 print books. Those are purchase figures for book buyers, not completions or a measure of all Canadian adults. The study reports a ±3 percentage-point margin of error at 95% confidence for the group described. BookNet Canada’s 2024 findings also cover borrowing.
- Singapore: The National Library Board’s 2024 National Reading Habits Study found that 89% of surveyed adults read more than once a week. This broad frequency measure is not limited to paper books and does not say whether readers finished them. The infographic compares 2024 adult results with 2018 for better comparability. National Library Board Singapore’s study page provides the context.
A useful answer starts with the book you remember
Think of the last paper book whose final page you reached. It might have been a novel, a cookbook, a manual, or a book you finished years ago and still remember clearly. The date matters less than the distinction: reading some of a book and finishing it are different experiences, and the available survey figures measure the former broadly rather than the latter.
Rank #3
What was the last paper book you actually finished—and about when did you finish it?
Quick Recap
Best Value
Rank #4
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
