Half of Americans are in the middle of reading a book. (Oops! I just finished mine. Better start another.)

The median number of books read a year is 5. (I probably push that one high, or would if someone would just ask me!)

83% of Americans report having read a book in the last year.

Number of books read is up from 1990. (Survey is June 2005.)

Reading books is massively more popular than it was in the 1940s and 1950s.

Dean’s World had the quotes. The original is available for only $95 a year from Gallup Poll.