People are reading less. Which is great news for you!
The greatest way to increase your value to yourself and others is through reading.
You could just stop reading this post now and go grab a book to read instead.
But I am going to drop some new reading knowledge on you that is worth 90 seconds of attention.
Why Should You Read?
Bill Gates reads about 50 books a year. Or about a book each week.
Warren Buffett famously reads about 500 pages per day.
Lin-Manuel Miranda bought the book Hamilton to read on vacation in Mexico.
So read books that expand your thinking and your knowledge base.
Read to understand how things work.
Read for inspiration, motivation, and all the other great ations.
Read to understand how successful people became successful.
Read about what worked in the past in your field of expertise.
And read to learn what is changing in your field, so you can surf that change, rather than get pummeled by it.
Read to improve your writing and expand your vocabulary.
Read to develop your focus and your patience for long-term goals.
But most importantly…
Read To Separate Yourself From The Pack.
Despite all of the mental nutrition and long-term success that sprouts from reading, a new study just released by researchers at the University of Florida and University College London (which sounds like the fakest British school name ever) found that reading for pleasure among Americans has declined by 40% over the past two decades.
- In 2004, 28% of Americans said they read for fun.
- In 2023, only 16% said they read because they wanted to.
It is not lost on me, or the researchers, that Facebook launched in 2004 and the iPhone was released in 2007. Together, social media and smart phones may be accomplices, killing reading softly, like Roberta Flack or the Fugees.
This all means that people who read books have a greater competitive advantage now than ever before.
The statistics are fascinating.
The average number of books adults read each year is 12. Which was also my favorite song from Sesame Street.
However, this is massively skewed by the avid readers.
In fact, estimates reveal that between 25–46% of adults READ NO BOOKS each year.
And the median number of books read annually by adults is only about 4. That’s how much the average person hates paper cuts.
Which means there are fewer and fewer people after the pot of gold at the end of the Reading Rainbow.
There are fewer people who are willing to do the slow, steady, yet transformational work of knowledge gain through reading. While others are settling for bite-sized bits of video, podcasts, and tweetable wisdom served by algorithms, readers are accumulating broad and deep knowledge that helps make them more capable, valuable and irreplaceable.
The new study also revealed that those who do read for fun are spending more time doing so. Because while haters gonna hate, readers gonna read.
And in the era of artificial intelligence, it is the humans who can contribute more than the machines that will be in greatest demand.
Key Takeaway
Now more than ever, reading is your great competitive advantage. Your self-directed education makes you a valuable and irreplaceable resource. It improves your thinking. Which drives smarter decisions and actions. And it draws other people to you who want to tap into what you know.
Originally published at http://adamalbrecht.blog on August 24, 2025.