When someone says “reading is dead,” is that really true? Reading for fun has taken a big hit, but what’s really going on here? Teo and guest co-host Katie Campbell look at the data on American reading habits to find the answer, and provide tips for aspiring book nerds to get more pages in. Katie Campbell is KUOW’s book club curator. She has read over 51 books this year so far, but who’s counting?

Correction, 9/8/2026: In this episode, we incorrectly state that adult American gamers spend roughly 90 minutes gaming daily. The correct average time per day for gamers is two hours.

Have a question we should answer on the show? Click here to tell us using our online form, or email the team at ControlF@kuow.org

Support the show by supporting our home, KUOW Public Radio in Seattle.

Sources in this episode:
American Time Use Survey, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2003-2026
American Time Use Survey Report, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025
The decline in reading for pleasure over 20 years of the American Time Use Survey, iScience, 2025
A chapter a day: Association of book reading with longevity, Social Science & Medicine Journal, 2016
Who doesn’t read books in America?, Pew Research Center, 2021
Book reading habits in the U.S. vary by education, age and other factors, Pew Research Center, 2026

When someone says &ldquo;reading is dead,&rdquo; is that really true? Reading for fun has taken a big hit, but what&rsquo;s really going on here? Teo and guest co-host Katie Campbell look at the data on American reading habits to find the answer, and provide tips for aspiring book nerds to get more pages in. Katie Campbell is KUOW&rsquo;s book club curator. She has read over 51 books this year so far, but who&rsquo;s counting? Correction, 9/8/2026: In this episode, we incorrectly state that adult American gamers spend roughly 90 minutes gaming daily. The correct average time per day for gamers is two hours.
Have a question we should answer on the show? <a href="https://forms.office.com/r/4nGSfCuAML">Click here</a> to tell us using our online form, or email the team at ControlF@kuow.org
Support the show by supporting our home, <a href="https://www.kuow.org/donate/control-f-notes">KUOW Public Radio</a> in Seattle.
Sources in this episode:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bls.gov/tus/database.htm">American Time Use Survey</a>, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2003-2026</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/atus.pdf">American Time Use Survey Report</a>, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025</li>
<li aria-level="1">The decline in reading for pleasure over 20 years of the American Time Use Survey, iScience, 2025</li>
<li aria-level="1">A chapter a day: Association of book reading with longevity, Social Science &amp; Medicine Journal, 2016</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/09/21/who-doesnt-read-books-in-america/">Who doesn&rsquo;t read books in America?</a>, Pew Research Center, 2021</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/chart/book-reading-habits-in-the-u-s-vary-by-education-age-and-other-factors/">Book reading habits in the U.S. vary by education, age and other factors</a>, Pew Research Center, 2026</li>
</ul>

Control F is a podcast about data — hard, fuzzy, surprising, and sometimes unreliable data — and all the ways it influences our daily lives. In each episode, we dig deep on a topic and search through research, algorithms, and assumptions to bring you insights on how stuff works. In a world ruled by numbers, Control F reads between the (spreadsheet) lines to find the bigger story.

Control F is a podcast about data &mdash; hard, fuzzy, surprising, and sometimes unreliable data &mdash; and all the ways it influences our daily lives. In each episode, we dig deep on a topic and search through research, algorithms, and assumptions to bring you insights on how stuff works. In a world ruled by numbers, Control F reads between the (spreadsheet) lines to find the bigger story.

Control F is a podcast about data — hard, fuzzy, surprising, and sometimes unreliable data — and all the ways it influences our daily lives. 

Control F

Teo and guest co-host Katie Campbell look at the data on American reading habits to find the answer, and provide tips for aspiring book nerds to get more pages in.