What Yer Readin?

Color me depressed, again. A new AP poll announces that one in four Americans did not read a book last year. Nope, not a single book. Ahh, we are the country of achievement and enlightenment, aren't we? This just makes my heart swell with pride.

There is some interesting breakdown of the poll, here are some tidbits:

People from the West and Midwest are more likely to have read at least one book in the past year. Southerners who do read, however, tend to read more books, mostly religious books and romance novels, than people from other regions. Whites read more than blacks and Hispanics, and those who said they never attend religious services read nearly twice as many as those who attend frequently.

There was even some political variety evident, with Democrats and liberals typically reading slightly more books than Republicans and conservatives.

The Bible and religious works were read by two-thirds in the survey, more than all other categories. Popular fiction, histories, biographies and mysteries were all cited by about half, while one in five read romance novels. Every other genre — including politics, poetry and classical literature — were named by fewer than five% of readers.

More women than men read every major category of books except for history and biography. Industry experts said that confirms their observation that men tend to prefer non-fiction.

How many books did you read last year? What are you currently reading?