What We Talk About When We Talk About the Love of Reading (Part II)

Dan Shanahan

In my last blog, I replied to a teacher’s question about teaching a love of reading. She noted the many recent reports of declines in pleasure reading (e.g., Horowitch, 2026).

I pointed out that this decline is not just a recent trend, but one that stretches back more than 80 years (Bone, Bu, Sonke, & Fancourt, 2006). I also noted that not only are Americans reading less, but the same is true in the United Kingdom and Australia (Cremin & Scholes, 2024).

Of three possible reasons for the downturn, my analysis suggested that we can’t blame it on low reading ability or lack of opportunity.

The idea of “pleasure reading” is somewhat amorphous. That’s why it often gets mixed up with fiction reading. Some people seemingly can’t imagine anyone reading history, biography, cookbooks, or technical manuals for enjoyment, though many of us do just that. One wonders if survey respondents are also confused by this – claiming they don’t read for pleasure because they don’t read fiction

That same kind of confusion was apparent in older surveys when it came to digital reading. It wasn’t clear what counted as reading. Recent surveys make a clearer distinction between traditional books and e-books (Montgomery, 2025), so both now get counted. But I’d bet that the reading of social media still is not, though it is reading (St. Aubin & Liedke, 2025).

Nevertheless, it seems likely that there has been a real downward shift in our reading habits.

There are two possible reasons for this – either we’re no longer pursuing the goals that we once read for, or the availability of other media sources now makes it possible to accomplish those goals as well or better than before without reading.

The easy availability of screens suggests it’s the latter. Someone killing time perusing a newspaper or magazine over their morning coffee or while waiting for the dentist may now view video clips on their phones instead. Such viewing fills the time every bit as well as reading once did.

Why should we care whether people read? Not “why is it important for people to know how to read?” or “why does it matter that they engage in the reading needed for their work or to participate in our communities as citizens?” The answers to those questions are obvious. But does it matter that my neighbor reads, or reads books, or reads fiction?

There are lots of claims about why reading matters: it fosters empathy and perspective taking; improves critical thinking; builds vocabulary, language, and communication skills; allows for anticipation and rehearsal of experiences; strengthens memory and cognition; builds knowledge; reduces stress and improves sleep; builds problem-solving skills; provides a sense of support and belonging (Barker, 2024).

That’s an impressive list. Some of those claims are even supported by evidence. For instance, it’s clear that reading enhances language by helping readers to increase their vocabularies (Wasik, Hindman, & Snell, 2016). That’s also true for other media, such as TV, but text tends to be much more challenging than the language presented by other sources, so it is probably the best way to enhance language (Kucker, Barr, & Perry, 2026).  

We can learn things from our reading as well, so the notion that it increases knowledge is a no-brainer. Many claims about the benefits of reading focus on its ability to transport readers to different places and different times. That makes sense but means that there are certain kinds of knowledge that reading may increase. It is reasonable to point out that one can build knowledge – including those specific types – through other media, though texts can be more detailed and extensive than what we usually experience through those other sources.

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