One in five Americans read on any given day. This we can tell from the American Time Use Survey, a long-running survey from the American Bureau of Labor Statistics. Every month, over 2000 persons aged 15–85 report how they spent their day. Among the “Relaxing and Leisure” categories, we find a category named “Reading for personal interest”. Thanks to a rich data set, we can pick out some interesting tidbits about Americas reading habits.

Our reading habits are fairly consistent throughout the week. We read about the same amount on Wednesdays as we do on Saturdays, and at the same hours. At a little past nine in the evening, over six million Americans are to be found winding down with a book or a paper. Sundays are the exception, made for a long breakfast with a pot of coffee and the weekend paper followed by a book in the favorite armchair.

Our daily habits point to sleep and food as the major impediments for reading. Indeed, 25% of our reading sessions are done before going to sleep, and 15% after eating.

It has been argued, and argued against, that the Internet has killed reading. Indeed, it is true that we read less now than we did ten years ago. In 2006, 26% of Americans reported reading in any given day. Ten years later that number is down to 21%. The decline in reading is true for all ages, but is especially large in age groups between 40 and 70.

It seems, however, that people don’t read less than they used to. Instead, it looks like we keep reading the way we always have, but that we always have read less than those older than us. As we grow ten years older, we go up an age group but bring our existing reading levels. The overall reading level drops when our most-frequently-reading elders pass on without anyone taking their place.

So the question is perhaps not whether the Internet have or haven’t killed reading. Instead, we seem to keep the reading habits we form. We need to show our young ones the joys of reading early, to form useful habits for life.

’Cause what better way is there to spend a Sunday morning?