I have no data or insights about this, but I can share my male friends' reading habits:
Retired engineer, 81 - doesn't read books
Tech businessman, 52 - been reading one long novel (Michener) for the last year
Retired fireman, 65 - only reads news on his phone
Optometrist, 61 - occasionally reads graphic or YA novels
College librarian, 64 - regular reader but only NF (history, politics)
Retired banker, 77 - reads a couple of spy novels a year
Retired lawyer, 73 - regular reads a variety of non-fiction
And finally, my golfing buddy, a retired English literature professor, age 72, who has not read a book in the last five years. Pretty dismal showing, for a sample of older, university-educated men.
The piece I've linked to below has been shared and discussed by a few of the writers I know who've managed to hang on to teaching gigs in the dwindling number of postsecondary institutions that have decent budgets for the humanities: https://www.persuasion.community/p/the-average-college-student-is-illiterate?utm_source=%2Fsearch%2Fcrisis%20college%20reading&utm_medium=reader2 . It's been shared because it's largely reflective of their experience teaching now. Even in these programs where they're teaching or "instructing," there are far fewer young men than say, 10 or 20 years ago. To be skeptical of the data on men reading is fair, I suppose, but it also risks missing the larger issue, which seems pretty glaring to anyone trying to teach history, literature or basic economics now.
There's an interesting recent piece in the Guardian, which points out that fewer books directed at boys are being published, which in turn means fewer boys are reading books, which in turn means that publishers are increasingly reluctant to publish books for such a small market. I know from personal experience that it's virtually impossible for a boy-oriented book to attract an agent or a publisher and thank my lucky stars that Bev Brenna at Red Deer Books was willing to take flyer on my recent action/adventure novel, Escape to Ponti, which was nominated for a Red Maple Award this year. Here is the piece: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/jun/23/one-kid-at-a-time-how-childrens-books-on-male-friendship-could-combat-toxic-masculinity?CMP=share_btn_url
My wife reads mysteries and recently finished Peter Robinson's complete output. She's now on to Tara French and loves her work. I read fiction as a creative break from non-fiction, my chosen genre as a writer and student of history. Those creative breaks usually include American novelists such as John Steinbeck, Kurt Vonnegut, or Raymond Chandler. I read Non-fiction books, particularly about 20th Century history, that interest me.
When was the last time you saw a movie or TV show with man or boy with a book, where the man/boy was not portrayed as a dork or a psycho?
Self referential commentary is always the best commentary.
Self referential commentary is always the best commentary.
I have no data or insights about this, but I can share my male friends' reading habits:
Retired engineer, 81 - doesn't read books
Tech businessman, 52 - been reading one long novel (Michener) for the last year
Retired fireman, 65 - only reads news on his phone
Optometrist, 61 - occasionally reads graphic or YA novels
College librarian, 64 - regular reader but only NF (history, politics)
Retired banker, 77 - reads a couple of spy novels a year
Retired lawyer, 73 - regular reads a variety of non-fiction
And finally, my golfing buddy, a retired English literature professor, age 72, who has not read a book in the last five years. Pretty dismal showing, for a sample of older, university-educated men.
The piece I've linked to below has been shared and discussed by a few of the writers I know who've managed to hang on to teaching gigs in the dwindling number of postsecondary institutions that have decent budgets for the humanities: https://www.persuasion.community/p/the-average-college-student-is-illiterate?utm_source=%2Fsearch%2Fcrisis%20college%20reading&utm_medium=reader2 . It's been shared because it's largely reflective of their experience teaching now. Even in these programs where they're teaching or "instructing," there are far fewer young men than say, 10 or 20 years ago. To be skeptical of the data on men reading is fair, I suppose, but it also risks missing the larger issue, which seems pretty glaring to anyone trying to teach history, literature or basic economics now.
Thanks for the link, but I really wish I hadn't read that article.
There's an interesting recent piece in the Guardian, which points out that fewer books directed at boys are being published, which in turn means fewer boys are reading books, which in turn means that publishers are increasingly reluctant to publish books for such a small market. I know from personal experience that it's virtually impossible for a boy-oriented book to attract an agent or a publisher and thank my lucky stars that Bev Brenna at Red Deer Books was willing to take flyer on my recent action/adventure novel, Escape to Ponti, which was nominated for a Red Maple Award this year. Here is the piece: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/jun/23/one-kid-at-a-time-how-childrens-books-on-male-friendship-could-combat-toxic-masculinity?CMP=share_btn_url
My wife reads mysteries and recently finished Peter Robinson's complete output. She's now on to Tara French and loves her work. I read fiction as a creative break from non-fiction, my chosen genre as a writer and student of history. Those creative breaks usually include American novelists such as John Steinbeck, Kurt Vonnegut, or Raymond Chandler. I read Non-fiction books, particularly about 20th Century history, that interest me.