Not long ago, I was waiting at my local garage having my oil changed along with a couple of other repairs for my car. Since I knew it might be a considerable wait, I brought along a good book to keep me company, as I often do. Soon after I sat down, a man approached me, intending to sit down beside me, since he had to wait for his car repair, too. He asked if I was planning to watch the traffic outside to pass the time since the wall facing the road was a bank of floor to ceiling windows. I, of course, gestured to my book and answered that I intended to read.

He then proceeded to scoff at my response, suggesting that, “Books aren’t really a thing anymore. They’re a rarity. People don’t read books anymore.” I hate to say that he was mansplaining, but he was mansplaining. At the very least, it was patronizing.

“You think? I questioned sarcastically. Then I picked up my book and started to read, as I had planned. After a few moments, I leaned over and quietly informed him that I had WRITTEN two books. The look on his face was priceless, and worth all the time and effort I had invested in writing those books. He then had me repeat what I had said, to help him better understand that I had created two physical books. He then sat down in his chair in stunned silence.

As it turns out, the mansplainer might have been right. According to Sunil Iyengar in an article published by the National Endowment for the Arts in 2024, less than half of U.S. adults had read at least one book in the past year (the study was conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2022). Ten years earlier, the percentage was almost 55. As for fiction-reading in that same study, just shy of 38% claimed to have read a novel or short story (2022) compared to over 45% in 2012.

According to an article by the National Literacy Institute (2024-2025), 54% of adults read below a 6th grade level, while 20% were below a 5th grade level. It’s hard to even wrap my mind around these statistics, not to mention how disheartening it is.

The concerning trend apparently is evident in children, too. As cited in the National Endowment for the Arts article mentioned above, in 2012 more than half of all nine-year-olds reported reading for fun “almost every day.” In 2022, it dropped to just 39%. This is beyond disturbing.

Our own Webb Weekly editor, Steph Noviello, recently addressed the topic of falling literacy rates in the Unites States in her September 2nd article entitled, “International Literacy Day: Why Reading Matters More Than Ever.” In the piece, she stressed the importance of reading, especially for children, and suggested how we as a community can help foster and truly value literacy. I’m honestly encouraged that people like Steph regularly draw readers’ attention to such unsettling trends in this country — perhaps helping to shine a light in an otherwise dark corner of our history as it relates to something as basic as literacy.

And as Rich Lowry recently expressed in the Opinion pages of the Sun-Gazette, maybe part of the problem stems from the fact that kids are spending an enormous amount of time each day (in school and at home) on screens. He also suggested that social media and AI may be equally detrimental to their overall learning and attention.

Perhaps most alarming are Ray Bradbury’s words:

“The problem in our country isn’t with books being banned, but with people no longer reading.”

“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”

It seems as though what we’re experiencing of late is a perfect storm. Literacy rates are plummeting nationwide, while at the same time a lot of people are choosing not to read, even if they can read.

I think we would do well as a populace to defy the literacy trends by doing our part — to encourage kids to read by making books readily available to them and to read aloud to them often. Likewise, we should support our public libraries and local bookstores, and, of course, get caught reading.

Welcome to my world. It’s where I live (probably reading a good book). Visit me there at http://www.melindawentzel.com. Signed books are available on Etsy at PlanetMomMarket.