Reading is not useless. 10 enjoyable methods to maintain the pages turning

The Atlantic article put it bluntly: “The End of Reading Is Here.”

We’re in a post-literate society, argued employees author Rose Horowitch, that means we’re shedding our capacity to grasp longer texts as we’re bombarded with limitless, scrollable textual content and leisure.

Some knowledge exhibits trigger for concern. A 2025 examine from the University of Florida and University College London discovered that the variety of Americans who learn for pleasure fell 40% over the last 20 years. According to a YouGov poll, 40% of Americans didn’t learn a single e-book in 2025. 

But it doesn’t imply all hope is misplaced. Print gross sales had been up for the second year in a row in 2025, based on Circana BookScan. If a studying apocalypse is actually on the horizon, listed here are 10 methods you’ll be able to battle the “end of reading” proper at dwelling. 

Embark on a book-to-screen readathon

This 12 months has been large for book-to-screen diversifications, from “The Odyssey” to “Project Hail Mary” and “The Five-Star Weekend.” Start by studying the e-book after which watch the film or sequence. Put your inside critic to the check – did they seize the spirit of the e-book? What had been the largest modifications? Warning, this exercise could encourage vigorous debates or sudden frustrations at filmmakers. 

Cook a meal from a favourite e-book

When I learn the A Series of Unfortunate Events e-book sequence as a child, I craved pasta puttanesca with out even figuring out what it was. And I’ll always remember my first pint of Harry Potter butterbeer at Universal Studios. Bookmark mouthwatering passages in your newest learn and produce the textual content to life by cooking your favourite character’s favourite meals.

Visit the websites of your favourite tales

Literary tourism is having a second. You can go as far as reserving globe-trotting fan adventures (a current Percy Jackson tour took me to Cairo, Athens and Rome) or go to native treasures. Or, in the event you’re planning a visit to a different nation or new state, choose a e-book that’s set there and immerse your self forward of or in your travels. 

Host a e-book swap get together

Last 12 months I invited buddies over and allow them to choose by means of my stacks and depart a couple of of their very own. A e-book swap get together is straightforward to host and provides you an excuse to refresh your shelf. I’ve even hosted this blind date-style, the place we wrapped our books in paper grocery baggage to cover the title and solely listed plot and style descriptors. The shock reveal is bound to be a success with your folks. 

Host an at-home studying retreat

You don’t should shell out 1000’s for a flowery studying retreat. Just dedicate all the day to bookish pursuits. You can host it at dwelling or take it to an outside area like a park, with buddies or solo. Get comfortable, replenish on the snacks and settle in in your studying marathon. It could also be useful to set a timer and skim in hourlong chunks, taking a break for dialogue together with your fellow bookworms. 

Participate in a e-book problem

Book challenges are an effective way to maintain your self motivated. We’ve acquired a summer season bingo problem with a $100 present card to Bookshop.org on the road, and plenty of native libraries and bookstores host challenges of their very own. USA TODAY’s e-book problem is designed for all readers in thoughts, with different classes like “sports related,” “author with the same name as you” and “‘beach’ in the title.” 

Lean on the experience of your native library or bookstore

Becoming an avid reader is all about discovering a e-book that’ll maintain you turning the web page. If you’ve been struggling to search out one which’ll maintain your consideration, why not seek the advice of an skilled? Local librarians and bookstore workers are uniquely certified to advise throughout style and age. Give them a couple of hints – what kind of tempo do you want? What books have you ever just lately loved, or which books did you want as a child? Are you within the temper for a particular style or journey?

Take your e-book on a date

You may learn in your sofa or in mattress, however why not make it an entire occasion? Hop from espresso store to espresso store or go to a museum and skim between galleries. My favourite studying dates have been taking my e-book to an area bar or restaurant and seeing how a lot I can learn by the tip of my meal. And nonetheless you are feeling in regards to the plot, it is not less than a date you’ll by no means really feel unhealthy about going dwelling with.

Buddy learn with a good friend

If motivation is what you search, attempt studying a e-book similtaneously your bestie. Form a mini e-book membership collectively, stopping intermittently to pulse verify your emotions about the identical e-book. I did this a couple of years in the past to get by means of the behemoth “A Little Life” by Hanya Yanagihara. Our starkly contrasting opinions made the studying expertise that rather more participating.

Go to a silent e-book membership

Reading could also be a solitary exercise, however that doesn’t imply you’ll be able to’t discover group round it. Silent e-book golf equipment are an anti-book membership e-book membership, a low stress social occasion that also allows you to retreat into the consolation of your pages. Everyone reads one thing totally different, and there’s no stress to learn a certain quantity or title by the following get together.

Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY’s Books Reporter, the place she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the tradition of studying. Find her on Instagram, subscribe to our weekly Books newsletter or inform her what you’re studying at cmulroy@usatoday.com.