Readers, last month we asked you to complete our first-in-a-while reader survey. I’m sooo grateful for everyone who took the time to fill it out. We appreciate you SO MUCH and you were on our minds as our team read through each and every response.
I love this survey because it’s fun. It’s great to hear from you, and as a personality geek, survey-making and taking is oddly enjoyable. Your responses are immensely helpful to me as a I plan for the blog, podcast, and book club, your questions inspire new posts, and your feedback helps set new directions as we continue to build our bookish community.
I’m deeply grateful for those of you who took the time to share about yourselves and what your experience is like around here. And there were a lot of you: 6,538 to be exact. Some of what you shared will directly impact our processes around here. (To give you one lighthearted example: because of survey results, we’ll stress a little less about coming up with the perfect title for each podcast episode.)
Blog comments across the web have gone wayyy down in recent years, yet through the years that’s been a huge way I’ve learned what kinds of posts you enjoy. For example, I’ve wondered if anybody wants to peruse thematic book lists anymore; your survey answers were extremely helpful in letting me know what actually interests you these days. (For those who are wondering: a big answer was “book list posts,” with 61.1% of you naming those a favorite.)
Some of your answers directly contradicted each other; no surprise, because we’re all just people with our own priorities and preferences and ways of using the internet. For example, some of you thanked us for including links to MMD blog posts and WSIRN podcast episodes in Friday Links I Love posts, and some of you told us it was a waste of space because you read about that stuff the first time. I get it. (For what it’s worth, the reason we include those links is so many of you have told us you use Links I Love as a sort of weekly digest. And then again, some of you told us you never read Links at all! That’s okay, too.) That’s just one of numerous examples we could share.
But if you’re interested, as I was, in learning more about what kind of readers are actually showing up in this space, we’ve got some fun data for you. Now… on to the results.
You still read a lot of books.
The more you read, the more you read. Almost 65% of survey responders have read over 50 books in the past year. Over 200 of you—that’s 3.7%—are reading more than 200 books per year.
Please note: these stats are just for fun! I firmly believe that reading is NOT a competitive sport, and that quality matters more than quantity. Please note that if you read 1-6 books each year, you are in very good company, we salute you, and we’re glad you’re here.
Bookish joys
We asked about your biggest sources of readerly joy. Here are the top three results:
- Finishing a 4- or 5-star read (60%)
- Learning a favorite author has a new book coming out (42%)
- Visiting the bookstore in person and browsing the shelves (40%)
These results weren’t terribly surprising, but I’m still glad to know!
Bookish pain points
We also asked about your biggest readerly pain points. Here are the top three results:
- There’s never enough time to read all the books you want to read (66%)
- Feeling overwhelmed by too many options (37%)
- Getting distracted by the new and shiny and not necessarily reading what you really want (30%)
To all of the above, and especially the “so many books, so little time sentiment” that came in first: I feel your pain.
You’re happy-ish with your reading life.
The reading life can ebb and flow but right now, the majority of you are are either “mostly happy” or “pretty happy” with how yours is going. But for those of you who have been struggling, I hope you can take solace in knowing you’re not alone.
Top 10 completist authors
Here are the top 10 most mentioned authors, but they appear below in no particular order:
- Ann Patchett
- Elin Hilderbrand
- Elizabeth Strout
- Emily Henry
- Fredrick Backman
- Jane Austen
- Liane Moriarty
- Louise Penny
- Tana French
- Taylor Jenkins Reid
You love the library.
No surprise here, but these results still fill my library-loving heart with joy: 78.3% of you borrow your books from the library with great regularity, saying the library is a top way you get your books.
Thank you again!
Readers, that’s it for our 2026 survey! Thanks again for reading, and for helping me make this a happier corner of the internet.
With much love and wishes for lots more happy reading,
Anne
34 comments
Thanks for sharing the results! I love that there are still so many library users out there. I have many non-reader friends that don’t see the point in funding libraries and it makes me sad! They have so much to offer!
That is so sad. Libraries provide so many services to a community beyond books and reading.
I know preaching to the choir here, but so much more than books too! Went to the zoo for free last weekend with a library pass.
Anne, thanks for sharing the results! I, too, am a personality geek and enjoy all things nerdy. Enneagram 3 here!
I look forward to reading my e-mail each morning, knowing that at least a few times a week, there will be something from you or one of your team members in the in-box. I really look forward to “Links I Love” each Friday–and I do appreciate the links to your blog posts and other tasty articles and shopping links. I often share them with my daughter and daughter-in-law, as well.
This is such a fun and vibrant community.
Thanks,
Melinda
“Links I Love” is my favorite newsletter of the week – although I save it for Saturday morning “tea and scroll” time.
To illustrate we’re all doing things differently (and isn’t that great): my workday ends a bit early on Friday, which means that the Links I Love post is the informal start of the weekend/end of the workweek post for me!
Same! I know I’m too busy when I’m not able to get to Links I Love on a Friday.
Thanks for the survey and the results. I love the thematic lists, but don’t comment on them often enough. I will try to let you know which ones I like, and why. Happy reading.
K
Yes, yes, and yes – my answers fit right in with everyone else. In addition to the library, I read more books via Audible, which wasn’t an option, or what I find in Little Free Libraries, which also wasn’t an option. I went with “from my shelves” only because I bring the LFL books home and they become part of my shelves, at least temporarily. I tend to drop them back off at the next LFL I visit, so they don’t stay that long unless I find several at once.
I love LFL! Adding that as an option would be interesting to see how many MMD readers are using them.
Anne, thanks for sharing the results of the survey, which,I regret to say,
I never got around to responding to. I am a long time podcast listener and am always happy to see ANYTHING from you in my inbox! The author I would have added to your completist list is Anna Quindlen. Thanks for all the good work you do!
Nancy M.
Thanks for the survey. I have never been one to comment on your posts but now I sense you appreciate it when people do comment. I enjoy the Monday Kindle deals, Friday “Links I Love” and the themed book lists. Sometimes a list will line up with a category in our Book Chat Book Challenge, which we create ourselves, and I will share the list with the group. And occasionally a list will give us a new idea for a challenge category. Thanks for enhancing my reading life since 2018.
Ruth
I echo Melinda’s sentiments and add that this librarian’s heart is thrilled to see the vast majority in this community are library users!
Happy National Library Month!
I love that you heard from so many listeners/readers! 6,538 is wonderful! Yay to you and the team. We love you guys and you’re doing a great job enhancing our reading life. Kudos to you!
I always read your blog posts, but don’t usually comment. Rest assured:
“We are here! We are here! We are here!”
I enjoyed the survey and seeing some of the results! Thanks for sharing.
I WOULD get all my books from the library, but the three libraries within a reasonable distance to my rural home, MAYBE get 3 or 4 New Fiction Release books a year! And they aren’t necessarily the ones I want. I do order books thru InterLibrary Loan, from the bigger cities in my state, but I’ve had books ordered for MONTHs and they are just not showing up. I feel like libraries that have a copy of nearly every hot new release (and more than one copy of it!) must be on another planet! So I hit library sales, and yard sales, and cheap Kindles (I do love Anne’s list of On-Sale Kindle releases every week, thank you!) and sometimes Cloud Library from the library has one or two, but they aren’t keeping up with new releases. By the time I get books, they are usually at least a year or two or three old. I know, pity party! Sorry.
Thanks for sharing the results. I love knowing those fun “nerdy” details! I, too, am not very good at dropping comments, but I want you to know I love getting any email from you. I believe there is a very happy but quiet majority who get so much from the whole MMD team. 👏📕🥰
That’s an amazing number of responses!! I too always enjoy seeing anything from Modern Mrs. Darcy in my inbox! And Links I Love is my most favorite! After an out of the blue illness last summer where I spent hours scrolling my phone every day because I couldn’t concentrate enough to read, I’m now back to reading/listening. I appreciate all your recommendations!
Thank you for sharing the results! I love taking surveys and enjoyed seeing where my own answers landed, as well as what other people thought. The fact that so many of us are utilizing our libraries makes me very happy. It’s nice to have something to smile at (no matter how small it may seem in the grand scheme of things) when everything else in the world feels so heavy. Thank you for being one of the bright spots!
Agree with some of the other commenters…I enjoy the posts but I rarely comment. I usually feel like I have nothing particularly helpful to add, so why speak up. Lol. As for the themed book lists – I love them when they hit on a theme I’m interested in! They’re so fun. Sometimes I’m not interested in a category so I’ll skip that one.
Thanks for posting the results. They’re fun to read! 😊
Thank you for sharing the results!! While I don’t use libraries now, I did a LOT as a kid. I don’t think libraries should ever be without funding. They offer way too many services to way too many people. The main reason I don’t use mine is simply that I like owning my books. Lol. I love having full shelves and piles. Seeing them gives me a lot of joy. As a kid I was limited in what I could buy and I am grateful that I don’t have to worry about that (at least not as much) anymore, though if they don’t stop raising book prices…I do also love supporting my local indie, used bookshops and to help in keeping B&N open as it’s the last chain we have. While I don’t use my library, I do donate books once I’ve read them if it’s something I don’t want to keep.
Thank you for sharing some of the survey results! Your podcast has been a comfort listen for me for longer than I can remember, and I LOVE the classes you offer with the Book club membership.
I see you, Tina! I love owning my books as well; it used to not be the case as much as now, but I love seeing them around, some old friends, some friends I have not yet met. I don’t boast an organization system at all but one day plan to have beautiful shelves for all the piles.
And I agree that libraries are a necessary heart of every community. So many resources and also access to books for all is incredibly important.
I’m at the low end of books read a year – between 20 and 30, and I’m retired, so no explanation other than that seems to be the number I can handle. Over a lifetime that’s still a lot of books!
You’ve been my favorite blog/podcast for quite awhile. Even if I’m never going to read all of the books that look interesting it is fun to learn about them. At the suggestion of one of your guests, asking about what someone is reading is now one of my favorite conversation starters. Thanks
Thanks for posting the results. It makes my heart happy to see how many love and support their libraries as much as I do. Like others have mentioned, I so enjoy checking my inbox and seeing an email from Modern Mrs Darcy. Cheers!
Thanks so much for conducting the survey and for sharing the results. So interesting and fun.
I did not take part in the survey (actually missed it) but I need to write something about it. Get it off my chest.
I have a lot of shame about starting books and not finishing them. Not on purpose, I just loose momentum and forget. I have ADHD and read a lot of books at once (kindle, audible, paper) and love reading in different genres and languages in parallel.
Thanks to MMD And WSIRN (thanks to Anne!!! and her team) I have managed to read close to 50 (finished) books every year for a few years. But there are so many other books, the list of started books would be much longer.
When I read a book I’m obsessive about reading each word and often reread sentences and paragraphs to properly absorb it. Finishing a book on paper or kindle often takes months because I take so many breaks.
I also noticed I read “out loud” to myself in my head and apparently not everyone does that?!
All of this may be ADHD (possible AUDHD) related and I wish I did not feel shame about my reading life.
I’m so sorry you feel shame about it. I also have ADHD and start many many more books than I read. For that reason, I started tracking pages read in Storygraph, then I get credit for them! It also helps me keep track of what I have started! You are doing a great job!
Thank you so much, will give it a try! we should definitely be given credit for pages read;) I also get mad when people don’t count audiobooks😆
Rachel, have you tried what the internet calls “immersive reading?” The way you describe reading reminds me of my husband. He discovered this practice recently where you look at a book and read along while playing an audiobook, and it has really opened up reading as a relaxing pastime for him. Until now he has read for school and for work (he’s a minister), but never for fun even though he’s been very interested. Suddenly, after this discovery, if he has some free time, he’s never without his headphones and a book.
That sounds amazing, I will try it! I used to be able to stay on the same book for hours as a child, but just lost that ability over the years. I’m definitely passionate about reading, I’m just all over the place. Thank you!
About the library: I borrow a lot of books that I return unfinished or unread. I admire people who have an organized reading life, reserve books, borrow them and then actually read them.😉
I believe that just checking out books from the library shows as “activity” to the library and keeps those books on the shelf. So, whether you actually get to read them or not doesn’t matter. Just checking them out helps the book stay visible.
I often check out a book with the intention of reading, but other things get in the way, so I return it unread. I figure I’m helping the book regardless.
I read through the blog, but I don’t always comment. Is there a way to incorporate a LIKE button so we can let you know that we like what we see, but don’t feel inclined to comment?
If there already is such a button, oops! I must have missed it.
I love MMD and WSIRN, and I appreciate all that you do!