Two in three nine.com.au readers have already hit 2026 milestone some Aussies won’t achieve at all this year

Exclusive: Australia's reading rate is dropping, especially among young men, but hope is not lost according to a nine.com.au reader poll.

Of 480 respondents*, more than 60 per cent said they had already read at least one book in 2026.

Close to a third had read four or more books in the first seven weeks of the year, but nearly 40 per cent said they'd not finished a single book.

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More than one in three respondents also said they read every day for leisure, while 14 per cent said they did it weekly.

Some people said audiobooks and e-books had made it easier for them to make time to read in their busy lives.

"I no longer read physical books, I prefer to use audio books," one said.

"There's nothing better than lying in bed in winter snuggled up listening to a good book and earphones mean you can enjoy a good 'read' almost anywhere."

Have you got a story? Contact reporter Maddison Leach at mleach@nine.com.au

Others said they relied on their local library to access free books, which could help ease financial pressures in the cost of living crisis.

About 40 per cent of respondents said they rarely or never read for leisure.

And the majority said they read the same amount or more when on holiday, suggesting Aussies are keeping up their reading habits even while travelling.

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It's a good sign for the nation's reading rate, which has plummeted among the younger generations.

The Interwar generation (aged 75 years and over) had the highest rate of reading participation – nearly 50 per cent – according to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data.

They were followed in descending order by Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z, with a rate of just 11 per cent.

Women read more than men across all generations.

Though Gen Z had the lowest rate of reading participation, those who do read actually do somore than their older counterparts.

Gen Z readers logged an average of 2 hours and 6 minutes spent reading on any given day according to the ABS data.

Every other generation spent significantly less time per day reading, from 1 hour and 17 minutes for Gen X to 1 hour and 35 minutes for the Interwar generation.

This may be linked to the recent rise in popularity of online reading communities like BookTok, Bookstagram and BookTube, and the increased output of novels in genres that appeal to young female readers, such as romance and fantasy.

Digital platforms are responding to the surge by making reading more accessible with e-book and audiobook formats.

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Kindles and Kobos have become personal accessories as well as reading devices, with many Gen Z and Millennial readers kitting their e-readers out in custom covers.

Platforms like Audible pioneered the audiobook space and now music streaming services like Spotify are joining in, adding audio versions of popular novels to their libraries.

The nine.com.au poll, which runs once a fortnight, canvases the views of the Nine audience on 9Nation, which is an online community of our readers and viewers.

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