E-reading rises in US but print still dominates: Survey

E-reading is on the rise in 2013 in the US, but print books still remain the most popular among American readers, showed a new survey released Thursday by the Pew Research Centre, Xinhua reported.

Based on interviews with more than 1,000 adults earlier this month, the study found some 28 percent of Americans read an e-book in the past year, up from 23 percent at the end of 2012.

Amazingly, about seven in 10 Americans still reported reading a book in print, up 4 percentage points after a slight dip in 2012.

At the same time, most people who read e-books also read print books, and just 4 percent of readers are "e-book only", the study showed.

"The proportion of Americans who read e-books is growing, but few have completely replaced print books for electronic versions," the report said.

"Print remains the foundation of Americans' reading habits."

Overall, 76 percent of US adults read a book in some format over the previous 12 months. The typical American adult read or listened to five books in the past year, and the average for all adults was 12 books.

Meanwhile, some 42 percent of adults now own tablet computers, up from 34 percent in September. And the number of adults who own an e-book reading device like a Kindle or Nook reader jumped from 24 percent in September to 32 percent, the study found.

Overall, 50 percent of Americans now have a dedicated handheld device, either a tablet computer like an iPad, or an e-reader such as a Kindle or Nook, for reading e-content. That figure has grown from 43 percent of adults who had either of those devices in September.