WRBA Review: February
Quick question for you…
“How many books have you read in the past month?”
In February, I asked 58 strangers this question, and a whopping 84% reported that they’d read at least one book.
Wait. Eighty-four percent?
Your skepticism is justified. According to the National Endowment for the Arts, 48.5% of adults in the US read a book in the past year, which means the rate is even lower on a per-month basis.
So what’s going on here?
Three possible explanations:
- People are lyingBecause people do lie, and I leave my polygraph machine at home. That said, I give interviewees the benefit of the doubt, since a random dude (i.e. me) is recording them, and that can make anyone nervous and forgetful.
- Selection biasWhen I first started filming this series, I just walked up to strangers, camera rolling, and asked the question. But after being told how rude this is (and it is), I’ve changed my approach. Now I say, “Excuse me, could I please ask you a question for a YouTube video?” Sometimes that’s enough. People go for it. Other times, people want to know what I’m going to ask. So I tell them. Some people then decline the interview because they don’t read books. Moving forward, I may say it’s a family-friendly series about hobbies. Still too deceptive?
- Location biasMost of the February episodes were filmed in Fort Collins and Boulder, both of which are college towns in Colorado. These places are full of students, academics, and bookworms. I also filmed three episodes in bookstores, further inflating the density of readers per capita.
So maybe we shouldn’t call this a science experiment.
Amateur sociological adventure?
Sure.
That has a nice ring to it.
Statistics
Locations: Fort Collins, Boulder, Timnath (Colorado)
People approached: 105
Agreed to talk: 58 (56%)
Read a book: 49 (84%)
Did not read any books: 9 (16%)
Average books per person: 2.4
Average books per reader: 2.9
Books Mentioned in February: 49
Below you’ll find a complete list of all 49 books discussed on the show in the past month.
⭐ = strong recommendation
Fiction: 31 of 49 (63%)
A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ by Walter Miller
A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES by John Kennedy Toole
AUDITION by Ryu Murakami
BLOOD MERIDIAN by Cormac McCarthy
THE BLUEST EYE by Toni Morrison
⭐ CAMP DAMASCUS by Chuck Tingle
Even though he’s more known for his campy romance, Chuck Tingle released three horror novels that are incredible. Camp Damascus…incredible book…just good, queer horror.
CRYPT OF THE MOON SPIDER by Nathan Ballingrud
THE DARK SECRET by Tui T. Sutherland
It’s historical fiction. It’s about if the US actually had three atomic bombs and one of them fell into the hands of the Japanese. But it’s told from the Japanese perspective. It’s really good. Highly recommend.
DON QUIXOTE by Miguel Cervantes
EMPIRE OF STORMS by Sarah J. Maas
HEATED RIVALRY by Rachel Reid
THE HOUSEMAID by Freida McFadden
LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding
MEDEA by Euripides
THE MINISTRY OF TIME by Kaliane Bradley
MORNING STAR by Pierce Brown
NAKED LUNCH by William S. Burroughs
⭐ THE NATURAL WAY OF THINGS by Charlotte Wood
I read a new book that’s coming out—it’s a reprinting—The Natural Way of Things, which is about a group of women who get kidnapped…but their kidnappers abandon them, and they start hunting rabbits…they become feral rabbit women. It’s super awesome. I would definitely recommend that one.
THE NO-END HOUSE by Jeremy Bates
OLD YELLER by Fred Gipson
ONE GOLDEN SUMMER by Carley Fortune
PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION by Emily Henry
PIERCING by Ryu Murakami
PROJECT HAIL MARY by Andy Weir
⭐ RE: ZERO by Tappei Nagatsuki
It’s a fantasy about someone who is sent to another world with no inherent mental maturity or powers. He has to learn to grow up, basically. (Asked what book he would recommend to get someone into manga.)
TELL ME EVERYTHING by Elizabeth Strout
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee
⭐ THE UNSELECTED JOURNALS OF EMMA M. LION by Beth Brower
It’s kind of like a Jane Austen kind of take, but different. Set in the eighteen hundreds. It’s really good. It’s a journal, the way the book is laid out…instead of chapters. They’re just really well done.
WE WERE NEVER HERE by Andrea Bartz
ZEN AND THE ART OF FAKING IT by Jordan Sonnenblick
Nonfiction: 16 of 49 (33%)
THE ART OF WAR by Sun Tzu
THE BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO STOICISM by Matthew Van Natta
THE COMFORT OF CROWS by Margaret Renkl
CONSIDER THE LOBSTER by David Foster Wallace
⭐ DOCTORS BY NATURE by Jaap de Roode
I just finished Doctors by Nature, which is about how animals medicate themselves. It was insane. So good.
THE ESSENTIAL WRITINGS OF RALPH WALDO EMERSON by Ralph Waldo Emerson
FORTY YEARS STONED by Tom Huth
THE GO-GIVER by Bob Burg
IKIGAI by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles
⭐ THE SOUND OF A WILD SNAIL EATING by Elisabeth Tova Bailey
The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating is a memoir. While it’s a book about being sick and chronic illness, you learn a lot about snails. I haven’t met anyone that didn’t enjoy it after they read it.
THINK AND GROW RICH by Napoleon Hill
TOO MUCH AND NEVER ENOUGH by Mary Trump
TURNING TO BIRDS by Lili Taylor
WHY FISH DON'T EXIST by Lulu Miller
Religious Texts: 2 of 49 (4%)
THE BIBLE
THE BOOK OF MORMON
Thank you
Thanks so much for reading the WRBA Review and watching the show. I hope this series offers a fun, positive way to understand how people are engaging with books, and why.
If you’d like to support the project, please consider purchasing my first novel (available now) and/or my second novel (coming September 2026).
Proceeds allow me to buy food + coffee (short-term goal) while moving me one step closer to my dream of being a full-time book person (long-term goal).
Thanks again,
Will Pass