Human Touch Trumps Tech: Why Readers Are Choosing Connection Over Code

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – December 10, 2025

In a year dominated by the relentless march of artificial intelligence into every corner of our lives, a quiet counter-revolution has been unfolding on our nightstands and in our headphones. A landmark new report reveals that when it comes to discovering their next favorite book, readers are increasingly tuning out the algorithms and tuning into each other. The finding challenges the pervasive narrative of AI’s inevitable dominance in content curation and signals a profound shift in the digital landscape, where human connection is re-emerging as the ultimate killer app.

The “2026 State of Reading Report,” released today by Scribd, Inc.’s reading services Everand and Fable, analyzes user activity and survey data to paint a detailed picture of modern reading habits. Its most striking conclusion is that “people I know personally” has officially surpassed all other sources—including social media platforms and AI-driven tools—as the primary driver of book discovery. This return to trusted, human-centered curation represents a significant inflection point for the tech and publishing industries.

“Despite rapid technological progress and a year defined by AI experimentation, readers are choosing relationships over recommendations,” said Tony Grimminck, CEO of Scribd, Inc., in the report's announcement. This trend isn't just happening over coffee; it's being integrated and scaled within digital platforms themselves. The report suggests a future where technology’s role is not to replace human judgment, but to amplify it.

The Enduring Power of the Personal Recommendation

The preference for human-led discovery over machine-generated suggestions speaks to a broader sentiment about trust in the digital age. While AI can analyze vast datasets of reading history, it often struggles to replicate the nuance, empathy, and shared context that a recommendation from a friend provides. A trusted peer understands not just what you read, but how you’re feeling and why a particular story might resonate at a specific moment.

This trend is being supercharged by the rise of social reading platforms. Fable, a key source for the report's data, saw more than 820,000 people join a new book club on its platform this year alone. These digital communities effectively scale the classic word-of-mouth recommendation, creating spaces where discovery is a communal and continuous activity. This model, which Amazon’s Goodreads has also leveraged for years, proves that integrating robust social features is no longer a peripheral benefit but a core strategic necessity.

Furthermore, the report highlights that the social connection extends beyond discovery. Sharing a book with a friend or family member has now overtaken “saving to a shelf” as the most common action readers take after finishing a book. This underscores that for many, reading is not just an act of consumption but a catalyst for connection and conversation.

The Library as Sanctuary: Reading for Wellness and Community

The report also illuminates why people are reading more. In a high-stress world, books are becoming a vital tool for well-being. A remarkable 54 percent of respondents cited stress relief as their primary reason for increasing their reading time this year, with 83 percent reporting they feel relaxed when reading. This positions reading not just as entertainment, but as a form of self-care and a deliberate, restorative ritual.

This is reflected in reader behavior: reading before bed is up 10 percent year-over-year, and nearly half of all readers re-read three or more books, seeking the comfort of familiar stories. While social media may glamorize reading in aesthetic cafes, the data shows most of it happens privately, cementing its role as a personal sanctuary.

Simultaneously, this private sanctuary is becoming the foundation for a burgeoning public square. Over a third of readers (37 percent) now participate in a book club, with formats spanning in-person, virtual, and hybrid models. This surge in communal reading, amplified by cultural phenomena like BookTok, fulfills a deep-seated need for connection. It transforms the solitary act of reading into a shared experience, enriching comprehension and fostering a sense of belonging in an increasingly fragmented world.

A New Chapter for Formats and Features

Beyond social dynamics, the report chronicles a critical technological evolution in how digital content is consumed. For the first time, audiobooks have edged ahead of ebooks as the most common way people read digitally. This shift, driven by the convenience of multitasking and the ubiquity of smartphones as the top reading device, has profound implications for publishers and platform developers. It confirms that format flexibility is no longer optional; a majority of readers (57 percent) now consume both audiobooks and ebooks.

This demand for flexibility extends to the user experience itself. According to the report, one of the top features on readers’ wish lists is the ability to seamlessly switch between ebook and audiobook formats—a feature pioneered by Amazon’s “Whispersync for Voice” that is now becoming a table-stakes expectation across the industry.

Perhaps most tellingly for the future of tech, readers are not rejecting AI outright. Instead, they desire a more sophisticated, symbiotic relationship with it. The call is for “additive AI”—tools that feel collaborative rather than intrusive. Readers want AI that can offer more personalized and mood-based recommendations, helping them navigate the overwhelming sea of choices without usurping their autonomy. This suggests a future where the most successful algorithms will function less like a dictator and more like a knowledgeable, but ultimately deferential, librarian.

The industry is being reshaped not by a single, top-down technological force, but by a confluence of human-centric demands. As readers increasingly seek comfort in escapist genres like fantasy and romance, while also exploring niche subgenres, they are sending a clear message. They want technology that facilitates discovery, deepens community, and enhances well-being, proving that in the end, the most powerful innovations are those that best serve our most enduring human needs.