Plenty of adults think of themselves as readers. They remember the books they loved as children, the novels they stayed up late to finish, and the periods of life when reading felt natural and routine. Yet many have not finished a book in months, or even years.The National Year of Reading 2026 has placed reading firmly back in the public conversation. Across the UK, libraries, literacy organisations, publishers and cultural institutions are working to encourage reading for pleasure and rebuild reading habits.This renewed focus matters. At a time when concerns about declining reading are widespread, celebrating reading as joy, immersion and connection remains important.Yet these conversations often make me think less about books themselves than about the type of reader they focus on. Much discussion around reading for pleasure begins with people who already possess a relationship with books: their favourite novels, formative reading experiences and longstanding habits. This presumes they already have the confidence to see themselves as readers. Less visible are those for whom reading stopped feeling natural much earlier. This matters because much of the current conversation around reading decline still treats the problem primarily as one of enthusiasm: how to persuade people that books are pleasurable, enriching or culturally valuable. But for some adults, the problem is rebuilding a relationship with reading that stalled years earlier.Research suggests many adults are not resisting reading because they dislike books. They are struggling because reading no longer feels manageable within the conditions of their lives.Reading in prisonsMy colleague Josephine Metcalf and I research adult reading re-engagement through a digitally delivered book club for readers and writers across more than 90 prisons in England and Wales. While prisons may seem an unusual place to explore reading habits, they offer important insights into the factors that encourage or discourage reading engagement, including confidence, autonomy and previous experiences of education. One finding appears repeatedly: struggling to engage with reading often precedes finding pleasure in reading. Before enjoyment comes interrupted concentration, prolonged effort, embarrassment, and memories of reading associated with judgment or failure.Research from prison-based reading groups similarly suggests that disengagement is frequently linked not to disinterest in books themselves, but to earlier experiences of reading as performance, exposure or inadequacy.This may help explain why reading initiatives often reach people who already possess some relationship with books, while adults whose reading habits fractured years earlier remain harder to engage. The barriers are frequently more practical and behavioural than ideological.Recent census data published by The Bookseller reinforces this point. While attitudes towards reading remain broadly positive, many adults who identify as readers rarely read regularly. The obstacles are familiar: distraction, exhaustion, reduced concentration and competition from digital entertainment.Creating the conditions for readingOur own work suggests that adults return to reading under very particular conditions: privacy, autonomy, short forms, strong narrative momentum, self-paced engagement and the removal of performative pressure. Reading habits are often rebuilt gradually through repetition, accessibility and emotional safety before reading confidence fully returns. This has implications far beyond prisons. If the National Year of Reading aims to produce lasting change, the challenge may not simply be encouraging people to value books more highly. It may involve paying greater attention to the conditions that allow reading habits to recover after long periods of disruption.Reading campaigns, book recommendations and public celebrations of reading remain important, but they are unlikely to reach everyone equally. Re-engagement often depends upon quieter forms of infrastructure: accessible pathways back into reading, opportunities for private participation, and environments where reading can develop without judgement. Prisons make this visible in concentrated form. When autonomy, privacy and appropriate structure are present, adults who disengaged from reading long ago often begin reading again.The shift rarely happens because literature’s cultural importance has suddenly become persuasive. More often, it happens because the surrounding conditions have changed sufficiently for reading to feel possible.Research into prison reading groups has shown that reading can support confidence, reflection and discussion. More recent work has highlighted the value of combining reading with creative writing activities that encourage readers to engage actively with texts. Many adults who no longer read regularly do not need to be convinced that books matter. They already know that. The larger challenge is ensuring that conversations about reading also reach those who no longer feel reading belongs to them.If we want to understand the future of reading, we may need to spend less time asking why people have stopped reading, and more time creating the conditions that help them start again.Caroline Cauchi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.