According to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, “e-reading” is on the rise — as of February 2012, 21% of Americans have read an e-book, compared with 17% in 2011. Well, we knew that. What we didn’t know is that e-book readers are apparently reading much more than their pulpy counterparts, consuming an average of 24 books a year, while those who prefer paper books read an average of 15. Is this statistic a mere result of the relative convenience of a single device that can hold hundreds of books and is always in your pocket? Well, we doubt it. We think it might just be that the people who buy Kindles and Nooks are already avid readers, ready to spend several hundred dollars on a device that makes their favorite activity more convenient. Then again, the study found that 42% of e-book readers reported that they are “reading more now that long-form reading material is available in digital format.” So will the increased prevalence of e-readers help us all read more, or are these just growing pains and a handful of tech geeks who can’t put their Kindles down? Check out the full study here, and let us know what you think.