In America, most adults read from the Bible. Some read sermons as well. Many early American colonists kept journals Such as Anne Hutchinson, Roger Williams, William Penn, Cpt. John Smith, and others such as the writings of "Poor Richard" aka Benjamin Franklin. Americans had access to the writings of Charles Dickens, Alexander Pope, and Milton as well.
Most American poetry of this period revolves around religious ideas. Some poets include Anne Bradstreet, Cotton Mather, Blyes Mather, and others.
There were libraries in Boston and Virginia, but these were mainly private collections and very valuable to their owners. The idea of a public library was given to America by Benjamin Franklin. Washington Irving published "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" in 1819, and one year later James Fennimore Cooper published The Last of the Mohicans.
Those who had money and ability were able to acquire literature from Europe. However, paper was not necessarily readily availabe and mass produced as it is today. Books were expensive and a luxury.
Letter writing was another form of reading that many people did for recreation and communication. There was no mass communication at that time as we understand it. To learn the news from relatives in a distant town or country, one depended on a hand-written letter. Some of these letters could be several pages long.
Children were mainly taught to read and write at home. The most common teaching tools were slate and chalk or a pad of wax and a stylus. These were reusable and avoided wasting paper. Once a child had learned lettering and numbering, he or she moved on to proverbs and sayings that were easily remembered. Most early American children were taught from a text called The Hornbook. This was written on harder substance than paper. It could not be torn. It was durable and able to withstand being wet, dropped, or used over and over from one sibling to the next.
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