English teachers are shaking their heads in dismay. Only 43 percent of U.S. adults read at least one work of literature last year--that is, novels, short stories, poetry or plays--marking a three-decade low, according to a report from the National Endowment for the Arts. It is "the long, steady decline of literary reading," laments The Washington Post.

Have you ever lied about reading a book? Find out the top 20 books we are most likely to say we have read--when we haven't. And No. 1 is really surprising!

The NEA has been tracking adult reading and arts participation since 1982, when the literature reading rate was an impressive 57 percent.

The survey "counts" only those books read for pleasure and not because they were required for work or school. In an attempt to capture the broadest possible range of leisure reading, there was also no distinction made between physical books and books read on e-readers, such as the Amazon Kindle.

Fun facts to know and tell:

• 50 percent of women read a work of literature last year, compared with 36 percent of men.

• Half of whites read a work of literature, compared with 29 percent of blacks and 27 percent of Hispanics.

• Education appears to be the biggest driver of literary reading with 68 percent of those with a graduate degree having read such a book in the previous year. This compares to 59 percent of those with a bachelor's degree and 30 percent of those who only have a high school education.

Why are we reading so much less now? Blame it on all the other things that vie for our attention--from video games to streamed movies to Facebook.

But there is hope on the horizon. According to a different survey--this one conducted by Pew Research--73 percent of U.S. adults read a book last year, although that book might not be considered "literature" and it might have been read because it was required for work or school.

Reading is more than entertainment. If you want to live longer--as much as two years longer, on average--then read THIS much every day.