It has been so since 2005: Every few years, Seattle swaps Most Literate U.S. City status with Minneapolis. This year, we're number 2, with Washington D.C. at number 1 and Minneapolis at 3. That beacon of literacy in today's sound-bite world, USA Today, has the story:

The study, based on 2010, looks at measures for [sic] six items — newspapers, bookstores, magazines, education, libraries and the Internet — to determine what resources are available in each city and the extent to which its inhabitants take advantage of them.

Now in its eighth year, the study finds little to celebrate. Were Washington's top score in 2010 applied to the 2004 rankings, for example, the city would land at No. 7...Washington's climb to No. 1 this year was likely helped by troubles in Seattle, which has claimed or shared (with Minneapolis) the top spot four of the past five years. In recent years, Seattle has lost a newspaper and some legendary local bookstores have struggled.