Ahead of International Literacy Day, 8th September, leading sofa and carpet specialist ScS, has unearthed Londoner’s reading habits, from their favourite books, which genre they want to snuggle up with on the sofa to read, to which author they’d love to meet.
According to recent research*, Lord of the Rings has been crowned as London’s favourite book series with 13% preferring the books to the Harry Potter collection (12%), The Da Vinci Code (12%) and Sherlock Holmes (7%).
The survey found that Stephen King is the author that Londoners would most like to meet, with 15% of the Londoners choosing to meet the IT and Carrie creator over Roald Dahl (10%), JK Rowling (10%) and David Walliams (9%).
A fifth (20%) of Londoners prefer to read a book on the comfort of their sofa, to the bath (9%), the garden (12%), and even when holidaying in the sun (9%) – with over a quarter choosing to read before bed.
Over half (68%) of Londoners still prefer to read a physical book compared to modern alternatives such as a digital screen (26%), or listening to an audio book (5%).
Furthermore, one fifth of Londoners confessed that their favourite book genre is a thriller, closely followed by mystery (15%), crime (13%) and sci-fi (10%), whilst only 1% of the public voted for a western genre or a young adult-themed book.
In true British fashion, the most popular food and drink combination to enjoy whilst reading a book is tea and biscuits, with over a quarter (26%) of the British public opting for this delicious combo when settling down to read.
Lauren Old, Communications Executive at ScS, said: “It is lovely to see that the average Londoner spends 2 – 3 hours a week reading books. We wanted to celebrate International Literacy Day to raise awareness of the importance of reading and literacy rates. We encourage everyone to get cuddled up on the sofa and have a read of their favourite book this Sunday to celebrate International Literacy Day in style.”
Reading in Numbers:
The nation’s top 10 favourite books:
Harry Potter
The Da Vinci Code
Lord of the Rings
Sherlock Holmes
Fifty Shades of Grey
Bridget Jones
Game of Thrones
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
The Hunger Games
Of Mice and Men
The nation’s top 10 favourite book genres:
Thriller
Crime
Mystery
Romance
Fantasy
Sci-Fi
Adventure
Horror
Young Adult
Western
Top 10 author’s Brits would most like to meet:
Stephen King
JK Rowling
Roald Dahl
Bronte Sisters
David Walliams
George RR. Martin
Margaret Atwood
Malorie Blackman
Jacqueline Wilson
Marian Keyes
