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Global reading confirms stereotypes

05.03.08

A survey of global reading habits has revealed that "we all fit nicely into our national stereotypes", reports the Daily Telegraph, with the French opting for morose highbrow tomes and the Americans for self help guides, while the British plump for trivia and books by celebrities.

However, the one clear uniting factor is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows which tops the bestseller lists for the UK, US, France and Germany, according to internet retailer Amazon, which compiled the bestselling books list from sales on its global sites..

The seventh and final book in J K Rowling’s wizard series came in at number three in Japan, behind two health and beauty titles, Yukuko Tanaka’s Face Massage and Inspiring Exercise.

The Brits prefer the offerings of celebrity chefs and television personalities with just two fiction titles, besides Harry Potter, managing to sneak in at the bottom of the list.

Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver come in at second and third place while Richard Hammond’s autobiography On the Edge, which details his death-defying 300mph car crash, comes in at number five.

In Germany books on travel and the great outdoors are most popular, but they also win the prize for the driest bestseller. In eighth place is the country’s Civil Code.

Kes Nielsen, head of book buying at Amazon, estimated that three-quarters of those on the list had been boosted into their positions by people buying for Christmas, which may explain why novels do not make a more prominent appearance on the UK version. He said: "People don’t tend to buy fiction as a present as it is a very personal thing."

Daily Telegraph

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