Crime/thriller books most popular among Scots

As the latest Book Week Scotland launches on 21 November, our new poll for The Scottish Book Trust has revealed that crime/thriller books are the most popular among Scots.

Around a quarter (27%) of the 8 in 10 Scots who read for pleasure said that books which fictionalise crime topped their reading or listening material. The next most popular genres were science fiction/fantasy and biography/autobiography (both 10%) and historical fiction (9%).

While the crime genre was the most popular among readers of all ages, the second most popular genre among young readers (aged 16-34) was science fiction/fantasy (15%), while readers aged 55 and over chose historical fiction as their second preference (14%).

• Download the survey topline (PDF)
• Download the computer tables (PDF)

Technical note

• Results are based on a survey 1,000 respondents (adults aged 16+) conducted by telephone
• Fieldwork dates: 5th September- 11th September 2016
• Data are weighted by: age, sex, education qualification and working status using census data; tenure using SHS data; and public-private sector employment using Scottish Government Quarterly Public Sector Employment series data
• Where results do not sum to 100%, this may be due to computer rounding, multiple responses, or the exclusion of “don’t know” categories
• Results are based on all respondents 1,000 unless otherwise stated.