Doncaster, Rochester, Truro and Sevenoaks make up the top five Most Well-Read Towns and Cities in the UK
Luxembourg—June 2, 2014—To celebrate the start of the summer holiday reading season, Amazon.co.uk has revealed its fourth annual list of the Top 10 Most Well-Read Towns and Cities in the UK. The ranking was determined by compiling sales of all books, magazines and newspapers in both print and Kindle format since April 1, 2013, on a per capita basis, in towns and cities with more than 20,000 residents.
The Top 10 Most Well-Read Towns and Cities are:
- HUNTINGDON
- DONCASTER
- ROCHESTER
- TRURO
- SEVENOAKS
- CAMBRIDGE
- SALISBURY
- CHICHESTER
- NEWTON ABBOT
- SPALDING
In taking a closer look at the data, Amazon also found that:
- Doncaster is the city of love: Love is all around for Doncaster residents; for the second year running they are the most ardent consumers of romantic fiction, reading more romance books than anywhere else in the UK. South Yorkshire neighbours Barnsley and West Yorkshire’s Pontefract also appear in the Top 10 making Yorkshire the most romantic region in the UK.
- Huntingdon—the reigning reading Capital of the UK: For the fourth year running, Huntingdon retains the title of the Most Well-Read town in the UK. Residents’ favourite books of 2013 were Inferno: (Robert Langdon Book 4) by Dan Brown, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and The Detective's Daughter by Lesley Thomson. They also purchase more Kindle books per capita than anywhere else in the UK.
- Cooking up a storm in Truro: Truro is the gastronomic capital of the UK when it comes to cook book sales; residents purchased more cook books over the past year than anywhere else in the UK.
- It’s all Sci-Fi and Romance in Wales: Although Wales misses out on the overall top 10, the residents of Bridgend are fourth in the list for purchasing the most sci-fi books, and residents of Wrexham are in the top 10 for romantic fiction sales.
- Big City Readers: Of the UK’s top 10 largest cities, residents of Bristol are the most avid readers, with Manchester second, followed by Glasgow, Edinburgh and Leeds. The #1 best-selling book amongst Bristol residents was Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the #1 best-selling book amongst Manchester residents was Alex Ferguson’s My Autobiography.
- Bookish Cambridge scholars: For a fourth year running, Cambridge, home to the prestigious Cambridge University, tops the list for purchasing the most books in the Business, Law and Finance category. In comparison, rival University City, Oxford, is fifth in this category—behind the University City Durham, in third place.
- Movers and Shakers—newcomer to the Top 20: Climbing the charts for the first time is the Welsh town of Bridgend, which rises to number 20, securing Wales’ spot in the top 20 for the first time.
“Our annual Most Well-Read Towns and Cities list shows that reading continues to be a passion for people up and down the country, and nowhere else more so than in Huntingdon,” said Jorrit Van der Meulen, Vice President, EU Kindle. “Our customers are reading more books than ever before, in fact, Kindle owners read four times as many books after they start reading on Kindle than in the twelve months before.”
To help contribute to their town or city’s well-read status and find inspiration for their next summer read customers can visit www.amazon.co.uk/summerreading where the Amazon.co.uk Books and Kindle editorial team have selected their top reading picks for the summer.
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Notes to editors:
- Most Well-Read Towns and Cities in UK was determined by compiling sales of all books, magazines and newspapers in both print and Kindle format since April 1, 2013 on a per capita basis in UK towns and cities with more than 20,000 residents.
Top 20 Most Well-Read Towns and Cities
- HUNTINGDON
- DONCASTER
- ROCHESTER
- TRURO
- SEVENOAKS
- CAMBRIDGE
- SALISBURY
- CHICHESTER
- NEWTON ABBOT
- SPALDING
- BURY ST EDMUNDS
- DUNFERMLINE
- CHORLEY
- DURHAM
- WITNEY
- WARWICK
- ASHFORD
- CANTERBURY
- WARRINGTON
- BRIDGEND*
*New to the top 20 for 2014
For further information please contact:
Amazon.co.uk Ltd Press Office
Email: pressoffice@amazon.co.uk
Tel: 0208 636 9280
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