In a recent media release in time for the UK’s FutureBook conference, Kobo’s PR and Communications team released some stats based on reading data that has been accumulated for 2016. And, as has become a recurring trend, Kobo Writing Life titles from self-published and independent publisher titles are topping those lists.
Bestselling Titles of 2016 in Kobo UK:
Independent-publisher Bookouture author Robert Bryndza comes out on top of the UK’s bestselling books for 2016, featuring in first and tenth place with The Girl in the Ice and The Night Stalker respectively. Unsurprisingly, box office hits such as Jojo Moyes’s Me Before You, and Paula Hawkins’s The Girl on the Train both made the top 10 bestselling titles.
Additionally, it seems that Brits are still cash conscious with every title on the top 10 bestsellers list coming in at under five pounds. In fact, you could grab Kobo’s top 10 books from the UK for just £27.90, with the UK’s bestselling title costing just 99p!
| No: | Bestselling Books of 2016 | Cost |
| 1 | The Girl in the Ice by Robert Bryndza | £0.99 |
| 2 | The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins | £4.99 |
| 3 | Behind Closed Doors by B A Paris | £2.99 |
| 4 | The Teacher By Katerina Diamond | £1.49 |
| 5 | While My Eyes Were Closed by Linda Green | £1.99 |
| 6 | One with You by Sylvia Day | £3.99 |
| 7 | Between You and Me by Lisa Hall | £3.49 |
| 8 | Silent Scream by Angela Marsons | £0.99 |
| 9 | Me Before You by Jojo Moyes | £4.99 |
| 10 | The Night Stalker by Robert Bryndza | £1.99 |
KWL’s UK Manager, Diego Marano, interviews Bookouture publisher Oliver Rhodes and bestselling Bookouture author Kathryn Croft at the 2016 London Book Fair. Kathryn’s thriller titles are also regularly riding the tops of the best-seller lists at Kobo
Most Engaging (“Best-Read”) Titles of 2016:
The most engaging genre read in the UK is still romance with a 75% average completion rate (meaning more people finished books from the genre from start to finish opened when compared to other genres). However it seems that young readers are almost as keen with young adult books having an average completion rate of 69%. In fact, the young adult title Bruja by Aileen Erin comes out on top as being the most engaging book of all in 2016, with a 100% completion rate (every person who read the book did so from cover to cover).
Within 2016, March seemed the most popular month for reading, with the most books being completed in this month (is this likely due to the weather? School breaks? Holidays?). When it comes down to a favourite day to curl up with a good book, Sunday is always best, not just across the UK, but across the globe!
Most Completed Books from the Top 50 Bestselling List:
Independently published author Angela Marsons (also published by Kobo Writing Life publisher Bookouture) comes out as a clear favourite, featuring twice in the top 5 most completed books from the list of top 50 bestselling titles of 2016.
| No: | Most Completed from Bestseller’s List |
| 1 | Evil Games by Angela Marsons |
| 2 | Summer at the Star and Sixpence by Holly Hepburn |
| 3 | Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith |
| 4 | Make Me by Lee Child |
| 5 | Silent Scream by Angela Marsons |
KWL Director Mark Lefebvre let out a SILENT SCREAM over author Angela Marson’s autograph in this tweet, but is letting out yet anotheer silent scream of excitement at her awesome reading data stats
This isn’t the first time that we have shared Kobo reading stats (and it’s certainly not the first time a Kobo Writing Life author was called out as having excellent reader engagement) If you want to see more about other reading stats reports that Kobo has shared, be sure to read the following articles:
- Casey Kelleher – The Special Thrill of Captivating Readers (Casey Kelleher’s ROTTEN TO THE CORE was Kobo’s best-read title in the UK in 2014)
- Self-Published Title is Kobo’s Most Read Crime Novel of All Time (Katia Lief’s ONE COLD NIGHT was announced as Kobo’s most-read Crime novel of all time in July of 2016)
- Best Read Books of 2015 (a quick snapshot of the “Reader’s Dozen” of titles that rounded out the top 12 best-read KWL author titles at Kobo
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