The kings and queens of horror: tales from America’s favorite genres

What do telekinetic prom queen Carrie White, D.C. police consultant Alex Cross and wonder of the wizarding world Harry Potter all have in common? Their imaginative creators are America’s top three favorite authors. Stephen King and James Patterson each retain their spots from 2010, numbers one and two respectively, with J.K. Rowling at number position after a long ride up the chain. Next up is a tie for fourth place between John Grisham, who previously held third, and Dean Koontz, who is up two spots.

Competition is getting fierce and while King still holds the throne his competitors are finding favor amid the various age groups and education levels.

• Those between the ages of 25 and 64 most prefer a good scare from Stephen King but 18-24 year olds are pledging their literary love to the works of J.K. Rowling and older adults, 65 and up, favor getting wrapped up in a mystery à la James Patterson.
• Americans across most educational levels up through college grads are most enamored with Stephen King but post grads are more likely to reach for John Grisham.

 

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,273 adults surveyed online between July 15 and 20, 2015. Full results of the study can be found here.

When asked which types of books (from a provided list) they’ve read over the last year, 46 percent of Americans indicate that they’ve been filling their book-bags with mystery, thriller and crime novels.

Around three in 10 Americans have been flipping through history books (33 percent), biographies/memoirs (31 percent) and romance novels (27 percent), while a quarter have read cookbooks/food writing (26 percent), science fiction (26 percent) and tales of fantasy (24 percent). In addition, around two in 10 adults have read classics/literature (23 percent); health and wellness (22 percent); religion and spirituality (20 percent); self-help (19 percent); and true crime (19 percent) books in the past year.

But which demo is most attracted to each genre?

• The first choice across every generation is mystery/thriller/crime.
• Mystery/thriller/crime is also the favorite among women (55 percent), while men are most likely itching to get their hands on history books (46 percent).
• Once again, post grads seem to take their own path, torn between whether they are most likely to be found reading history books or biographies/memoirs (51 percent each), while everyone else is likely to be holding tight to mystery, thriller and crime novels (45 percent HS or less, 49 percent some college, 44 percent college grads).

 

from Quirks Marketing Research Review Blog http://ift.tt/1MvWBnD