Are there different preferences for book genres depending on what state you’re in? According to new research from Cloudwards, there are trends in book preferences based on location.
Utilizing Google Trends data over the last 12 months, Cloudwards explored the most searched genre in each of the 50 states, plus the District of Columbia. All searches were limited to Google Trends “Books and Literature” category, and the researchers used a variety of common genre terms to determine the frequency of interest in them by state. Some of the genre categories were a little unconventional for the average reader–how do you determine the difference between “fiction” and “family” as terms–but the major genres were included, including romance, fantasy, mystery, and so forth.
Romance dominated in terms of genre popularity across the US, with 22 states seeing it as their top searched genre. In terms of geographic region, romance was especially popular in the south, with states like Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia ranking it as their top genre.
Fiction and poetry tied for next most popular genres, each either nine states reporting it as the most searched genre. The researchers note that these findings aren’t surprising, given that fiction is broad and encompassing. As for poetry, it is likely not surprising to see people looking for more information about poetry; the research here isn’t about poetry being the most read genre, but rather, one of the most researched genres.
The next most popular genres were fantasy (six states), family (3 states), mystery (1 state), and fantasy (1 state).
It should come as little surprise there is so much national interest in romance. It is a genre that consistently sells well across all of its subgenres, and in 2023, print romance books sold upwards of 39 million copies. Romance-specific bookstores have seen a boom across the country, increasing ten fold in just a couple of years.
One of the most surprising findings might be that only one state ranked historical fiction as its most popular genre. That state was Massachusetts. It is a perennially popular genre among readers, and it is a genre that has been a long-running staple on best-of and awards lists.
There are some interesting regional genre interests of note. The northeastern and western United States tends to showcase the most genre diversity, while the midwest leans more toward romance. In the south, family stories pop up more than elsewhere. Cloudwards notes, too, that coastal states showcase a little more genre diversity than their interior counterparts.
The researchers note that their methodology lacks scientific scrutiny but shows a general idea of interest in different reading genres. Among some of the weaknesses of this study are the loosely-defined genres, as well as the lack of nuance when it comes to format of genre. It’s not clear whether or not the researchers looked into genres outside of those which ranked among the top in the US, as there’s no full list of utilized search terms. There is no indication in the research, for example, whether or not science fiction or westerns were researched, and while horror is a mood and not a genre, it is surprising to see zero representation for horror here, either.
Furthermore, poetry encompasses a wide variety of genres, as it is a format, rather than a genre. It’s also worth wondering where and how graphic novels in their myriad genres fit in with reader popularity.
If there’s a takeaway, it’s this: no matter how frequently romance novels can be derided or belittled in pop culture, it’s a genre that is thriving, that is growing, and that tops the list of genres readers are interested in in nearly half of the United States.
You can read more about the study here.
