Eason Reveals Reading Trends of the Decade

Eason, Ireland’s largest and longest standing book retailer, reveals fiction as the nation’s favourite genre of the last decade, as reading continues to thrive despite the dominance of social media.

Over 700 recently polled Eason customers voted ‘Room’ by Emma Donoghue as their choice for Irish Fiction Book of the Decade, reinforcing the female-led suspense story as a favourite trend of the last ten years. Although the last decade began with uncertainty over the viability of printed books and high-street book stores, Eason data shows that book lovers continue to enjoy physical books as a form of entertainment.

Erotic fiction made a surprise appearance as a mainstream trend in the last decade, with the 50 Shades trilogy by EL James topping best-seller lists with Eason and globally. The emergence of book club culutre has also contributed to the growing popularity of books in culture, a trend that looks set to continue into 2020 and beyond.

Irish writers in both fiction and non-fiction categories continue to dominate sales, with the ‘Oh My God What a Complete Aisling’ series by Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen, ‘Normal People’ by Sally Rooney, ‘Children of the Rising’ by Joe Duffy and ‘The Batttle’ by Paul O’ Connell’ amongst some of the bestselling book of the decade at Eason.

Commenting on the trends, Eason Group Head of Marketing Brendan Corbett said “Reading trends and preferences are constantly evolving and 2020 looks to see growing trends in uplifting fiction, and health and wellness non-fiction reads. We are looking forward to seeing new trends emerge in the next 10 years.”

Eason Top 5 Best Selling Irish Fiction Books of the Decade

1. Oh my God What a Complete Aisling – Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen
2. Holding – Graham Norton
3. Room – Emma Donoghue
4. The Importance of Being Aisling – Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen
5. A Keeper – Graham Norton

Eason Top 5 Best Selling Fiction Books of the Decade

1. Fifty Shades of Grey – E.L James
2. Girl on the Train – Paula Hawkins
3. Oh my God What a Complete Aisling – Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen
4. The Help – Kathyrn Stockett
5. Fifty Shades Darker – E.L James

Eason Top 5 Best Selling Irish Sport Books of the Decade

1. The Battle – Paul O’Connell
2. The Test – Brian O’Driscoll
3. The Second Half – Roy Keane and Roddy Doyle
4. Ordinary Joe – Joe Schmidt
5. John Giles: A Football Man – John Giles