Must Love Books
Smarty pants Austin ranks among most well-read cities in the nation
As one of the most educated cities in the country, it should come as no surprise to Austinites that we’re also among the most well read.
In Amazon’s annual list of the 20 most well-read cities in the U.S., Austin places at No. 5. Amazon used a compilation of sales data from April 2015 to April 2016, including purchases of all books, magazines, and newspapers, showing Austin has been busy spending money — and time — on beloved reads.
The top-selling titles in both print and digital in Austin include novels The Girl on the Train, The Martian, and The Nightingale, falling in line with the rest of the nation. Apparently Austinites also care about self-improvement, as Strengthsfinder 2.0 and The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing round out our top five best sellers.
Unique to Austin? Aaron Franklin’s Franklin Barbecue: A Meat-Smoking Manifesto was the No. 5 top seller in print titles.
Austin is joined by other Texas bookworms on Amazon’s list. Houston (No. 15), Dallas (No. 19), and San Antonio (No. 20) also make the cut. The most well-read cities in the nation are Seattle; Portland, Oregon; Washington; and San Francisco, which slide into the top four spots ahead of our smart little city.