What Your Summer Reading List Says About Your Personality and Anxieties
Research reveals that the books you pack for holiday subconsciously reflect your inner existential insecurities and traits.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Studies show book choices reflect underlying psychological anxieties.
- Book genres are categorized into four distinct behavioral clusters.
- Crime novel fans tend to focus on threats and perceived dangers.
- Sci-fi and fantasy readers are often preoccupied with global issues.
You have been dreaming about that summer break on the sun lounger, book in one hand and drink in the other, for months. Now the dash to the airport gate, train station, or hours-long drive is all that stands in your way. But what does the book you have just shoved in your suitcase say about you?
Studies have shown that our book choices can subconsciously reveal important parts of our personality, including what gives us pleasure and what makes us feel emotion. Research by Dr Valerie van Mulukom, a senior lecturer in psychology at Oxford Brookes University, suggests that our inner anxieties, or what she calls existential insecurities, determine which book we pick from the shelf.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
During her study, she used how often someone might engage with a certain genre to match it up with four main clusters: epic other-world adventures, everyday life and human relationships, threat and danger, and facts and histories.
If you are big on crime novels, this suggests you are concerned with or intrigued by threat and danger. The UK bestseller lists feature titles in this category, including The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown, The Family Friend by Claire Douglas, and London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe.
From a psychological perspective, engaging with threat-based narratives allows readers to safely simulate danger and process underlying fears within a controlled environment. This mechanism helps individuals mentally rehearse coping strategies for perceived vulnerabilities without facing real-world harm.
Meanwhile, if romance is more your style, your insecurities are more likely about relationships and social status. Bestsellers in this everyday life and human relationships category include The Correspondent by Virginia Evans and Heartstopper Volume 6 by Alice Oseman.
At the opposite end, someone who likes science fiction or fantasy novels tends to be more concerned with the state of the world, such as climate change or war. Relevant bestseller titles include Duskbound by Bree Grenwich and Parker Lennox, Red Dwarf: Titan by Rob Grant and Andrew Marshall, and To Flame a Wild Flower by Sarah A Parker.
Furthermore, Dr Dubourg notes that narratives are what matter most, whether fact or fiction. Everyone consumes stories in various forms. Bestsellers in the facts and history category include Regime Change by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy, and Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams.
Source: BBC Health
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