Crime tops for beach

ONE IN FIVE Irish people read between four and eight books on a two-week holiday – with most of us reading at least two books. Four out of five of us are most likely to pack a thriller for reading by a pool or on the beach – followed by chick lit or something humorous.

A survey of Europeans’ holiday reading habits by lastminute.com. shows that, overall, favourite holiday reading is in the action, adventure, crime and thriller genre. Sixty-three per cent of all Europeans – and 59 per cent of the Irish – surveyed said they read this genre on holiday. Next most popular genres with Irish readers – nearly 30 per cent – are chick lit or romance followed by humour.

Norwegian writer Jo Nesbo's thrillers are currently popular here, says Hodges Figgis manager Paul McGrath. Stephen Boylan of Easons says that Nesbo's The Leopardtops Irish crime charts, with recent novels by Sheila Flanagan and Melissa Hill being popular.

But a literary novel like On Canaan's Sideby Sebastian Barry – longlisted for the Booker prize – may well find space in Irish luggage this summer. It has been selling rapidly since it was published a week ago.

And although X-rated works are the least popular, about twice as many Irish holiday readers (4 per cent) as British (2 per cent) said they would read erotica on holiday. This compared with 7 per cent of Spanish and 6 per cent of German readers.

People in Sweden, the UK and Ireland are the most avid holiday readers. Seventy-two per cent of Swedes, and 71 per cent of both the British and the Irish pack books for holidays.

Thirty per cent of Irish and German readers like humour. Mediterraneans (France, Spain and Italy) opt for science fiction, comics and fantasy fiction (29 per cent, 36 per cent and 28 per cent respectively).

The Spanish topped the list of readers of spiritual, self-help and religious literature (17 per cent).

The survey – which questioned more than 10,000 adults in nine European countries – showed that on a two-week summer holiday, an average of 320 million books will be read.