This year, the typical American didn’t read to escape from reality — they read to learn from it, a new poll suggests.
As part of our recent survey to determine the year’s best in pop culture, we asked 2,000 Americans to indicate which books they’d read from 2021’s New York Times Best Seller list.
The result? A surprising trend towards nonfiction and current events, with three of the top five most popular books specifically focused on President Trumps’ final year in office.
Two of these books; subtitles even evoke the former president by name — “Nightmare Scenarios: Inside the Trump Administration’s Response to the Pandemic That Changed History,” and “I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump’s Catastrophic Final Year,” both written by teams of Washington Post reporters.
Meanwhile, the third, “Midnight in Washington,” details Congressman Adam Schiff’s role in both impeachment trials, including his firsthand account of the Jan. 6 capitol insurrection.
Other prevalent themes included America’s history with racism, explored in “How the Word is Passed” and “The 1619 Project;” as well as discussions of cognitive behavior through titles like “What Happened To You?” and “Think Again.”
By contrast, three of the top-ranking works of fiction come from long-running book franchises — “21st Birthday,” a Women’s Murder Club mystery; “Fifty Shades Freed As Told By Christian,” by E.L. James; and “Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone,” the latest installment in Diana Gabaldon’s “Outlander” series.
Overall, a third of respondents (34%) admitted they didn’t engage with any new reading material in 2021, while a third of those who did (28%) hadn’t read a single book from the year’s NYT Best Seller list.
Most Read Books Of 2021
- “Nightmare Scenario: Inside the Trump Administration's Response to the Pandemic That Changed History” - Yasmeen Abutaleb and Damian Paletta
- “Walk In My Combat Boots: True Stories from America’s Bravest Warriors” - James Patterson and Matt Eversmann with Chris Mooney
- “I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year” - Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker
- “Midnight in Washington: How We Almost Lost Our Democracy and Still Could” - Adam Schiff
- Not All Diamonds and Rosé: The Inside Story of The Real Housewives from the People Who Lived It” - Dave Quinn
- “What Happened To You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing” - Bruce D. Perry and Oprah Winfrey
- “Killing the Mob: The Fight Against Organized Crime in America” - Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard
- “21st Birthday” - James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
- “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need” - Bill Gates
- “How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America” - Clint Smith
- “Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know” - Adam Grant
- “Freed: Fifty Shades Freed as Told by Christian” - E.L. James
- “Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone” - Diana Gabaldon
- “The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story” - Nikole-Hannah Jones and The New York Times Magazine
- “This Is the Fire: What I Say to My Friends About Racism” - Don Lemon
- Tie: “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” - Quentin Tarantino &“The President’s Daughter” - Bill Clinton and James Patterson
- “State of Terror” - Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny
- “Better Off Dead” - Lee Child and Andrew Child
- Tie: “The Afghanistan Papers: The Secret History of the War” - Craig Whitlockl; The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music” - Dave Grohl
Best Books of 2021
- “Walk In My Combat Boots: True Stories from America’s Bravest Warriors” - James Patterson and Matt Eversmann with Chris Mooney
- “Nightmare Scenario: Inside the Trump Administration's Response to the Pandemic That Changed History” - Yasmeen Abutaleb and Damian Paletta
- Not All Diamonds and Rosé: The Inside Story of The Real Housewives from the People Who Lived It” - Dave Quinn
- “I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year” - Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker
- “Midnight in Washington: How We Almost Lost Our Democracy and Still Could” - Adam Schiff
- “What Happened To You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing” - Bruce D. Perry and Oprah Winfrey
- Tie: “How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America” - Clint Smith & “Killing the Mob: The Fight Against Organized Crime in America” - Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard
- “The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story” - Nikole-Hannah Jones and The New York Times Magazine
- “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need” - Bill Gates
- “Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know” - Adam Grant
This OnePoll online survey was conducted from December 13th to 17th 2021, with 2,000 adults. As members of AAPOR – the American Association for Public Opinion Research, OnePoll researchers adhere to the principles and actions set out in the AAPOR Code.
