“The more we read or listen … the better we feel,” Storytel Group’s CEO wrote in the introduction to The 2026 Story Report
In news you’ll use to defend that book hoarding habit, a higher percentage of people who read or listened to books in the past six months self-rated their well-being as “good” or “very good” compared to non-listeners, according to the report commissioned by European audiobook platform Storytel and conducted by independent, Stockholm-based agency Trackit
Storytel isn’t alone in identifying connections between reading and well-being
- The findings of one review of 43 papers on reading for pleasure suggest that it “enhances processes such as feelings of positivity, self-understanding, empathic relations.”
- A National Literacy Trust research report explored the connection between reading, writing, and young people’s well-being.
- Any number of factors might contribute to higher well-being scores among people with the privilege of time and space to read for pleasure, but these findings point to real causal benefits.
Hungry for more bookish takeaways? The more than 5,000 adults across five European countries interviewed about their personal reading habits offered these interesting tidbits to chew on:
- “Relax and unwind” topped the list of reasons respondents turned to books, with “escape into another world” coming in second.
- Crime/Thriller was the #1 genre listened to in four out of five countries (Fiction slid in just ahead in the Bulgarian market)
- The top audiobook multitasking scenarios were “while walking” (Sweden), “while traveling” (Norway), “while doing household chores (Finland and Poland), and “when I’m alone” (Bulgaria).
