Worldreader Releases Top 2015 Digital Books in the Developing World
By: Christina Mancuso Jan. 05, 2016
Worldreader, a global nonprofit dedicated to improving literacy and access to great books in the developing world, today announces the top digital books read by children and adults on mobile devices across Asia and Africa in 2015.
In total, over 6 million children, adults and families in the developing world read more than 17 million hours on Worldreader's mobile phone applications and Kindle e-readers in 2015. The list of most popular books includes top book titles, genres, most popular authors, and top search terms in 2015 among readers in 31 countries across Asia and Africa.
Romance is the most popular genre for adults using Worldreader. Health books followed close behind, including texts on reproductive health and disease prevention-particularly malaria. Both men and women want to know 14 Things You Should Know About Sex, but men also want to know about Lionel Messi, the Argentinian soccer player. Children's favorite books are varied, with a focus on locally-authored and published early readers and fiction.
"People around the world want the same things: we all want to understand the world around us, we want to lead a healthy life, we want to attend good schools and get good jobs and we want to have some fun. Until now, the books that can help us achieve our dreams have been available to only a few. Worldreader is helping create a world where everyone can become a reader," says Worldreader CEO and Co-Founder, David Risher.
New Reading Data Revealed, Country-by-Country
For the first time, Worldreader is open-sourcing country-by-country adult reading data, spanning nine months of 2015. This new alpha-level tool reveals what adults are reading across Africa and parts of Asia. It's an early, fascinating way to compare reading habits from Algeria to India to Pakistan to Zimbabwe. Worldreader's 2015 Book Reading Map can be viewed here.
Top 10 Books Read by School-Aged Children
1. Molly Moccasin Series - Victoria Ryan O'toole (Urban Fox Studios) - North America
2. Beem Explores Africa - Simidele Dosekun (Kachifo) - Africa
3. Kofi in the Dentist's Chair - T.A Richardson (Afram Publications) - Africa
4. My Big Dada - Kwasi Otopah (Smartline Publishing) - Africa
5. Kofi Has Malaria - Barbara Baddoo (Sam - Woode Ltd) - Africa
6. A Football Match - Asare Konadu Yamoah (Adaex Educational Publications) - Africa
7. There's a Mouse in the House - Janelle Hooper (self-published) - North America
8. All About Me - Pamela Abba Woode (Sam-Woode Ltd) - Africa
9. Tawia Goes to Sea - Meshack Asare (Sub-Saharan) - Africa
10. Who Are We? - Paula Raubenheimer (Big Bug Books) - Africa
Top 3 Health Books
1. 14 Things You Should Know about Sex - (UK National Health Service)
2. Sexual Health: Sex - (Wikibooks)
3. Malaria (Facts for Life) - (UNICEF)
Top 3 Adult Education Books
1. Dictionary of Computer & Information Technology - Mrinal Talukdar (Prabhat Prakashan)
2. Correct English Usage: A Handy Guide to Correct Grammatical Concepts - Prashant Gupta (Prabhat Prakashan)
3. Enrich Your Vocabulary - Najmussehar (Prabhat Prakashan)
Top 3 Romance Books
1. First Love...Thinking of Him - A.V. Frost (Beaten Track Publishing)
2. Milk and Honey - Roslyn Hardy Holcomb (Self-published)
3. A Love Rekindled - Myne Whitman (Self-published)
Top Fiction Books Donated by U.S. Publishers
1. Molly Moccasins Series - Victoria Ryan O'Toole (Urban Fox Studios)
2. There is a Mouse in the House - Janelle Hooper (Self-Published)
3. The Blue Fox - Maya Ray (InfoMarvel Business Solutions Inc.)
4. My Magic Flyswatter: A Superhero Tale of Africa, Retold from the Mwindo Epic - Aaron Shepard (Shepard Publications)
5. The Story of an Ordinary Lion - Janet Doolaege (Self-Published)
6. To Catch a Monkey - Kofi O. Okyere (2911 Productions, LLC)
7. The Berenstain Bears and the Truth - Stan Berenstain (Random House Children's Books, Penguin Random House)
8. Ivy and Bean Series - Annie Barrows (Chronicle Books)
9. How Sui Stopped his Boasting and Grandmother Goes to the Pictures - Marg Reynolds (Self-published)
10. Little Chimbu - Nancy Curtis (Self-published)
Top Non-Fiction Books Donated by U.S. Publishers
1. Where There is No Doctor - David Werner (Hesperian Health Guides)
2. Kuwa Kijana: To Become a Young Man - Mami Sommer (Grow and Know, Inc.)
3. Someday You'll Write - Elizabeth Yates (JourneyForth Books)
4. In-Versing Your Life: A Poetry Workbook for Self-Discovery and Healing - Cynthia Gustavso (Blooming Twig Books LLC)
5. Life Without Limits: Inspiration for a Ridiculously Good Life - Nick Vujicic (Penguin Random House)
6. Managers as Mentors - Chip R. Bell (Berrett-Koehler)
7. Math Blender - Amazon Digital Services (Amazon)
8. Moonwalker - Charlie Duke (Rose Petal Press)
9. Martin Luther: Selections from His Writing - Martin Luther (Knopf, Penguin Random House)
10. Facing the Lion: Growing Up Maasai on the African Savanna - Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton, National Geographic Society (Penguin Random House)
Top Authors
1. Heather Graham (Romance) - U.S.
2. Jack Bird (Agroforestry) - U.S.
3. Suzanne Forster (Romance) - U.S.
4. Jeremy Brown (Crime) - U.S.
5. Ola Awonubi (Romance) - UK
6. Nicola Thorton (Romance) - UK
7. Terry Kerr (Popular Fiction) - UK
8. Wonanji Phiri (Memoir) - South Africa
9. Morgan Rice (fantasy) - U.S.
Top 22 Search Terms on Worldreader
1. Sex
2. Biology
3. The Bible
4. Love
5. Dictionary
6. Chemistry
7. Adventure
8. Physics
9. History
10. Accounting
11. Computer
12. Science
13. Sexual Harassment
14. Nizar Qabbani (Syrian Poet)
15. El Verdadero Islam
16. Psychology
17. Physics
18. Qur'an
19. Automotive
20. Poetry
21. Programming
22. Amharic Books
Top Books Read By Women
When it comes to the books women read, Worldreader data shows that romance, health, and religion were the most popular.
1. First Love... Thinking of Him - A.V. Frost (Beaten Track Publishing)
2. Forbidden Fire - Heather Graham (Open Road Integrated Media)
3. 14 Things You Should Know about Sex - (UK National Health Service)
4. The Holy Bible: The King James Version
5. Forever My Love - Heather Graham (Open Road Integrated Media)
Top Books Read By Men
For men, books about romance, health, and sports were the most popular.
1. 14 Things You Should Know about Sex - (UK National Health Service)
2. First Love... Thinking of Him - A.V. Frost (Beaten Track Publishing)
3. The Holy Bible: The King James Version
4. Milk and Honey - Roslyn Hardy Holcomb (Self-published)
5. Lionel Messi - Sports (Wikipedia for Schools)
Top Books Read in Africa
1. The Holy Bible: The King James Version
2. First Love... Thinking of Him - A.V. Frost (Beaten Track Publishing)
3. Milk and Honey - Roslyn Hardy Holcomb (Self-published)
4. 14 Things You Should Know about Sex - (UK National Health Service)
5. Cristiano Ronaldo - Sports (Wikipedia for Schools)
6. Lionel Messi - Sports (Wikipedia for Schools)
7. A Love Rekindled - Myne Whitman (Self-published)
8. First, Know What You Want: Why Goals Don't Work and How to Make Them - Andrew Halfacre (Bookshaker)
9. There's Something About Him - Lauri Kubuitsile (Worldreader)
10. Forever My Love - Heather Graham (Open Road Integrated Media)
About Worldreader
Worldreader is a nonprofit dedicated to increasing literacy, educational outcomes, and positive perceptions of reading in developing countries. Readers access a library of over 30,000 digital books on e-readers or mobile phones in libraries, classrooms, on the go, and at home. In its first five years, Worldreader has reached over 6 million readers in 69 countries and plans to reach 15 million readers by 2018. To read free books on your mobile phone, visit read.worldreader.org. For more information on Worldreader, visit http://www.worldreader.org.
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