Last week I asked you to tell me what you read. I said there were no wrong answers. I meant it. And then you answered, and I've been thinking about what you said ever since.
Here's what I discovered:
You read crime. Crime, thriller and historical fiction tied for the top spot, with nearly three quarters of respondents ticking those boxes. Mystery came in close behind, followed by biography and memoir, and then literary fiction. These are not surprising numbers for a bookshop, but they are useful ones. They tell me something about what should be on the shelves, and in what quantity.
You also read poetry. This surprised me a little. Poetry came in at over 40%. The same as classics, contemporary fiction, and South African literature. I'll be honest: poetry is my favourite genre, and it's the one I'm always slightly nervous to push too hard, in case it reads as a personal agenda rather than a genuine recommendation. Apparently I've been underestimating you. Poetry is often treated as the quiet relative nobody mentions at dinner. Not here.
Nearly 60% of you ticked biography & memoir. That's the second highest response of all. I think it says something about why we read in the first place. Not just to be entertained or challenged, but to feel less alone in being human. Other people's lives, honestly told, do something that fiction sometimes can't. They remind us that the mess is normal. That other people also made that choice, felt that thing, survived that year.
Over a quarter of you ticked romance. I want to say something about this carefully, because it deserves care: in an audience that also reads literary fiction and memoirs and poetry, ticking romance is a small act of honesty. It means you read for joy as much as anything else. I respect that enormously.
South African literature matters to you. Over 40% ticked of you selected it. The same share as classics and contemporary fiction. I want to sit with that for a moment, because it means something to me personally. Amongst other reasons, The Story Station was born out of a deep love for our country and the stories that come from it. South African literature is not a section we stock because it's expected. It's the section we stock because it's ours. Because these are the writers who looked at this country, this complicated and beautiful and maddening country, and found the words for it. And the fact that you ticked that box, wherever you are, whoever you are, tells me that this community of readers cares about our country, our culture, and the stories that belong to all of us. That matters more to me than any other number in this dataset. We are proudly, unapologetically South African. And apparently, so are you.
And then there were the write-ins. One of you wants books about photography. One wants Christian literature. One specified history, but emphatically not politics. I love these. They're the details that turn a dataset into a conversation, reminding me there's a specific person on the other side of every order, with a specific shelf, and a specific reason they reach for the books they do.
Here's what I want to say about all of it: when I built this shop, I had a reader in mind. Not a demographic. Not a category. A person who reads widely and without apology. Who doesn't choose between being serious and being entertained, because they've long since decided that's a false choice. The data you gave me is, more or less, a portrait of that reader. It turns out you were already here.
Thank you for answering. If you ticked more than three genres, I already told you last week that I like you very much. The data has confirmed it.
If you missed the form and want to weigh in, my inbox is always open: info@thestorystation.co.za.