What’s everybody reading? A book-by-book map of the world

If you want to make like a local when you travel this summer, choose your reading material carefully. Travelers visiting Sweden should pick up a copy of “2001: A Space Odyssey” by Arthur C. Clarke. Those who are Brazil-bound might reach for the health guide “Superfoods” by Meryl Joseph.

That’s the word on reading picks and habits from users of Scribd, the Netflix-like book lending company that compiled pages read, reading time and geographic data from users worldwide to create a kind of reading map of the world.

In the U.S., the must-read book on Scribd is “Sh*t My Dad Says,” by Justin Halpern. Other top books, by country, include:

--Denmark: “The Alchemist,” by Paulo Coelho
--Croatia: “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich,” by William L. Shirer
--Italy: “Beethoven Sonatas and the Creative Experience,” by Kenneth O. Drake
--The Netherlands: “The One-Minute Organizer,” by Donna Smallin

The fastest readers appear to be in Germany, followed by the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Malaysia. The U.S. came in 14th for reading speed.

And when it comes to genres, Uruguay prefers romance novels, Spain likes business books and the U.S. tilts toward arts and music.

Scribd data came from its audience of about 80 million monthly readers around the globe.

Mary.Forgione@latimes.com
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