Rakuten Kobo 2025 Book Report: 

TORONTO, ON – January 27, 2026 – Rakuten Kobo, a global leader in digital reading, unveils the top reading trends of 2025 based on the reading habits of millions of users around the world. In 2025, readers turned the page on reality, escaping into fantastical realms (so many dragons!), twisty mysteries, and enemies-to-lovers romances.

“In a world that often feels relentless, we've observed a consistent truth: reading remains a sanctuary," said Michael Tamblyn, CEO, Rakuten Kobo. "Books offer us a unique opportunity to choose our own world, if only for a few stolen moments each day. In 2025, we saw readers globally turning to stories and knowledge as a much-needed escape – whether on a busy morning commute or during a quiet evening wind-down. It's a testament to the enduring power of books to provide both comfort and new perspectives. While we have our predictions on where reading trends might take us in 2026, we know the human need for connection and understanding through stories never changes."

Fantasy Reigns Supreme Across the Globe

A prevailing theme throughout 2025 was a collective desire to escape to new worlds. Readers worldwide showed a marked disinterest in reality, opting instead to dive headfirst into genres offering new worlds and sweeping narratives. Science fiction and fantasy saw a significant uptick across the board. The US led this charge with a 65 per cent increase in fantasy reading, followed by Spain (37 per cent), the Netherlands (35 per cent), Australia (34 per cent), and Canada (23 per cent). Even France and Italy, while showing smaller increases, still demonstrated a growing appetite for these genres (13 per cent each). Rebecca Yarros's Onyx Storm emerged as a global favourite, becoming the best-selling book of the year in Australia, Canada, and the US, securing the dragon’s position as Mythical Creature of 2025.

Canadian Highlights:

Canadians Trending Towards Escapism

For Canadians, escapism, new realms and untapped frontiers were also top of mind, with the top ten best-selling books in 2025 falling into the fiction category - with an overall 23 per cent increase in readership for fantasy and sci-fi! 

Canadians Flocked to One Golden Summer

One of Canada’s most visited destinations? Barry’s Bay. Carley Fortune took us back to the familiar shores of Ontario’s quintessential cottage country with One Golden Summer, and Canadians eagerly packed their bags for the escape, making it the most popular Canadian-penned release of the year.

From Taylor Swift to Television Hits, Pop Culture Sent Canadians Back to the Page

Whether in celebration or reflection, Canadians turned to books to engage with the year’s biggest pop culture moments. From revisiting Shakespeare’s Hamlet to uncover the true fate of Ophelia following Taylor Swift’s latest album release, to the breakout success of the Heated Rivalry TV series, driving even more readers to devour Canadian Rachel Reid’s Game Changers books. The passing of cultural icons like Ozzy Osbourne, Jane Goodall, and the Pope also brought biographies and backlist titles to the top of Canadians’ TBR lists.

Canadians Start the Week with Stories - and Listened More than Ever

Canadians escaped the Sunday scaries and Monday blues by wading through their TBRs. Plus, putting on their listening ears, Canadians spent 27 per cent more time with audiobooks in 2025 compared to 2024.

Turning the Page to 2026: 

Anticipating a Return to the Classics: 2026 is expected to see a resurgence in readership for titles like Wuthering Heights, Sense and Sensibility, and Pride and Prejudice, driven by upcoming screen adaptations. 

More Love for Mafia and Cottagecore: When it comes to romance, Kobo is forecasting a surge of growth in mafia romance and a continued rise in cozy cottagecore romance, rivalling the juggernaut of romantasy for popularity.

Hockey Romance Skating into Hearts Around the World: With the Heated Rivalry TV show jumping across the pond, along with the filming of season two, we are anticipating the book to become even more popular and inspire further fandom for mates on skates.

Canada’s Top 10 Bestselling eBooks of 2025

Canada’s Top 10 Bestselling Audiobooks of 2025