At the beginning of the year, everyone is looking for something to better about themselves. While 71% of Americans who made resolutions resolved to focus on diet and exercise in 2019, it turns out more people may be interested in improving their mental health. According to recent data released from Barnes and Noble bookstores, mental health books are outselling those centered around diet and exercise.
Why Mental Health Books
Throughout the New Year’s season, Barnes and Noble collected data from its customers to predict what books may be popular in the year to come. It was collected from purchases made on Barnes and Noble’s websites and within its retail store locations from December 16 through January 5. What the bookstore found in its data was that more readers seem to be focused on reducing stress and increasing self-esteem than they are on losing weight.
This is a change in the usual trend, according to Liz Harwell, the senior director of merchandising for trade books. “Books related to self-improvement are always in high demand around the new year, but in a recent shift, books focused on mental well-being are far outpacing titles addressing exercise and dieting,” she said.
Across the chain of bookstores, more people are buying material about mental and emotional well-being than ever before. Whereas in previous years, January typically brought a peak in sales for diet and exercise books.
The Most Popular Books
If you’re interested in improving your mental health in the new year, you may be wondering what people are buying from Barnes and Noble. Below are the most popular mental health books being sold this year.
- The Subtle Art of Not Giving a … : A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson
- You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero
- 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos by Jordan Peterson
- Calm the … Down: How to Control What You Can and Accept What You Can’t So You Can Stop Freaking Out and Get On With Your Life by Sarah Knight
- Gmorning, Gnight!: Little Pep Talks for Me & You by Lon-Manuel Miranda
Barnes and Noble isn’t the only bookseller noticing a change in trends this year either. Amazon has also listed each of these among its top 20 list of bestselling books.
Other Lifestyle Change Books
That isn’t to say the popularity of diet and exercise literature has completely faded out. Amongst Barnes and Noble customers, physical health books were still popular. However, most of the health and wellness books sold seemed to focus solely on healthy eating.
When it comes down to it, if you want to really see a positive change in your life you will need to educate yourself on how to improve. Those wanting to seriously change their finances usually turn to a Dave Ramsey novel or another critically-acclaimed personal finance book. What is interesting is to see America’s focus switch from physical to mental and emotional well-being.
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Amanda Blankenship is the Chief Editor for District Media. With a BA in journalism from Wingate University, she frequently writes for a handful of websites and loves to share her own personal finance story with others. When she isn’t typing away at her desk, she enjoys spending time with her daughter, son, husband, and dog. During her free time, you’re likely to find her with her nose in a book, hiking, or playing RPG video games.
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