Reading platform Millie’s Library (CEO Seo Young-taek) announced the ‘January Library Picked by Millie’s Library Members’ chart, allowing users to check the popular reading content of the first month of 2022 at a glance. In January, books featuring leaders’ insights made it onto the chart.
Best-sellers in bookstores such as Trend Korea 2022, The Uncomfortable Convenience Store, Wellthinking (audiobook), and The Dollar Gut Dream Department Store took the top four spots, while science journalist Lulu Miller’s book Fish Don’t Exist ranked 5th, showing that books from various fields were widely loved throughout January. Welcome to Hyunamdong Bookstore, which started gaining word-of-mouth popularity after its release as a Millie Original and is also receiving great love in bookstores, ranked 6th.
In January, books offering insights from leaders attracted particular attention. Big data expert Song Gil-young’s Just Don’t Do It ranked 13th, and Lee O-ryeong’s Last Lecture, a collection of dialogues by Professor Lee O-ryeong, regarded as an intellectual of the era, settled at 15th. Interest in investment also continued, with The Giant’s Portfolio, which contains investment strategies of masters that yield profits if followed, ranking 10th based on the number of times Millie’s Library members added it to their libraries.
Classics and audiobooks also made a strong showing in the rankings, demonstrating a harmony of old and new. The timeless classic Dale Carnegie’s Self-Management received much greater attention compared to the previous month as people set new goals for the new year, ranking 11th. The Analects to Read at Fifty, containing the wisdom of Confucius representing Eastern philosophy, and No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai, a representative author of modern Japanese literature, ranked 23rd and 26th respectively.
Audiobooks, gaining attention as a new reading method for busy modern people, featured a wider variety of genres and formats in the rankings. Old Questions, which ranked 22nd, gently conveys insights about life found through conversations with monks at a Korean temple by a leading British Oxford biologist. The Korean-style dark fairy tale audiobook drama Fantasy Bookstore received a stream of reviews requesting a book publication due to the vivid acting of voice actors and high completeness. Additionally, children’s fantasy stories like The Strange Snack Shop Jeoncheon-dang have been very popular, synergizing with the animation aired since last October and the original books.
The ‘January Library Picked by Millie’s Library Members’ chart was selected based on the number of times members added books to their libraries during the period, and it also allows users to check Millie’s Library’s big data completion index, which consists of the probability of finishing the book and the expected reading time. Furthermore, Millie’s Library established the ‘Now! Bookstore Bestsellers’ corner last month, reflecting readers’ demand for popular books both online and offline, helping users easily find recently notable books by keywords such as trends, novels, and intellectual culture according to their interests.
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