NEWS RELEASE
The Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy, The Marriage Bargain Trilogy & The Crossfire Trilogy top the 2013 Travelodge books left behind index
It is safe to say that the Fifty Shades phenomenon has created an appetite for Britons wanting to read more erotic romance literature. As the 2013 Travelodge books left behind index has been dominated by trilogies, by the bestselling authors within this category, which includes: E.L. James, Jennifer Probst and Sylvia Day.
For the second consecutive year, E.L. James, the author who has popularised erotica as a genre, tops Travelodge’s annual books left behind index with her third instalment from her Fifty Shades trilogy – ‘Freed’ topping the charts.
In addition, the author’s first two books, ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ and ‘Fifty Shades Darker’, which tell the erotically charged affair between 27 year old billionaire Christian Grey and college student Anastasia Steele, also hold prime position within the top ten ranking - respectively in position six and ten.
The second erotic adult romance trilogy to lead the charts is the award winning Crossfire series written by veteran writer Sylvia Day. The first book from the trilogy, ‘Bared to You’ which centres on the romance between Eva Tramell a 24 year old woman and young billionaire Gideon Cross tops the charts in second place. The second instalment from the series ‘Reflected in You’ won seventh position and the third part ‘Entwined with You’ ranked in ninth place.
The third erotic romance trilogy to dominate the charts is Jennifer Probst’s ‘Billionaire’ trilogy of novels, which are regarded as a close follow up to the next Fifty Shades fever. The heartfelt, funny, romantic and erotic stories are based around the growing relationship between bookstore owner Alexa Marina McKenzie and billionaire Nicholas Ryan.
The series first book ‘The Marriage Bargain’ is the third most popular book to be left behind in Travelodge hotels. The second book ‘The Marriage Trap’ won 12th place in the index and the third instalment ‘The Marriage Mistake’ took 16th position.
Gone Girl’ a contemporary thriller novel by American writer Gillian Flynn which won fourth position.
Completing the top five most popular books to be left behind in Travelodge’s 501 UK hotels is the book that achieved 2.6million pre-order sales, ‘The Casual Vacancy’ – the much awaited first adult book from Harry Potter author JK Rowling took fifth position in the index.
Interestingly just three biographies made this year’s top twenty listing with the most popular autobiography being ‘My Time’ which won eighth place. This book documents Sir Bradley Wiggins’ CBE, better known as ‘Wiggo,’ outstanding story of being publicly humiliated at the 2010 Tour de France, to making history two years later as the first British cyclist to win the Tour de France, and to win the time trial to become one of Britain’s most decorated Olympians.
The nation’s sweetheart, Cheryl Cole’s first official autography ‘My Story’ which reveals the Geordie’s story from humble beginnings growing up on a tough Newcastle estate to achieving unrivalled success with Girls Aloud, as a solo artist, an X Factor judge and a fashion icon – won 11th place in the Travelodge books left behind report.
The third biography to make the list was the country’s best loved comedian, David Walliams revealing his story of becoming a comedian, actor and writer whilst also revealing how he tackled depression. Camp David took 13th place in the books left behind index.
Listed below are the top 20 most popular books to be left behind in Travelodge hotels in the last 12 months:
1 Fifty Shades Freed
2 Bared To You
3 The Marriage Bargain
4 Gone Girl
5 The Casual Vacancy
6 Fifty Shades Of Grey
7 Reflected In You
8 Bradley Wiggins: My Time
9 Entwined With You
10 Fifty Shades Darker
11 Cheryl Cole: My Story
12 The Marriage Trap
13 David Walliams: Camp David
14 Call The Midwife
15 Before I Go To Sleep
16 The Marriage Mistake
17 The Racketeer
18 The Carrier
19 Oh Dear Silvia
20 The Great Gatsby
Shakila Ahmed, Travelodge spokeswoman said: “Our 2013 books left behind index has certainly revealed that the Fifty Shades phenomenon has created an appetite for Britons wanting to read more erotic romantic literature.
“Over the last three years our annual books left behind study has shown a decline in celebrity biographies but a rise in fiction books especially for thriller and romantic trilogies. A good book offers the ultimate escape which is a great companion whilst travelling.”
Two books in this year’s report have inspired a TV programme and a cinema box office hit. The memoir by the late Jennifer Worth, ‘Call The Midwife’ entered this year’s list in 14th position and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ just made the list in 20th place. The old classic enjoyed a resurgence in popularity following the big screen adaptation released earlier this year.
Despite the rise in book readers and tablets, Britons still like to travel with a traditional hardback or paperback book. During the last 12 months, 22,648 books have been left behind in Travelodge’s 36,758 rooms across the country.
Interestingly, Travelodge hotels located in Yorkshire saw the biggest number of erotic novels left behind with staff from Sheffield, Barnsley, Leeds, Bradford and Halifax reporting the largest amount of unclaimed erotic romance literature.
To obtain a better insight into why customers leave their books behind in Travelodge hotels, the hotel chain surveyed its hotel managers and findings revealed the top three reasons to why customers leave their book behind are:
1. They have finished reading the book and rather than carrying it back home they have left it for someone else to read
2. They have genuinely left the book behind because it was hidden in the bed covers or fallen out of bed
3. They got bored reading the book and decided to leave it behind in the hotel room rather than carrying it around with them
All books that are left behind in a Travelodge hotel room, which are not claimed within three months, are donated to a local charity shop.
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1. For further information, please contact:
Tracey Warmington
07880 187810