Gen Z Reading Trends: What Young Readers Are Obsessed With Today

When we talk about Gen Z, the generation born between 1997 and 2012, shaped by smartphones, social media, and rapid cultural change. Also known as iGen, they don’t just consume stories—they remix them, share them, and demand authenticity in every page. This isn’t the generation that grew up with library cards and quiet reading nooks. They’re the ones scrolling through BookTok at 2 a.m., listening to audiobooks while walking to class, and choosing books based on how they make them feel—not how many pages they’ve read.

What drives their choices? It’s not just fantasy or romance. It’s emotional storytelling, narratives that name the quiet anxieties, identity struggles, and small triumphs of modern youth. They’re drawn to books where characters don’t have it all figured out, where mental health isn’t glossed over, and where diversity isn’t an afterthought. BookTok, the viral book discovery engine on TikTok that turns obscure titles into bestsellers overnight has reshaped publishing. A single 15-second video can send a book to #1 on Amazon. And it’s not magic—it’s community. Gen Z reads together, even when they’re alone.

They’re also the first generation to treat reading as part of their identity, not just a habit. Want to know what they’re obsessed with? It’s not just the books—it’s the movement behind them. They’re reading stories about female adventure heroes, girls who don’t wait to be saved but carve their own paths through danger and doubt. They’re picking up cozy fantasy, gentle worlds where magic is quiet, kindness matters more than power, and healing is the real victory. They’re asking hard questions: Do self-help books actually work? Is sci-fi literary? Can a book change how you see yourself?

And it’s not about numbers. Reading 100 books a year? Some do. But more important is the depth of connection. A 20-year-old might read three books this month—not because they’re racing through them, but because each one felt like a conversation with someone who gets it. They’re not looking for escape. They’re looking for resonance.

Below, you’ll find real insights into what’s shaping their shelves—the books they can’t put down, the genres they’re redefining, and the quiet revolutions happening in the margins of their favorite stories. This isn’t a list of trends. It’s a map of how a generation is learning to read—and how reading is learning to change them.