Minh-Hoang Nguyen, Ni Putu Wulan Purnama Sari, Minh-Phuong Thi Duong, Manh-Tung Ho, Thi Mai Anh Tran, Dan Li, Phuong-Tri Nguyen, Hong-Hoa Thi Nguyen, Viet-Phuong La
For centuries, fiction—particularly fables—has seamlessly combined storytelling, moral lessons, and societal reflections to engage readers on both emotional and intellectual levels. Despite extensive research on the benefits of reading and the emotional responses it evokes, a critical gap remains in understanding what drives readers to form deep emotional connections with specific works. This study seeks to identify the characteristics of a book that foster such connections. Using the Bayesian Mindsponge Framework analytics, we analyzed a dataset comprising 129 Amazon reviews of Wild Wise Weird by Professor Quan-Hoang Vuong, an influential Vietnamese scholar in the social sciences and humanities. The book is a collection of 42 fables that intertwine traditional storytelling with contemporary sensibilities, offering life lessons, humor, and social commentary. Of these reviews, approximately 66% expressed love for the book. The findings reveal that readers who describe the book as unique, whimsical, quirky, or innovative are more likely to express emotional attachment to it. Similarly, readers who are drawn to the book’s illustrations and characters tend to form stronger emotional connections. The cultural richness and representativeness of the book also emerged as significant factors in fostering readers’ emotional attachment. The book successfully captures the depth, charm, and moral essence of Vietnamese culture to a global audience while conveying a minimal sense of humor in the Zhuangzian (莊子) tradition. Readers have expressed heartfelt gratitude after engaging with the book, underscoring its success in fostering meaningful emotional connections. Thus, insights from this analysis offer actionable recommendations for stakeholders in the literary ecosystem, from authors and publishers to marketers, to enhance readers’ emotional attachment and commitment to books. © The Author(s) 2025. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
Phenikaa University, Hanoi, Viet Nam; Widya Mandala Surabaya Catholic University, East Java, Indonesia; Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam; Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, Hanoi, Viet Nam; Michigan Technological University, Houghton, United States; Yan’an University, China; State Security Commission, Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam; Ho Chi Minh College of Economics and Technology, Viet Nam; Vuong & Associates, Hanoi, Viet Nam