Putting the ‘E’ into read
Books written by just six authors dominated the top 20 list of most borrowed children’s titles at Christchurch’s public libraries in the past year.
Books by thriller writer Lee Child, featuring Jack Reacher, took out the top two spots in the adult fiction section.
Lists of the most popular books borrowed from Christchurch City Council’s network of public libraries in the 12 months to the end of November have been released. The libraries issued 3.3 million books and a further 450,651 ebooks during that time.
The number of ebooks issued jumped 31 per cent, due to the Covid-19 lockdown, from 344,215 to 450,651. E-audio lending also climbed, from 155,842 during the previous period to 208,933 in the last year.
Head of libraries and information Carolyn Robertson said the appetite for books and online reading and audio resources showed no sign of waning.
‘‘Our lending levels are strong following high demand for ebooks and e-audio and a jump in membership during the lockdown period.’’
Overall, the 10 most popular adult fiction books are Child’s Blue Moon and Past Tense, followed by The Giver of Stars (Jojo Moyes), Under Currents (Nora Roberts), You’ll Never See Me Again (Lesley Pearce), Nine Perfect Strangers (Liane Moriarty), The Guardians (John Grisham), The Sun Sister (Lucinda Riley), Redemption (David Baldacci) and The Night Fire (Michael Connelly).
Well-known names lead the library waitlist, with Lee and Andrew Child’s Sentinel the most requested, followed by chef Chelsea Winter’s Supergood, Kiwi Rose Carlyle’s debut novel, The Girl in the Mirror, and David Walliams’ The World’s Worst Parents.
In the children’s section, JK Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is firmly on top, followed by Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Meltdown 13 (Jeff Kinney) and Zog and the Flying Doctors (Julia Donaldson). Only three other authors feature in the top 20. They are: Tui Sutherland, David Walliams and Andy Griffiths.
Rowling’s Potter books feature four times in the list, Kinney’s Wimpy Kid stories are in there seven times, Walliams is in there five times and Andy Griffiths’ Treehouse series are there three times.
In the non-fiction category, Michelle Obama’s Becoming is on top, followed by Educated (Tara Westover), The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F . . . (Mark Manson) and Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown (Anne Glenconner).
Kiwi authors are also popular, including Michelle Duff ( Jacinda Ardern: The Story Behind an Extraordinary Leader).