ACT Libraries has revealed Canberrans' most borrowed books.
Australian authors are very popular among territorians, especially in non-fiction, while one iconic Aussie author has proven himself king of the kids!
Crime, thriller, domestic fiction and biography were some of the most popular genres this year, City Services Minister Chris Steel said.
Despite the popularity of local novels, an Englishman's book was the most popular read in two categories - book and adult fiction.
Richard Osman's crime novel, The Man Who Died Twice, is the second novel of the bestselling Thursday Murder Club series.
Garry Disher, described by The Canberra Times reviewer Anna Creer as "Australia's greatest living crime writer" wrote the second most popular book.
Most popular books in physical format and adult fiction
- The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman
- The Way It Is now by Garry Disher (review)
- Devotion by Hannah Kent (review)
- The Survivors by Jane Harper
- The Murder Rule by Dervla McTiernan (review)
The Way It Is Now is set in Victoria during the summer bushfires of 2021/22, and explores contemporary issues from consent to COVID-19.
Popular Australian authors Hannah Kent and Jane Harper came in third and fourth.
Devotion by Hannah Kent is a queer love story full of magical realism.
The Survivors by Jane Harper is continuing a strong run in Canberra libraries, having been the most popular novel in 2021.
Top five adult non-fiction
- Well Hello: Meanderings From The World of Chat 10 Looks 3 by Annabel Crabb
- So You Think You Know What's Good For You by Norman Swan
- Ten Steps To Nanette: A Memoir Situation by Hannah Gadsby (review)
- Fully Human: A New Way Of Using Your Mind by Steve Biddulph
- Love Stories by Trent Dalton
And while Dervla McTiernan is originally from Ireland and sets her novels in Galway, she resides in Australia so we can claim her as our own.
The Murder Rule is about young Irish law student Niamh Gunn, who spent a summer in the US trying to free accused rapist Walter Swift from prison.
All of the top five most borrowed adult non-fiction books were written by Australians.
Top five eBooks
- Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
- The Mother by Jane Caro (read more)
- The Jane Austen Remedy: It Is A Truth Universally Acknowledged That A Book Can Change A Life by Ruth Wilson (review)
- Black River by Matthew Spencer (review)
- The Survivors by Jane Harper
As if there was any doubt Canberrans loved ABC journalist Annabel Crabb and her podcast with Leigh Sales, Chat 10 Looks 3, Ms Crabb's book based off the program was the most popular non-fiction book.
Two more ABC darlings, Norman Swan and comedian Hannah Gadsby, are in the top five as well.
Surprisingly, top eBooks did not directly mirror the most popular paperback or hard books.
Jane Caro wrote her novel The Mother to put a face to domestic violence, while Karen Hardy considered Black River by Matthew Spencer a "compelling read".
Audiobooks have become a medium in their own, with Queensland author Trent Dalton's 2018 book Boy Swallows Universe still delighting Canberrans - through their ears.
Top five junior fiction
- Ninja Toys! by Anh Do
- Spinning Weird! by Anh Do
- Ninja Clones! by Anh Do
- Camping Time! by Anh Do
- Hopping Weird! by Anh Do
And who could resist the Matthew McConaughey's iconic drawl as he narrates his memoir, Greenlights?
But the most popular author among Canberran's is Anh Do, whose children's books are the five most popular in junior fiction.
Perhaps the key is in the exclamation marks: Ninja Toys!, Spinning Weird!, Ninja Clones!,Camping Time!, and Hopping Weird! were the top books for children.
Top five audio books
- Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton
- Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
- Agatha Raisin and The Witches' Tree by M. C. Beaton
- The Dictionary Of Lost Words by Pip Williams
- Phosphorescence: On Awe, Wonder & Things That Sustain You When the World Goes Dark by Julia Baird (review)
