Posted on Monday 23rd December 2019
Staffordshire Libraries staff Hilary Riley, Dawn Speck and Keeley Spilsbury
Crime and thriller writers like Lee Child, David Baldacci and Ann Cleeves continue to be a huge hit amongst Staffordshire readers, as the county reveals its most borrowed books for 2019.
Lee Child, one of the world’s leading thriller writers, tops the list with his book Past Tense being the most borrowed book from Staffordshire Libraries, being issued 1,141 times. Past Tense is the 23rd novel in the hugely popular Jack Reacher series. His book Night School was also the most borrowed library book of 2017/18.
Bestselling author David Baldacci also remains a popular choice, with two of his books, Long Road to Mercy and The Fallen being in the top 10.
Female crime authors Erica James and Ann Cleeves also make the top ten at number three and nine respectively.
The top ten most borrowed books of 2019 with almost 10,000 issues between them is as follows:
- Past Tense – Lee Child
- In a House of Lies - Ian Rankin
- Wild Fire – Erica James
- Long Road to Mercy – David Baldacci
- Dark Sacred Night – Michael Connelly
- Careless Love – Peter Robinson
- Lethal White – Robert Galbraith
- Still Me – Jojo Moyes
- Seagull – Ann Cleeves
- The Fallen – David Baldacci
Philip Atkins, Leader at Staffordshire County Council said:
“It’s always an exciting time when we release our top ten borrowed books and once again it’s clear that crime and thrillers remain a popular choice in Staffordshire.
“Popular new books can sometimes be reserved before their publication dates too, which means Staffordshire library customers can be amongst the first in the country to read the latest new titles.
“We continue to make our libraries service more accessible to our communities including more online resources, 24 hour renewal hotline, e-mail and text messaging and self-service kiosks. And with many more services and activities now available in local libraries, there’s never been a better time to join.”
The top ten borrowed children’s books was dominated by David Walliams, J.K. Rowling and Jeff Kinney who took eight of the ten slots.
The top ten most borrowed children’s books are as follows:
- The Getaway – Jeff Kinney
- Bad Dad – David Walliams
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School – Jeff Kinney
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – J.K. Rowling
- Double Down – Jeff Kinney
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – J.K. Rowling
- Grandpa’s Great Escape – David Walliams
- Tom Gates: Epis Adventure (kind of) – Liz Pichon
- George’s Marvellous Medicine – Roald Dahl
- Long Haul – Jeff Kinney
Staffordshire Libraries Service continues to serve its local communities including, 610 housebound readers, 125 residential homes and sheltered housing schemes, mobile library services serving 350 communities, as well as the Reading Well - Books on Prescription initiative to support people’s Health and Wellbeing.
For more information on what your local library has to offer, please visit www.staffordshire.gov.uk/libraries or find us on Facebook.