Powell River Public Library (PRPL) has compiled a list of most borrowed books of 2024, and other trends, among library users in qathet last year.
Strong women writers made the top ten, including local author Carol Anne Leishman for her book Under Paris Spies. Assistant chief librarian at PRPL Melani Williams, who gathered the data, said the murder mystery genre was one of the most popular types of publication borrowed in 2024.
The 10 most borrowed books of 2024 for adults include:
The Women by Kristin Hannah; The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese; Resurrection Walk by Michael Connelly; Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman; Under Paris Spies by C.A. Leishman; Tom Lake by Ann Patchett; Doppelganger by Naomi Klein; Burial of Ghosts by Ann Cleeves; Held by Anne Michaels; and The Exchange by John Grisham.
Most read authors (adult materials) include: James Patterson, Danielle Steel, David Baldacci, Ann Cleeves, John Grisham, Michael Connelly, Nora Roberts, John Sandford, Louise Penny and Lee Child.
Most popular children’s authors/series include: Mo Willems; Robert Munsch; Wings of Fire series by Tui Sutherland; Babysitters Club graphic novel series by various authors; Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney; Dog Man/Cat Kid series by Dav Pilkey; Big Nate series by Lincoln Peirce; Dragon Masters series by Tracey West; Geronimo Stilton series; and Garfield comics.
Throughout the year PRPL invites authors, speakers and artists into its space to hold talks and workshops.
Some of the most popular programs last year included:
The annual puppet show titled, Time to Sing, had 120 attendees;
My Life as an International Conductor talk, with Arthur Arnold had 102 attendees;
Truth and Reconciliation, a National Film Board screening had 92 attendees overall;
Medicinal and Edible Mushrooms talk, with Todd Caldecott had 89 attendees;
Death Calls, with author and former coroner in qathet, Robert Crossland had 78 attendees;
Now You Know Me, with authors Joe Gallagher and John Matterson, had 75 attendees.
Williams indicated that usage of eBooks went up from 20,592 checkouts in 2023 to 22,360 in 2024, and that eAudiobook usage went from 15,980 in 2023 to 18,632 in 2024.
"Print books are pretty steady overall with an increase in circulations [from 2023] of general adult fiction, science fiction, and large print," stated Williams in an email to the Peak. "Children’s fiction circulations have actually gone up a bit though teen circulations have dropped slightly since 2023."
Williams added that some of the highlights of the year for PRPL include, "a new silent study pod, new programs like our American Sign Language (ASL) storytimes, and seeing new groups using our space, like the mahjong players every Tuesday."
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