Most popular library books this term – Michaelmas 2022

Curious to know what other people have been reading?

Popular titles can provide inspiration for your reading. The lists below provide a wide-range of book suggestions from graphic novels and manga to science and Stephen Hawking.

Have a look at the most borrowed books this term:

Top fiction:

  1. Scythe: Book 1 by Neal Shusterman
  2. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
  3. Rivers of London: Book 1 by Ben Aaronovitch
  4. The Penguin Lessons by Tom Michell
  5. Heartstopper: Volume 3 by Alice Oseman
  6. Heartstopper: Volume 4 by Alice Oseman
  7. Small things like these by Claire Keegan
  8. Oh William by Elizabeth Strout
  9. Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen
  10. The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
  11. The bullet that missed by Richard Osman
  12. The Sandman: Book 1 by Neil Gaiman
  13. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  14. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
  15. Nineeteen eighty four by George Orwell

Authors:

Joint 1st

  • Alice Oseman
  • Neal Shusterman
  • Koyoharu Gotouge (Demon Slayer Manga series)

Joint 2nd

  • Ben Aaronovitch
  • Anthony Horowitz

3rd

  • Maggie O’Farrell

Joint 4th

  • Chris Bradford (Young Samurai series)
  • Neil Gaiman
  • Karen M. McManus
  • Chris Riddell
  • Elizabeth Strout

Joint 5th

  • Jessie Burton
  • Robert Harris
  • Morris Gleitzman
  • Claire Keegan
  • Robert Muchamore
  • Haruki Murakami
  • Richard Osman
  • Philip Pullman

Joint 6th

  • Margaret Atwood
  • F. Scott Fitzgerald

Most popular series:

  • Arc of a Scythe (Scythe, Thunderhead and Toll) by Neal Shusterman
  • Demon Slayer (Manga, by Koyoharu Gotouge)
  • Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
  • Heartstopper (Graphic novel series by Alice Oseman)
  • The Promised Neverland (Manga)
  • The Thursday Murder Club
  • Alex Rider by Anthony Horowitz
  • The Promise – The last airbender (Manga)

Most popular non-fiction:

Joint 1st:

  • Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall
  • Born a crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
  • Twas the nightshift before Christmas by Adam Kay
  • Atomic Habits: An easy and proven way to build good habits by James Clear
  • Alexander the Great: A Very Short Introduction by Hugh Bowden
  • This is the canon: Decolonize your bookshelf in 50 books by Joan Anim-Addo

The following are the next most popular (equal number of issues).

  • Stalingrad by Antony Beevor
  • What you need to know about economics by George Buckley
  • Seven brief lessons on physics by Carlo Rovelli
  • To engineer is human: the role of failure in successful by Henry Petroski
  • Shoe dog: a memoir by the creator of Nike by Philip H. Knight
  • Thinking fast and slow by Daniel Kahneman
  • Naturalist: a graphic adaptation by Edward O. Wilson
  • A little history of economics by Niall Kishtainy
  • Nudge by Richard H Thaler
  • Hot air: the inside story of the battle against climate change by Peter Stott
  • Other minds: the octopus and the evolution of intelligent life by Peter Godfry-Smith
  • Brief answers to big questions by Stephen Hawking
  • How not to be wrong: the art of changing your mind by James O’Brien
  • Bowl. Sleep. Repeat. Inside the world of England’s  Greatest ever bowler. by Jimmy Anderson

Books of the Year 2022

It’s that time of year – Christmas approaching, nights drawing in, chilly weather – the perfect time to curl up with a good book.

We’re starting to collate ‘Best Books of the Year’ lists to provide some recommendations for Christmas presents or holiday reading but first here are our most borrowed books of the year:

Top Ten Fiction:

Scythe: Book 1 Neal Shusterman
Heartstopper: Volume 1 Alice Oseman
Heartstopper: Volume 3 Alice Oseman
Where the crawdads sing Delia Owens
The Husbands Secret Liane Moriarty
Heartstopper: Volume 4 Alice Oseman
Nineteen eighty-four George Orwell
Normal People Sally Rooney
A good girl’s guide to murder: Book 1 Holly Jackson
Lessons in Chemistry Bonnie Garmus

Here are our borrowing headlines:

  • Most borrowed book: Scythe by Neal Shusterman
  • Top author: Alice Oseman (Heartstopper graphic novel series has been hugely popular)
  • Top series: Scythe (The trilogy of Scythe, Thunderhead and The Toll)
  • Top non-fiction title: Alexander the Great: A very short introduction by Hugh Bowden

Most popular series:

  • Arc of a Scythe by Neal Shusterman
  • Demon Slayer (Manga) by Koyoharu Gotouge
  • Heartstopper by Alice Oseman
  • The Promised Neverland (Manga) by Kaiu Shirai
  • Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

Most popular non-fiction

  • Alexander the Great: A very short introduction by Hugh Bowden

Joint 2nd:

  • The Origins of the Second World War by A.J.P. Taylor
  • Bad Samaritans: the guilty secrets of rich nations and the threat to global prosperity by Ha-Joon Chang

Joint 3rd:

  • What you need to know about economics by George Buckley
  • Economics for the IB by Ellie Tragakes
  • Sapiens: A brief history of humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
  • Thinking fast and slow by Daniel Kahneman
  • Atomic habits by James Clear
  • Nudge by Richard H. Thaler

4th:

  • Invisible Women by Caroline Criado-Perez

Joint 5th:

  • Ways of Seeing by John Berger
  • When China rules the world by Martin Jacques
  • Law’s Empire by Ronald Dworkin
  • Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall
  • Seven brief lessons on physics by Carlo Rovelli
  • The Gothic: A very short introduction by Nick Groom
  • To engineer is human: the role of failure in successful by Henry Petroski
  • Why humans have cultures by Michael Carrithers
  • Other minds by Peter Godfrey-Smith

Books of the Year lists – round-up

Maureen Corrigan’s favorite books of the year: 10 disparate reads for a hectic 2022 (NPR)

The Waterstones blog – Best Books of the Year.  Arranged in thematic categories browse fiction, biography, thrillers and more. You can browse authors’ favourite reads here

Waterstones have chosen Katy Hessel’s ‘Story of Art Without Men’ as their Book of the Year. This is available from the library now.

 

The staff of The New York Times Book Review choose the year’s standout fiction and nonfiction.

Guardian Best Books of 2022

Penguin Best Books of the Year

New York Public LibraryBest Books of the Year – Adults

Young Adult (YA)

Here is a good list of the best books of 2022 for young children and teens (reviewed by the Guardian).