UK Edition
Which are the most borrowed library books in the UK?
The importance of libraries to national literacy was underlined again today with the news that five children's authors – Julia Donaldson, Daisy Meadows, Francesca Simon, Jacqueline Wilson and the collective who write under the pen name Adam Blade – are among the Top 10 most borrowed authors in UK libraries, according to figures from the latest annual data released today by Public Lending Right.
The survey, released on the eve of National Libraries Day, covers 2014-15 and shows again the dominance of thriller writer James Patterson, who topped the chart for the most borrowed author for the ninth year running, and crime writers such as Lee Child. It was also the first year that payments were made for audio books. Here are 10 things we learned from the findings:
1: JAMES PATTERSON IS LIBRARY KING
The man who has churned out more than 300 novels (or paid other writers to do so, having given them a "detailed outline") released 15 books in 2014 alone. The popularity of his thriller novels remains undimmed. James Patterson is still the most borrowed author and has four books - Invisible, Unlucky 13, NYPD Red and Burn Century - in the top 20 most borrowed titles. He is also the author with the most appearances in the Top 100 most borrowed titles list, with 10. However, although overseas authors such as Patterson and Lee Child are included in the loans figures, they aren’t eligible for PLR payments. The 202 authors who receive the maximum capped £6,600 are all from the UK.
2: ROALD DAHL 1 SHAKESPEARE 0
Shakespeare came in only 10th in the list of most borrowed classic authors. Roald Dahl was top, with Enid Blyton second and Agatha Christie third. Shakespeare, whose 400th anniversary is being celebrated this year, was also beaten by Charles Dickens, PG Wodehouse and JRR Tolkien. Things weren't all Bard for Shakespeare: he did at least beat Jane Austen (11th). And sneaking in at 20th place was Nevil Shute, the not-forgotten-it-seems author of the 1950 classic A Town Like Alice.
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3: AUDIO WAS GOOD FOR JEFF HARDING
This year’s PLR payments include, for the very first time, loans of audiobooks that were made by public libraries in 2014-15. JK Rowling’s Harry Potter titles occupied the second and third most loaned slots but the most borrowed audiobook was Lesley Pearse's Without a Trace, read by Emma Powell. Few of you may remember Jeff Harding's acting performance in Father Ted (he played an American priest called Buzz Cagney) but many of us it seems know and like his voice reading books. He was the king of the 109 narrators who registered with the PLR (more should, as there are now more than 16,000 audiobooks in UK libraries). Harding registered more than 650 titles including The Bone Collector, by Jeffery Deaver, and Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer. His 20% narrator’s share in these titles will earn him more than £3,000 in the February 2016 payment round. He said: "I honestly thought that PLR income would be pennies, not pounds. I am happily surprised and sure to spread the good word among my fellow narrators.”
4: DAVID WALLIAMS CONTINUES TO SOAR. AND DOODLING IS NOT A WASTE OF TIME
David Walliams’w popularity continues to grow and he’s now the 41st most borrowed author compared to his 157th position in 2012-13. His book Awful Auntie was also the most borrowed title in libraries in Northern Ireland. “What fantastic taste the children of Northern Ireland have,” said Walliams. “I am beyond delighted. Libraries are vital for children and adults to discover a wide variety of books. Long may they live!” Another big riser was Liz Pichon (64th from 160th last year), who was told off for doodling as a child. But the author of the excellent Tom Gates series, which she writes and illustrates, is one of the most popular in libraries.
5: WE STILL LIKE THE SIMPSONS
The most borrowed book across the UK in the humour category was Bart Simpson: Big Shot! by Matt Groening. Readers in the south east did not have the same standards, though, preferring Is it Really Too Much to Ask? by Jeremy Clarkson. So many writers benefit from PLR money. In February 2016, PLR will make payments totalling £6 million to 22,347 writers, illustrators, photographers, editors, translators, adaptors, narrators, producers and abridgers. This year’s rate per loan is 7.67 pence.
6: LONDONERS ARE THE MOST COSMOPOLITAN READERS
Broken down by travel and holiday genre, the most borrowed book in the UK was Lonely Planet’s Italy by Cristian Bonetto. But it came top in only one region: London. Elsewhere, readers looked to their own locality. In Scotland the most borrowed was Edinburgh for Under Fives, edited by Cathy Tingle; in Wales it was Insufficiently Welsh, by Griff Rhys Jones; and in Yorkshire it was North York Moors & Yorkshire Wolds, by Mike Bagshaw.
7: BEATON IS BEST OF BRITISH
Mary Berry was the most burrowed non-fiction writer, but MC Beaton, author of the Agatha Raisin and Hamish Macbeth crime fiction books, is the most borrowed British author of books for adults, at number five. She has held this title for the last six years. MC Beaton said: “I am thrilled to bits to be the most borrowed British author in UK public libraries. Writing is a very isolating job and, as I am only human, PLR is a sort of lifeline to me from the general borrowing public. I thank them from the bottom of my inky heart.”
8: IF YOU WANT DIY ADVICE, ASK A WOMAN
Sarah Beeny’s 100 DIY Jobs swept the board in 2014-15 as the most borrowed book in the home and house maintenance category, although in Northern Ireland it was beaten by Life-Changing Magic of Tidying: A Simple, Effective Way to Banish Clutter Forever by Marie Kondo. If it doesn't bring you joy, don't DIY it, bin it. But don't bin the cheque. And it was a woman who topped the most popular gardening book, too, with The Patch: The Big Allotment Challenge, by Tessa Evelegh, a book aimed at novices, taking the No1 slot.
9: FEMALE AUTHORS HAVE STAYING POWER
Despite having been dead since 1998, Catherine Cookson remains the UK’s most borrowed author over the past 20 years: her books have been borrowed over 32 million times between 1995 and 2015. Jacqueline Wilson is the UK’s most borrowed children’s author over the past 20 years: her books have been borrowed over 24 million times between 1995 and 2015.
10: IF IT'S POETRY, IT'S PAM
Once again, the most borrowed poetry book was You Made Me Late Again, by Pam Ayres. The English humourist, now 68, is as popular as ever, with gems such as this one called Had a Little Work Done:
O Botox, O Botox,
I’m ever so keen,
To look as I looked at the age of sixteen.
Induce paralysis, do as I ask,
Give me, O give me a face like a mask.
O take up a surgical bicycle pump,
And give me some lips that are lovely and plump,
Young men will stagger and say
‘Oh my God! Here comes Pam Ayres
…and she looks like a cod!’
