Wollongong’s top books of 2023 reveal we’re loving all things digital!

Wollongong City Libraries is winding back the clock to announce the top books borrowed in 2023!

We’re pleased to announce that last year, Australian fiction by female authors dominated with seven out of the top ten Adult Fiction most borrowed list, penned by Aussie authors.

Local author Hayley Scrivenor’s book Dirt Town, a breathtakingly original crime novel set in the barren landscape of regional NSW, was borrowed an incredible 1,221 times! An awesome feat for one of the city’s most promising, home-grown authors.

Image: Author Hayley Scrivenor holding a copy of her book, Dirt Town.

You can borrow a physical copy, reserve it as an eBook, or listen to it as an audiobook. And don’t forget, borrowing a book, movie or CD is always free!

From the junior titles, J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series appears to have been re-discovered by a new generation of younger readers. This revival of the Harry Potter fandom has managed to usurp Anh Do’s phenomenal monopoly over our city’s junior readers book lists – a title he has held for the past few years – with only one Anh Do title in the top 10 for 2023.

Another interesting insight from 2023 was that library members are making the most of the libraries’ digital collection. In total we had 324,175 eLoans across the libraries’ multiple online platforms. That’s nearly a third of the number of physical items borrowed last year (967,984 total).

Wollongong City Lord Mayor Councillor Gordon Bradbery AM said that it was interesting to see how borrowers’ behaviour continued to move into the digital space.

“Looking back at the numbers from last year, we’re able to see that audiobooks really dominated many of our top 10 lists. This is particularly the case with our junior fiction and is the reason that Harry Potter has made such a strong comeback. Audiobooks accounted for 55% of the loans of those titles,” Cr Bradbery said.

“While physical books will never lose their audience, it’s heartening to see so many people engage with the library by using our online services and platforms. Over the past few years, Wollongong City Libraries has been investing heavily in bolstering our digital offerings so that people of all ages can read or listen to a book anywhere, anytime.”

Ready to discover more great books? Browse the Wollongong City Library collection here, listen to an audiobook (or e-audiobook), or borrow an eBook.

Here are the top ten most borrowed books of 2023!

Adult Fiction

Adult Fiction – Australia

Adult Non-fiction

Junior Fiction

Junior Picture Book

Graphic Novel (Adult & Young Adult)