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City of Wollongong

Anh Do-es it for Junior Readers

Tuesday 14 January 2020

Children’s author and comedian Anh Do has made a clean sweep of the junior readers Top 10 Books for 2019 in Wollongong City Libraries.

The popular writer’s novel Flying ninja! was the most borrowed junior fiction title last year and was borrowed 195 times. The other Do favourites that took out the top five were WeirDo, Game Time!, Hotdog, and WeirDo 5, totally weird!. All up, his books were borrowed 1,715 times.

“Anh’s novels regularly make an appearance on our libraries’ most popular titles lists,’’ Wollongong City Council Director Community Services (acting) Jenny Thompson said.

“But it really is something else to see his books make a clean sweep of the Top Junior Fiction list. If you look at these numbers as an average, it means at least four copies of his books were borrowed each day.’’

As for the biggest lenders for adult fiction titles, Australian authors continue to make a big impression with Liane Moriarty, Jane Harper, Markus Zusak, Heather Morris and Kate Morton all on the list.

Once again, our readers can’t get enough of British author Lee Child who is known for his Jack Reacher novels. Child maintained a strong presence with the most titles by a single author in the Top 20 loans list.

“These Top 10 lists always make for interesting reading and can serve as a good inspiration for those who have promised themselves to set aside more time to relax and read in 2020,’’ Ms Thompson said.

“These authors and novels are ones that are clearly enjoyed by our libraries’ 83,000-plus members. While many of the authors such as Lee Child and Liane Moriarty reappear year after year, the titles themselves are new books which just goes to show libraries can be a great place to stay on top of the new best sellers. And we’re not just talking about traditional paper or hardbacks, you can also borrow audio and e-books for those who ‘read’ on the go.’’

The Top 20 Loans List

  1. Nine perfect strangers – Liane Moriarty (582 loans)
  2. The lost man – Jane Harper (498)
  3. Bridge of Clay – Markus Zusak (418)
  4. Past tense – Lee Child (400)
  5. Tattooist of Auschwitz – Heather Morris (387)
  6. The clockmaker’s daughter – Kate Morton (330)
  7. The midnight line – Lee Child (316)
  8. Becoming – Michelle Obama (293)
  9. The barefoot investor – Scott Pape (292)
  10. Night school – Lee Child (277)
  11. The other wife – Michael Robotham (263)
  12. Any ordinary day – Leigh Sales (261)
  13. Truly madly guilty – Liane Moriarty (259)
  14. Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine – Gail Honeyman (240)
  15. Two kinds of truth – Michael Connelly (232)
  16. Long road to mercy – David Baldacci (229)
  17. No middle name – Lee Child (226)
  18. Dark sacred night – Michael Connelly (216)
  19. Force of nature – Jane Harper (214)
  20. The late show – Michael Connelly (212)

Top Adult Fiction (including Australian authors)

  1. Nine perfect strangers – Liane Moriarty (582)
  2. The lost man – Jane Harper (498)
  3. Bridge of Clay – Markus Zusak (418)
  4. Past tense – Lee Child (400)
  5. Tattooist of Auschwitz – Heather Morris (387)
  6. The clockmaker's daughter – Kate Morton (330)
  7. The midnight line – Lee Child (316)
  8. Night school – Lee Child (277)
  9. The other wife – Michael Robotham (263)
  10. Truly madly guilty – Liane Moriarty (259)

Top Adult Fiction (International authors)

  1. Past tense – Lee Child (400)
  2. The midnight line – Lee Child (316)
  3. Night school – Lee Child (277)
  4. Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine – Gail Honeyman (240)
  5. Two kinds of truth – Michael Connelly (232)
  6. Long road to mercy – David Baldacci (229)
  7. No middle name – Lee Child (226)
  8. Dark sacred night – Michael Connelly  (216)
  9. The late show – Michael Connelly (212)
  10. End game – David Baldacci (197)

Top Adult Non-Fiction

  1. Becoming – Michelle Obama (293)
  2. The barefoot investor: the only money guide you’ll ever need – Scott Pape (292)
  3. Any ordinary day – Leigh Sales (261)
  4. The barefoot investor for families: the only kids' money guide you'll ever need – Scott Pape (191)
  5. The happiest refugee – Anh Do (176)
  6. The fast 800: how to combine rapid weight loss and intermittent fasting for long-term health – Dr. Michael Mosely (173)
  7. Dark emu : Aboriginal Australia and the birth of agriculture – Bruce Pascoe (134)
  8. The subtle art of not giving a f*ck: a counterintuitive approach to living a good life – Mark Manson (104)
  9. The land before avocado: journeys in a lost Australia – Richard Glover (101)
  10. 12 rules for life: an antidote for chaos – Jordan B. Peterson (90)

Top Youth Fiction

  1. P.S. I still love you – Jenny Han (56)
  2. The hate u give – Angie Thomas (56)
  3. Wonder – R.J. Palacio (55)
  4. Divergent – Veronica Roth (51)
  5. To all the boys I’ve loved before – Jenny Han (51)
  6. The fault in our stars – John Green (47)
  7. Always and forever, Lara Jean – Jenny Han (44)
  8. The burning maze – Rick Riordan (42)
  9. The Hunger Games. Catching fire – Suzanne Collins (42)
  10. The darkest minds – Alexandra Bracken (41)

Top Junior Fiction

  1. Flying ninja! – Anh Do (195)
  2. WeirDo – Anh Do (179)
  3. Game time! – Anh Do (178)
  4. Hotdog! – Anh Do (176)
  5. WeirDo 5, totally weird! – Anh Do (168)
  6. WeirDo 7 : mega weird! – Anh Do (166)
  7. Weirdo 4, super weird! – Anh Do (165)
  8. Weirdo 10: messy weird! – Anh Do (163)
  9. WeirDo 9 : spooky weird! – Anh Do (163)
  10. Camping time! – Anh Do (162)

Top Adult DVDs

  1. Bohemian rhapsody (206)
  2. A star is born (191)
  3. Ladies in black (166)
  4. Book club (151)
  5. Ant-Man and the Wasp (146)
  6. Aquaman (138)
  7. Red sparrow (133)
  8. Murder on the Orient Express (128)
  9. The crown. The complete second season (126)
  10. Skyscraper (123)

Top Junior DVDs

  1. Christopher Robin (107)
  2. Despicable Me 3 (107)
  3. Peter Rabbit (105)
  4. The house with a clock in its walls (95)
  5. Mary Poppins returns (91)
  6. Ferdinand (88)
  7. Smallfoot (85)
  8. Incredibles 2 (85)
  9. Hotel Transylvania 3: a monster vacation (81)
  10. The Incredibles (81)

Top CDs

  1. Diamonds – Elton John (49)
  2. Triple J’s hottest 100. Volume 24 (42)
  3. The best of Cold Chisel: all for you (40)
  4. Abbey Road – The Beatles (37)
  5. Duets – The Wiggles (37)
  6. So Fresh. The hits of summer 2019 + the best of 2018 (36)
  7. Imagine – John Lennon (35)
  8. Moana: the songs (34)
  9. Down the road wherever / Mark Knopfler (33)
  10. Mighty rock (33)

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