Here are some of the most popular titles borrowed by you in 2022, our book-loving Dublin City library members. It’s great to see the One Dublin One Book choice, the Dublin Literary Award winner and some short-listed titles making the list. And always great to see Irish writers featuring so strongly as well.
The Irish Times today (Mon, 17th Nov) published a story - "Survey reveals the most borrowed library books in Ireland" - listing,as the title states, the most borrowed books in Irish public libraries in the year to date. Dublin City Public Libraries contributed to the survey of course, and for your delectation we reproduce below some of the data we furnished. Topping the fiction list in Dublin City is the winner of the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, 'The Sound of Things Falling' by Colombian author Juan Gabriel Vásquez. Interesting to note also that the list is dominated by titles on the Award shortlist. The most popular non-fiction title has been the book selected for last April's Dublin: One City, One Book reading initiative, 'If Ever You Go: a Map of Dublin in Poetry and Song'.The top children's title, 'The Powers: the Not-So-Super Superheroes' by Kevin Stevens, in fact topped the overall list here in Dublin City, while the 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' series has proven to be the best read series by some distance. As if to demonstrate the 'power' of library reading initiatives, 'The Powers' was the 2014 Citywide Read for Children choice. (titles links below are to the library catalogue)Most Popular Adult FictionThe Sound of Things Falling (Juan Gabriel Vásquez) The Spinning Heart (Donal Ryan)The Light of Amsterdam (David Park)Questions of Travel (Michelle De Kretser)A Death in the Family (Karl Ove Knausgaard)Strumpet City (James Plunkett)Detour (Bakker Gerbrand)City of Bohane (Kevin Barry) Most Popular Children's BooksThe Powers: the Not-So-Super Superheroes (Kevin Stevens) Diary of a Wimpy Kid - The Third Wheel (Jeff Kinney) Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Cabin Fever (Jeff Kinney) Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Hard Luck (Jeff Kinney) Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Ugly Truth (Jeff Kinney)Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (J.K. Rowling) Most Popular Adult Non-fictionIf Ever You Go: a Map of Dublin in Poetry and Song (Various) Official Driver Theory Test (Road Safety Authority) The Mindful Way Through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness (multiple authors) Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation (Jon Kabat-Zinn) Staring at Lakes: a Memoir of Love, Melancholy and Magical Thinking (Michael Harding)
For our younger library visitors, coming soon to our shelves is 'Story of the Titanic' (illustrations by Steve Noon, published by Dorling Kindersley, 2012). This is the tragic story of the Titanic, with double-page illustrations, cross-sections and cutaway details explaining the construction and mechanical details of the ship and revealing life on board for passengers and crew.You can also locate other books in our libraries on the Titanic.Encyclopaedia Britannica this month brings the topic of the Titanic to life with its latest spotlight. To mark the 100th anniversary, primary school children can explore both the triumph and the tragedy of this great vessel.As a library member you can access even more information on the Titanic from the fulltext version of Encyclopaedia Britannica; from your home all you need is your Dublin City Public Libraries' borrower number. From any of the many computers in our branch libraries, not even that!From your home, first click the image link on the right, input your library card number and then visit Britannica Spotlight on the Titanic for unrestricted access.