Every year the Public Lending Right releases a list of the most borrowed library books from the previous year which gives us a fascinating insight into the nation’s reading habits. 2010-2011’s figures are out today and reveal that James Patterson is easily the most popular author in libraries with over one million loans to his name and 17 appearances in the top 100. Dan Brown and Stieg Larsson are almost as successful, suggesting our reading appetites are fairly grisly at the moment. However it was heart-warming to see Julia Donaldson’s childhood classic The Gruffalo putting in an appearance at number 28, while the novel that inspired this year’s big Oscars contender, The Help, is at number 38.
See which titles made the top 50 in our gallery below – click on any image to launch the gallery, and let us know what you think of the list on Twitter @stylistmagazine
1. The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown
2. 61 hours, Lee Child
3. Private, James Patterson
4. 9th Judgement, James Patterson
5. Worst Case, James Patterson
6. Caught, Harlan Coben
7. Don’t Blink, James Patterson & Howard Roughan
8. The Postcard Killers: a novel, James Patterson and Liza Marklund
9. The Complaints, Ian Rankin
10. Worth Dying For, Lee Child
11. The Killing Place, Tess Gerritsen
12. The girl who kicked the hornets' nest, Stieg Larsson; translated by Reg Keeland
13. Swimsuit, James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
14. Sister, Rosamund Lupton
15. The girl with the dragon tattoo, Stieg Larsson; translated by Reg Keeland
16. Nine Dragons, Michael Connelly
17. Big Girl: a novel, Danielle Steel
18. I, Alex Cross, James Patterson
19. The Burning Wire, Jeffery Deaver
20. The Spy, Clive Cussler and Justin Scott
21. The girl who played with fire, Stieg Larsson; translated by Reg Keeland
22. Blood Brothers, Josephine Cox
23. Doors Open, Ian Rankin
24. Theodore Boone, John Grisham
25. Hard Girls, Martina Cole
26. Gone Tomorrow, Lee Child
27. Blind Fury, Lynda La Plante
28. The Gruffalo, Julia Donaldson ; illustrated by Axel Scheffler
29. Broken, Karin Slaughter
30. Family Ties : A Novel, Danielle Steel
31. Play Dead, Harlan Coben
32. Deliver Us From Evil, David Baldacci
33. The Snowman, Jo Nesbo ; translated by Don Barlett
34. The Return Journey, Maeve Binchy
35. The Other Family, Joanna Trollope
36. Alex Cross’s Trial, James Patterson
37. Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel
38. The Help, Kathryn Stockett
39. The Chosen One, Sam Bourne
40. A Week in December, Sebastian Faulks
41. The Choice, Susan Lewis
42. 206 Bones, Kathy Reichs
43. Savour the Moment, Nora Roberts
44. The Search, Nora Roberts
45. Picture Perfect, Jodi Picoult
46. House Rules, Jodi Picoult
47. The Scarpetta Factor, Patricia Cornwell
48. Girl Missing, Tess Gerritsen
49. In Time For Christmas, Katie Flynn
50. Heading Home, Katie Flynn
51. Aliens Love Underpants, Claire Freedman and Ben Cort
52. Minding Frankie, Maeve Binchy
53. Bad Boy, Peter Robinson
54. The Reversal, Michael Connelly
55. Horrid Henry and the Abominable Snowman, Francesca Simon ; illustrated by Tony Ross
56. The Legacy, Katherine Webb
57. The Family, Martina Cole
58. Sacred Hearts, Sarah Dunant
59. You’ve Been Warned, James Patterson and Howard Roughan
60. 8th Confession, James Patterson
61. The Silent Sea, Clive Cussler with Jack du Brul
62. A Perfect Proposal, Katie Fforde
63. Silent Scream, Lynda La Plante
64. The Shadow of your Smile, Mary Higgins Clark
65. Twenties Girl, Sophie Kinsella
66. Stolen, Lesley Pearse
67. Fever of the Bone, Val McDermid
68. The Weight of Silence, Heather Gudenkauf
69. Southern Lights, Danielle Steel
70. The Little Stranger, Sarah Waters
71. Juliet, Naked, Nick Hornby
72. Beyond The Sunset, Anna Jacobs
73. Run for your life, James Patterson
74. True Blue, David Baldacci
75. The Quickie, James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
76. Bloodline, Mark Billingham
77.The Scarecrow, Michael Connelly
78. Gone, Mo Hayder
79. Horrid Henry and the football fiend, Francesca Simon ; illustrated by Tony Ross
80. Fear the Worst, Linwood Barclay
81. We’re going on a bear hunt, Michael Rosen ; illustrated by Helen Oxenbury
82. Sail, James Patterson
83. The Book of Tomorrow, Cecelia Ahern
84. Heart and soul, Maeve Binchy
85. The Monster in the Box, Ruth Rendell
86. A change in altitude, Anita Shreve
87. Long Time Coming, Robert Goddard
88. The Confession, John Grisham
89. Nothing To Lose, Lee Child
90. Ellis Island, Kate Kerrigan
91. Little Darlings, Jacqueline Wilson
92. Cross Fire, James Patterson
93. Crossfire, Dick Francis and Felix Jones
94. Born Bad, Josephine Cox
95. Cross Country, James Patterson
96. Lost River, Stephen Booth
97. Genesis, Karin Slaughter
98. The Winter Ghosts, Kate Mosse
99. Tigerlily’s Orchids, Ruth Rendell
100. Long Lost, Harlan Coben