Self-help and royal gossip crack Vancouver Public Library's 2023 list of most borrowed books

If you're looking for book club inspiration forthe new year, the Vancouver Public Library'slist of mostborrowed books in2023 may be a good place to start.

The annual reveal is actuallythree lists of the top 10 books for adults, teens and kids. This year, the themesare varied. While there are some returning champs, there are also some new contenders to consider curling up with in 2024.

Clinching the top spot onthe adult reading list is 101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Thinkby Brianna Wiest.

First published in 2016, the bookfeatures short essays and listicles focus on the pursuit of happiness and includes tips on how to embrace negative thinking and the benefits of a daily routine.

"Vancouverites continue to be interested in self-help, self-reflection, and personal health," said Kay Cahill, VPL's director of information technology, in a statement.

The top five reads on the adult list are all non-fiction books, with the tell-all memoir Spare by Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, coming in at number two.

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Ahead of its official launch, Prince Harrys memoir is already an international best-seller thanks in part to a number of explosive interviews. Some are questioning whether hes airing dirty laundry and palace officials have yet to publicly comment.

The book madeheadlines for its shocking details about Harry and the Royal Family, including Harry's recount of a physical altercation with his elder brother, Prince William, and how the younger prince begged his father, now King Charles, not to marry Camilla who is now the Queen Consort.

Rounding out the top threeisBraiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plantby Robin Wall Kimmerer, ascientist and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation.

Kimmerer's 2013 bookwas number one on VPL'slist of borrowed adult books in 2022 and is still going strong a year later.

Braiding Sweetgrassexplores the role of plants and botany in Indigenous and Western cultures and has also been adapted into a young adult version by award-winningIndigenous author Monique Gray Smith, who is based in Victoria, B.C.

Top 10 borrowed adult books

1. 101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think by Brianna Wiest.
2. Spare by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex.
3. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer.
4. I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy.
5. The Myth of Normal by Gabor Mat.
6. A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny.
7. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus.
8. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr.
9. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin.
10. It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover.

Tapestry47:01Why is the world so beautiful? An Indigenous botanist on the spirit of life in everything

Robin Wall Kimmerer is an acclaimed botanist who blends her scientific studies with her Indigenous upbringing. She says there is much to be learned about how to interact respectfully with the earth, from the behaviour of plants.

Teen reads

A Court of Thorns and Roses, the first book in a fantasy series by Sarah J. Maas, took the number one spot on the teenlist for the second year in a row.

Other books that were popular in 2022 continued to resonate in 2023, includingThe Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline,Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley andBallad of Songbirds and Snakes (A Hunger Games Novel) by Suzanne Collins, with the latter coming in as number two on the list.

Maas dominates the list, taking not just the top spot, but also placing third and sixth forA Court of Mist and FuryandThrone of Glassrespectively.

Her works are fantasy fiction and the two courtnovels are part of a romantic trilogy involvingfairies, magic and adventure.Throne of Glassis the first book in another Maas series centred around the adventures of a teenage assassin.

"A dark theme runs through many of the titles on this year's list, perhaps speaking to the challenge of being a teen in current times as well as the escapism that fantasy titles offer," wrote Cahill.

Top 10 borrowed teen books

1. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas.
2. Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes(A Hunger Games novel) by Suzanne Collins.
3. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas.
4. The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han.
5. The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline.
6. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas.
7. Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley.
8. A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson.
9. The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes.
10. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.

What the kids dig

When it comes to the top 10 borrowed children's books, two authors continue to reign supreme.

Jeff Kinney'sDiary of a Wimpy Kidseries and J.K. Rowling's Harry Potterbooks took every spot in 2022 and they dominated againthis year, with one exception.

Sneaking into third place for 2023 wasGood-bye Stacey, Good-bye: A Graphic Novel by Gabriela Epstein.

The book ispart of the graphic novel reboot of theThe Baby-Sitters Clubseries,which was first published in 1986 with more than 190 million books in print.

Kinney has the number oneborrowed book for kids,Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Diper verlde,as well as six other novels in thetop 10. Rowling and Epstein round out the remaining spots.

Top 10 borrowed children's books

1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Diper verlde by Jeff Kinney.
2. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Big Shot by Jeff Kinney.
3. Good-bye Stacey, Good-bye: A Graphic Novel by Gabriela Epstein.
4. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Deep End by Jeff Kinney.
5. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling.
6. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling.
7. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Wrecking Ball by Jeff Kinney.
8. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Meltdown by Jeff Kinney.
9. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney.
10. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School by Jeff Kinney.