OFF THE SHELVES
CRIME mysteries and thrillers and the life and times of one of the UK’s most famous bands have topped a list of most borrowed items at Cairns libraries last year.
Figures obtained from Cairns Regional Council show that more than a million items were loaned out to ratepayers during 2019 across the city’s eight library branches.
This included books, DVDs and Blu-ray discs, CDs, audiobooks and ebooks.
Cairns City Library’s Karen Maguire said the most popular book among library patrons last year was One Good Deed by crime author David Baldacci, which was borrowed 262 times.
The historical thriller, which was published in mid-2019, tells the story of a World War II veteran forced to investigate a small-town murder or risk returning to prison.
The second most popular book borrowed last year was the thriller The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver, loaned out to 257 patrons.
This was followed by Past Tense by Lee Child, with 255 loans.
Ms Maguire said new-release crime novels were always the most popular items among Far Northern readers.
“These authors have got their different ways of writing, but it’s all crime/murder mysteries that our patrons read,” she said.
“They can’t get enough of them.”
On the DVD and Blu-ray racks, Bohemian Rhapsody was the most borrowed disc.
The biopic, telling the story of British rock band Queen, was loaned out a total of 351 times.
This was followed by superhero flicks Ant-Man and the Wasp (279 times), and Aquaman (297 times).
Ms Maguire said she was surprised by how popular the Queen movie was among library patrons, compared to the two blockbuster superhero movies.
“It’s a very good movie,” she said.
“There’s a lot of middleaged library patrons, so maybe it’s because the band simply appeals to that age group.”
For younger readers, three of Australian author and comedian Anh Do’s children’s books – Party Time, Splashy Weird!, and Crazy Weird – were the most popular junior fiction items, attracting a total of 391 loans.
Ms Maguire said it was encouraging to see an Aussie author make the library’s mostread list.
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