Harry Potter and Jack Reacher books are among the most-borrowed from Birmingham libraries according to data released by the city council.
Figures released by Birmingham City Council under the Freedom of Information Act show the top ten most popular books for each year since 2016 – with children’s author Jeff Kinney dominating the latest list.
At the same time,the response to a request by WhatDoTheyKnow site user Carly Roberts shows there has been a sharp drop-off in the number of books borrowed since the start of the pandemic.
More than 1.6 million books were borrowed from Birmingham’s 39 libraries each year prior to 2020 – but this dropped to 479,000 in 2020, picking up only slightly to 659,000 last year.
The top ten most borrowed books last year were:
Running Wild by Michael Morpurgo
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Meltdown by Jeff Kinney
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School by Jeff Kinney
The Sentinel by Lee Child
The Beast of Buckingham Palace by David Walliams
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down by Jeff Kinney
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Getaway by Jeff Kinney
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Deep End by Jeff Kinney
Books by Jeff Kinney, JK Rowling and Lee Child were also in previous years’ top ten lists.
Lee Child’s creation Jack Reacher was played on-screen by Tom Cruise who visited Birmingham last year for the filming of Mission Impossible 7.
Citing figures from Ofcom, Cllr Jayne Francis (Lab, Harborne), cabinet member for education, skills and culture, said: “Unfortunately, not all children had adequate access to reading material during lockdowns. (BirminghamLive)