Murder was on the minds of many Canberrans this year.
Executive branch manager, Libraries ACT Vanessa Little said the most borrowed book from ACT libraries in 2021 was Jane Harper's crime novel The Survivors.
Crime was a popular genre - "People like a bit of escapism" - and so were thrillers and domestic fiction, non-fiction, biography and memoirs and self-help featured strongly.
The rest of the top five adult fiction books - which were also the top five borrowed books in physical format - were; Sooley by John Grisham; You Need To Know by Nicola Moriarty; Other Women by Catch Kelly; and The Ripping Tree by Nikki Gemmell.
The top five adult non-fiction books were A Promised Land by former US president Barack Obama; Ottolenghi Flavour by Yotam Ottolenghi; Phosphorescence: On awe, wonder and things that sustain you when the world goes dark by Julia Baird; The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku; and Becoming by Michelle Obama.
Anh Do took out all top five junior fiction titles with stories about Ninja Kid and Wolf Girl, playing to heroic fantasies of childhood.
Junior non-fiction was dominated by those perennial favourite subjects, dinosaurs and animals, as well as books about how things work.
In young adult fiction, Ms Little said, "Four of the top five were fantasy or dystopian or both", the fifth slot occupied by the teen murder mystery One of Us is Lying.
"I suspect they're quite sophisticated readers who step on from fantasy and gravitate to thought-provoking, dark sorts of things."
During lockdown, weekly use of digital resources peaked with a 36 per cent increase in downloading. The Too Busy Book Club now has 540 members in the online discussion group.
Since 2020 there has been a 26 per cent increase in use of the library's digital resources.
Despite this, Ms Little said the old-fashioned hard copy book was still the most popular format.
"There are still a lot of people who grew up with books. They're familiar and comforting," she said.
"Parents still want to read hard copies to their children."
Young families were among the biggest users of the new Mystery Box service, where people gave librarians a preferred genre and were delivered 10 appropriate books.
"It's been so popular I'm not sure we'll be able to stop it."
Ms Little said she listened to audio books and read e-books but still preferred traditional books.
"I like the look of hard copy, the small, the feeling of turning pages."
She said an "occupational hazard" of being a librarian was that she had a big book collection of her own - and had lent to friends many of her own copies of the most popular books on the library lists so hadn't yet read them herself.
The popularity of books and libraries shows no signs of abating.
"We have 7000 requested items waiting - we had to build new shelves to take them."
Online library services are always open. For more information on library opening hours and services, visit library.act.gov.au.
Complete lists
Most popular books in physical format and adult fiction
1. The Survivors by Jane Harper
2. Sooley by John Grisham
3. You Need To Know by Nicola Moriarty
4. Other Women by Catch Kelly
5. The Ripping Tree by Nikki Gemmell
Top five adult non-fiction
1. A Promised Land by Barack Obama
2. Ottolenghi Flavour by Yotam Ottolenghi
3. Phosphorescence: On awe, wonder and things that sustain you when the world goes dark by Julia Baird
4. The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku
5. Becoming by Michelle Obama
Top five junior fiction
1. Ninja Clones by Anh Do (Ninja Kid #5)
2. Ninja Toys by Anh Do (Ninja Kid #7)
3. Into the Wild by Anh Do (Wolf Girl #1)
4. The Traitor by Anh Do (Wolf Girl #4)
5. The Great Escape by Anh Do (Wolf Girl #2)
Top five junior non-fiction
1. Dinosaur Atlas: Amazing facts, fold-out maps and life-size fossils by Anne Rooney
2. Animals by Barbara Toft
3. The Big Book of Blooms by Yuval Zommer
4. See Inside How Things Work by Conrad Mason
5. Explore Your World: Weird, Wild, Amazing by Tim Flannery
Top five e-books
1. The Survivors by Jane Harper
2. Treasure and Dirt by Chris Hammer
3. The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
4. Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
5. The Dry by Jane Harper and Dutch House by Ann Pratchett
Top five audio books
1. Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton
2. Phosphorescence: On awe, wonder and things that sustain you when the world goes dark by Julia Baird
3. Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
4. The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
5. All Our Shimmering Skies by Trent Dalton, The Dry by Jane Harper, The Survivors by Jane Harper and Becoming by Michelle Obama
Picture books
Whitney and Britney, Chicken Divas by Lucinda Gifford
Monty C. Turtle Learns to Swim by Kara Lauder and Mick Guinea, illustrated by Sunshine Herbert
Ellie's Dragon by Bob Graham
The Travel Bug by Benjamin Gilmour, illustrated by James Gulliver Hancock
No! Never!: A Cautionary Tale by Libby Hathorn and Lisa Hathorn-Jarman, illustrated by Mel Pierce
Young adult fiction
Midnight Sun by Anonynmous
The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
One of Us is Lying by Karen M McManus
Top five DVDs
Tenet
Parasite
Ad Astra
Emma
The Crown (The complete third season)
