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City of Wollongong

Local authors make Wollongong Libraries’ 2020 reading list

Thursday 7 January 2021

The numbers are in for Wollongong City Libraries most borrowed items of 2020, with Wollongong-based author Helena Fox making the list with her debut Young Adult novel How It Feels to Float.

This year’s Library list has a distinctly Australian feel, with the Adult Fiction, Adult Non-Fiction and Junior Fiction Top Ten Lists of 2020 jam-packed with Aussie authors.

In the Top 10 Adult Fiction titles of 2020, big-name Australian authors Michael Robotham, Liane Moriarty, Christian White, Jane Harper, Charlotte Wood & Trent Dalton were among the most popular.

“Not only was our community supporting local businesses during what was a tough year, they also enjoyed more content that was created closer to home,” said Wollongong City Council Lord Mayor Councillor Gordon Bradbery AM.

“What’s most exciting is that in 2020 our readers voted with their library cards for a true local author. Helena Fox is a Wollongong-based author whose debut novel How It Feels to Float captured the minds and hearts of readers of all ages.”

Helena Fox’s How It Feels to Float was the winner of the Prime Minister’s Literary Award 2020 for Young Adult Literature.

For our junior readers, northern Illawarra resident Anh Do once again wiped out the competition, claiming the top ten spots on the Junior Fiction Top Ten List of 2020.

Anh Do’s WeirDo 13: Weirdomania! was the most borrowed junior fiction title of the year, borrowed a total of 130 times. The other Do favourites that rounded out the top five were WeirDo 9: Spooky Weird!, Game Time!, Ninja Clones! and Show Time!.

“Anh Do is easily one of our young readers all-time favourite authors. This is the second year in a row that Do has made a clean sweep of the junior fiction Top 10 Books of the year,” said Cr Bradbery.

“Adding up the numbers shows that in total his books were borrowed a staggering 1,393 times this year. On average, that’s three copies of Anh Do’s books borrowed every day by keen readers.”

Do you have ‘read more’ as one of your NYE resolutions? The Library can help! Check out our 2020 Top 10 list for inspiration so you can start this year with a good book or two.

The full list below:

Adult Fiction

  1. Blue Moon by Lee Child (232 loans)
  2. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (211)
  3. Good Girl Bad Girl by Michael Robotham (183)
  4. Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty (175)
  5. The Wife and the Widow by Christian White (162)
  6. Past Tense by Lee Child (158)
  7. The Lost Man by Jane Harper (156)
  8. The Weekend by Charlotte Wood (155)
  9. The Nowhere Child by Christian White (152)
  10. Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton (141)

Adult Non-Fiction

  1. Becoming by Michelle Obama (185)
  2. Dark Emu: Aboriginal Australia and the birth of agriculture by Bruce Pascoe (141)
  3. The Barefoot Investor: the only money guide you’ll ever need by Scott Pape (138)
  4. Any Ordinary Day by Leigh Sales (127)
  5. 488 Rules for life: the thankless art of being correct by Kitty Flanagan (106)
  6. Three Women by Lisa Taddeo (96)
  7. The Barefoot Investor for Families: the only kids' money guide you'll ever need by Scott Pape (80)
  8. The Fast 800: how to combine rapid weight loss and intermittent fasting for long-term health by Dr Michael Mosley (79)
  9. The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck: a counterintuitive approach to living a good life by Mark Manson (74)
  10. Everything Is F*cked: a book about hope by Mark Manson (72)

Youth Fiction

  1. The Hunger Games. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (34)
  2. The Hunger Games. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (30)
  3. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (26)
  4. The Tyrant’s Tomb by Rick Riordan (26)
  5. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (25)
  6. The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black (25)
  7. To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han (25)
  8. Detention by Tristan Bancks (24)
  9. How It Feels to Float by Helena Fox (24)
  10. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (24)

Junior Fiction

  1. WeirDo 13: Weirdomania! by Anh Do (130)
  2. Weirdo 9: Spooky Weird! by Anh Do (115)
  3. Game Time! by Anh Do (113)
  4. Ninja Clones! by Anh Do (107)
  5. Show Time! by Anh Do (107)
  6. Weirdo 12: Hopping Weird! by Anh Do (105)
  7. The Great Escape by Anh Do (104)
  8. Flying Ninja! by Anh Do (103)
  9. Movie Time! by Anh Do (103)
  10. Weirdo 14: VOTE Weirdo! by Anh Do (103)

eAudio

  1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling (610)
  2. Becoming by Michelle Obama (291)
  3. The Clockmaker Daughter by Kate Morton (253)
  4. Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty (240)
  5. 488 Rules for Life by Kitty Flanagan (230)
  6. Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton (222)
  7. The Break by Marian Keyes (215)
  8. The Testaments by Margaret Atwood (210)
  9. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling (209)
  10. Mythos by Stephen Fry (208)

eBooks

  1. Silver by Chris Hammer (342)
  2. The Weekend by Charlotte Wood (270)
  3. Night Fire by Michael Connelly (267)
  4. The Wife and the Widow by Christian White (209)
  5. The Good Turn by Dervla McTiernan (208)
  6. The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris (204)
  7. Normal People by Sally Rooney (203)
  8. The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton (202)
  9. The Long Call by Ann Cleeves (189)
  10. Becoming by Michelle Obama (185)

Top Adult DVDs

  1. Ride Like a Girl (169)
  2. Ford V Ferrari (167)
  3. Joker (164)
  4. Judy (161)
  5. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (160)
  6. Parasite (154)
  7. Downtown Abbey: the motion picture (144)
  8. Big Little Lies. The complete second season (135)
  9. Knives Out (129)
  10. 1917 (118)

Top Junior DVDs

  1. Frozen II (152)
  2. The Lion King (103)
  3. Abominable (90)
  4. Dora And the Lost City of Gold (81)
  5. The Secret Life of Pets 2 (73)
  6. Toy Story 4 (71)
  7. Aladdin (68)
  8. Mary Poppins Returns (64)
  9. Dumbo (61)
  10. PAW Patrol. Pups Save Christmas (57)

Top CDs

  1. Paul Kelly's Greatest Hits: Songs from the South, 1985-2019 - Paul Kelly (30)
  2. When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? - Billie Eilish (27)
  3. Queen’s Greatest Hits. II (21)
  4. Jon Savage's 1969-1971: Rock Dreams On 45 – Jon Savage (21)
  5. No Mercy in this Land – Ben Harper (21)
  6. Disney Sing Your Heart Out (20)
  7. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (20)
  8. Sticky Fingers – Rolling Stones (20)
  9. Abbey Road – Beatles (19)
  10. Lover – Taylor Swift (19)

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