Central West Libraries releases top 10 reads of 2023

Central West Libraries has released its top ten reads for 2023, with The Wakes by Dianne Yarwood the most popular adult fiction book of the year.

Orange City Library received more than 91,000 visitors last year and made 178,096 loans in 2023, including 30,999 loans.

Orange Mayor Jason Hamling said it was fascinating to discover what books and authors have been popular during 2023.

“To see the wide variety of genres and Australian and international authors the community has been reading across all sections of the community, from children to youth and adults, has been heartwarming and exciting,” Cr Hamling said.

“The main reason we read is to escape, and that’s what everyone has been doing with their book choices in the past 12 months.”

The Wakes was the feature book for Central West Libraries’ One Library One Book community reading program in 2023, which is testament to the success of the program that features at branches in Orange, Blayney, Canowindra, Cowra, Forbes, Manildra and Molong.

A notable stand-out is the rise of graphic novels, with Squished by Megan Wagner Lloyd topping the charts for the Children’s fiction list and the popular Heartstopper series and Japanese Manga series Demon Slayer also high up in the Youth Fiction list.

Screen adaptations were also popular, especially Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games Hollywood blockbusters. The next big thing will be the Adult Fiction novel Boy Swallows Universe by Australian author Trent Dalton when it lands on Netflix this month as a TV mini-series.

Other books in the top 10 adult fiction list are the small screen runaway success and bestseller Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus followed by prolific writer Sally Hepworth with The Soulmate. The follow-up to The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams, The Bookbinder of Jericho was popular, while crime stories also featured with No Plan B by Lee Child and Andrew Child, Lying Beside You by Michael Robotham, Exiles by Jane Harper, Down to the Wire by Andy McNabb, Dark Rooms by Lynda La Plante and The Liars by Australian author and past Orange Readers and Writers Festival guest Petronella McGovern.

Children’s chart toppers featured graphic novel Squished by Megan Wagner Lloyd, and our One Library One Book Kids read Pawcasso by Remy Li, Runt by Craig Silvey, My Friend Fred by Franics Watts, the fantastic National Simultaneous Storytime read Whitney and Britney: Chicken Divas by Lucinda Gifford, Polly Pecori by Emma Chichester Clark, The Power of Positive Pranking by Nat Amore, Ella and the Ocean by Lian Tanner, Crookhaven: the school for thieves by J.J. Arcanjo, and of course a Bluey title Bluey: Grannies made it into the Top 10 reads for 2023.

The clear leader in Youth Fiction was The Hunger Games science fiction dystopian trilogy by Suzanne Collins, followed by graphic novels, the Japanese fantasy manga series Demon Slayer from Koyoharu Gotouge and the bestselling Heartstopper series by British author Alice Oseman, the romance Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston, action-packed reimagining of Peter Pan and CBCA Book of the Year for Older Readers Neverlanders by Tom Taylor, the young adult mystery series A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson, The Other Side of Tomorrow by Hayley Lawrence and the fairytale fantasy novel series by Soman Chainani The School For Good and Evil: #4 Quests for Glory.

Adult Fiction

1. The Wakes by Dianne Yarwood
2. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
3. The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth
4. No Plan B by Lee Child and Andrew Child
5. The Bookbinder of Jericho by Pip Williams
6. Lying Beside You by Michael Robotham
7. Exiles by Jane Harper
8. Down to the Wire by Andy McNab
9. Dark Rooms by Lynda La Plante
10. The Liars by Petronella McGovern

Children’s Fiction

1. Squished by Megan Wagner Lloyd
2. Pawcasso by Remy Lai
3. Runt by Craig Silvey
4. My Friend Fred by Francis Watts
5. Whitney and Britney: Chicken Divas by Lucinda Gifford
6. Polly Pecorino by Emma Chichester Clark
7. The Power of Positive Pranking by Nat Amore
8. Ella and the Ocean by Lian Tanner
9. Crookhaven: the school for thieves by J.J Arcanjo
10. Bluey: grannies

Youth Fiction

1. The Hunger Games (The tributes) by Suzanne Collins
2. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
3. Demon Slayer Koyoharu Gotouge
4. The Heartstopper Yearbook by Alice Oseman
5. Heartstopper. Volume 1 by Alice Oseman
6. Red, White and Royal Blue – a novel by Casey McQuiston
7. Neverlanders by Tom Taylor
8. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
9. The Other Side of Tomorrow by Hayley Lawrence
10. Quests for Glory by Soman Chainani