A notable rise in graphic novels and a debut novel set in Sydney captured reader's interest in Orange in 2023 according to a top 10 list.
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Central West Libraries compiled the list of the top 10 reads for 2023 with The Wakes by Dianne Yarwood the most popular adult fiction book of the year.
The contemporary story is Yarwood's debut novel.
Set in Sydney, the book tells the story of past friends and strangers brought together by life changes and follows two neighbours as they get into the business of catering at wakes and others they meet along the way.
The second most borrowed adult fiction book was Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus.
Set in the 1960s it has been made into an Apple TV series starring Brie Larson.
It follows the story of a female chemist who is forced to leave her job at a research institute and becomes the reluctant star of a cooking show. However, as her following grows not everyone is happy because she's teaching women more than just how to cook.
The Wakes position of most read but at least partially due to it being the feature book for Central West Libraries' One Library One Book community reading program in 2023.
That program was run in Orange, Blayney, Canowindra, Cowra, Forbes, Manildra and Molong.
The largest of the libraries, Orange City Library, received more than 91,000 visitors last year and made 178,096 loans in 2023.
For younger readers, a notable stand-out was 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.
The next big thing will be the adult diction novel Boy Swallows Universe by Australian author Trent Dalton which landed on Netflix in January as a TV mini-series.
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."
Here is what people were reading in 2023:
Adult Fiction
- The Wakes by Dianne Yarwood
- Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
- The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth
- No Plan B by Lee Child and Andrew Child
- The Bookbinder of Jericho by Pip Williams
- Lying Beside You by Michael Robotham
- Exiles by Jane Harper
- Down to the Wire by Andy McNab
- Dark Rooms by Lynda La Plante
- The Liars by Petronella McGovern
Children's Fiction
- Squished by Megan Wagner Lloyd
- Pawcasso by Remy Lai
- Runt by Craig Silvey
- My Friend Fred by Francis Watts
- Whitney and Britney: Chicken Divas by Lucinda Gifford
- Polly Pecorino 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 JJ Arcanjo
- Bluey: grannies
Youth Fiction
- The Hunger Games (The tributes) by Suzanne Collins
- Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
- Demon Slayer Koyoharu Gotouge
- The Heartstopper Yearbook by Alice Oseman
- Heartstopper. Volume 1 by Alice Oseman
- Red, White and Royal Blue - a novel by Casey McQuiston
- Neverlanders by Tom Taylor
- A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
- The Other Side of Tomorrow by Hayley Lawrence
- Quests for Glory by Soman Chainani