Which books were borrowed most at Suffolk libraries in 2021?

Richard Osman's murder-mystery debut topped both the physical books and eBook lists for Suffolk, while Kes Gray's Oi! series was one of the most popular from the children's section.

Lockdown restrictions made providing library services more challenging in 2021 - but Suffolk Libraries had a 'select and collect' service in place and eBooks have become even more popular since March 2020.

Authors who agreed to interviews with Suffolk Libraries during the year have proved popular, with Elly Griffiths and Anthony Horowitz appearing in the top 10 most borrowed.

The second most-watched Netflix series of all time also influenced borrowing habits this year, with Bridgerton appearing in the most-read eBooks list.

And Jane Austen is the only real 'classic' to make the list, with Pride and Prejudice the ninth most listened to audiobook.

The top 10 most borrowed books from Suffolk Libraries in 2021 are:

Physical books

1. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
2. The Darkest Evening by Ann Cleeves
3. The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths
4. The Night Hawks by Elly Griffiths
5. The Sentinel by Lee Child
6. Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
7. Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith
8. The Lantern Men by Elly Griffiths
9. Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz
10. One August Night by Victoria Hislop

Tom Fletcher has written a number of books for children - but There's a Superhero in your Book was most popular in Suffolk (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

Physical books - Children's

1. Oi Duck-Billed Platypus! by Kes Gray
2. Fetch-22 by Dav Pilkey
3. The Girl, the Bear and the Magic Shoes by Julia Donaldson
4. Grime and Punishment by Dav Pilkey
5. Wrecking Ball by Jeff Kinney
6. For Whom the Ball Rolls by Dav Pilkey
7. Oi Puppies! by Kes Gray
8. Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid by Jeff Kinney
9. There's a Superhero in your Book by Tom Fletcher
10. The Beast of Buckingham Palace by David Walliams

Overdrive eBooks

1. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
2. Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
3. The Secret, Book and Scone Society by Ellery Adams
4. Bridgerton Collection by Julia Quinn
5. The Sea Gate by Jane Johnson
6. The Wild Silence by Raynor Winn
7. Starting Over at Acorn Cottage by Kate Forster
8. The Sentinel by Lee Child
9. Because of You by Dawn French
10. See Them Run by Marion Todd

Overdrive Audio

1. A Song for the Dark Times by Ian Rankin
2. Cold Mourning by Brenda Chapman
3. In This Bright Future by Peter Grainger
4. Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
5. Persons of Interest by Peter Grainger
6. The Duke and I by Julia Quinn
7. One-Way Tickets by Peter Grainger
8. A Private Investigation by Peter Grainger
9. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
10. The Rags of Time by Peter Grainger

Paul Howarth, Suffolk Libraries head of content and resource development, said: "We know how important reading is for people's wellbeing, so we've found different ways of getting books to people since the start of the pandemic.

"Our eLibrary service has been hugely popular and before libraries opened up for browsing we launched a new 'Select and Collect' service for people.

"The most popular books are always interesting as they tend to reflect what's popular across the country as well as locally. Crime fiction is always popular with readers and some of the authors in the list have been kind enough to take part in online interviews with Suffolk Libraries this year.

"Of course this is just a list of the most popular but there are thousands of other titles on offer from Suffolk Libraries and you can always get recommendations of something new to try from our staff or from lists put together by experts from our stock team in the recommendation section of the website."