Melbourne's most read books

A snapshot of Melbourne library borrowings for 2014 shows that a modern Australian masterpiece goes down as well in Balwyn as it does in Geelong, that inner-city elites love a romantic comedy as much as their suburban cousins, and that the exploits of remorseless crime fighter Jack Reacher are popular, well, everywhere.

What's more, we're largely in synch with the rest of the country. The two most borrowed books in Australia last year, Lee Child's Never Go Back and Graeme Simsion's The Rosie Project, were represented everywhere except Dandenong, where the four most popular reads were Chinese martial arts novels, and the City of Melbourne, where the top-five was composed of literary fiction. Local authors Christos Tsiolkas and Chris Womersley also had a distinctly inner-city following, appearing in top-fives in Yarra, Darebin, Moreland and Stonnington.

Non-fiction was if anything more homogenous, with cookbooks and the VicRoads driving manual dominating in all but a handful of suburbs.

The consistency of our habits comes as no surprise to those in the industry, who see borrowing patterns closely matching bestseller lists, driven by marketing, film tie-ins and awards buzz.

Chris Kelly, who worked extensively in Melbourne's west and is now CEO of the Bendigo Goldfields Library Service said a borrower in the bush had much the same tastes as one in the inner suburbs. "Borrowing habits are driven by the publishing industry, and often through conversations in the media," Ms Kelly said. "When people hear about exciting books, those are the ones they want to read."

LaTrobe University professor of literature Susan Martin agreed. "Reading habits are influenced by fashion and peer interest," she said. "People are busy and they go for something they think will be good because it's won an award or been judged by people they trust."

Professor Martin said the lure of an award should not be underestimated, pointing to Richard Flanagan's Booker-winning The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Hannah Kent's Burial Rites. "Things that come into the news go onto the [most-borrowed] list. With Burial Rites in particular people might not have picked it up if not for awards. The Narrow Road is a difficult read and it's divided opinion, but there's some sense that people should read the Australian book that won the big prize."

The other trend that appears universal in libraries is their popularity. According to the Australian Library and Information Association there are 10 million library-card holders in the country, and there were about 29 million visits to Victorian libraries in 2013, 250,000 more than five years ago.

Ms Kelly sees it as a shift in the purpose of a library, from a simple repository of knowledge to a community meeting place and an entertainment resource in its own right. "Libraries are about more than books, they're about engagement with creativity and community and being in a place that supports learning and culture. Libraries are a great place to browse and see new titles, and sometimes it's about being a member of Australia's biggest club."

twitter: @WalterTCoulter

Melbourne Library Services' most borrowed books

Geelong

Fiction

1. The narrow road to the deep north Richard Flanagan
2. Never go back Lee Child
3. The Rosie Project Graeme C. Simsion
4. Eyrie Tim Winton
5. Personal Lee Child

Non-Fiction

1. Father Bob the Larrikin Priest Sue Williams
2. The happiest refugee Anh Do
3. Jamie's 30 minute meals Jamie Oliver
4. Jamie's 15 Minute Meals Jamie Oliver
5. I quit sugar: your complete 8 week detox program and cookbook Sarah Wilson

Hume

Fiction

1. Inferno Dan Brown
2. Fifteen seconds Andrew Gross
3. Whiskey Beach Nora Roberts
4. The perfect hope Nora Roberts
5. Never go back Lee Child

Non-Fiction

1. Road to solo driving Vic Roads
2. Guinness world records 2012
3. Guinness world records 2013
4. Removing stains other cleaning tips: an A-Z guide
5. 90 second fitness solution

Brimbank

Fiction

1. Invisible James Patterson & David Ellis.
2. The narrow road to the deep north Richard Flanagan
3. Top Secret Twenty-one Janet Evanovich
4. Mallee Sky Kerry McGinnis
5. Private India James Patterson & Ashwin Sanghi

Non fiction

1. Julie Goodwin's 20/20 meals Julie Goodwin
2. The fictional woman Tara Moss
3. Plenty more Yotam Ottolenghi
4. It will get better Stella Gibney
5. Same same but different: recipe pairs that share a process, ingredient or texture Poh Ling Yeo

Monash

Fiction

1. The Casual Vacancy J.K. Rowling
2. King and Maxwell David Baldacci
3. Mistress James Patterson & David Ellis
4. The Forgotten David Baldacci
5. The Hit David Baldacci

Non Fiction

1. Road to solo driving VicRoads
2. Save with Jamie: shop smart, cook clever, waste less Jamie Oliver
3. Jamie's 15-minute meals Jamie Oliver
4. Guinness World Records
5. DK Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guide: Tokyo

Yarra

Fiction

1. The Rosie Project Graeme C. Simsion
2. Barracuda Christos Tsiolkas
3. The Goldfinch Donna Tartt
4. Gone Girl Gillian Flynn
5. Burial Rites Hannah Kent

Non Fiction

1. I quit sugar: your complete 8 week detox program and cookbook Sarah Wilson
2. Road to solo driving VicRoads
3. Southeast Asia on a Shoestring
4. Jamie's 15-minute meals Jamie Oliver
5. Quiet. The Power of introverts in a world that can't stop talking Susan Cain

Glen Eira

Fiction

1. The cuckoo's calling Robert Galbraith
2. Burial rites Hannah Kent
3. Eyrie Tim Winton
4. The English girl Daniel Silva
5. Gone girl Gillian Flynn

Non-fiction

1. I quit sugar: your complete 8-week detox program and cookbook by Sarah Wilson
2. Jamie's 15-minute meals Jamie Oliver
3. Save with Jamie Jamie Oliver
4. I quit sugar for life Sarah Wilson
5. The new classics  Donna Hay

Melton

Fiction

1. Never go back Lee Child
2. Dark Witch Nora Roberts
3. The Book Thief Markus Zusak
4. The Storyteller Jodi Picoult
5. Gone James Patterson

Non-fiction

1. Raising Boys Steve Biddulph
2. 1-2-3 Magic Thomas Phelan
3. Progressive Electronic Keyboard Method Book 1 Andrew Scott
4. Road to Solo Driving
5. Guinness World Record 2014

Kingston

Fiction

1. Burial Rites  Hannah Kent
2. Gone Girl  Gillian Flynn
3. The Narrow Road to the Deep North Richard Flanagan
4. The Rosie Project Graeme Simsion
5. Gone James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge

Non-Fiction

1. I quit sugar: the complete 8-week program Sarah Wilson.
2. Ten hail Marys: a memoir Kate Howarth.
3. Jamie's 15-minute meals Jamie Oliver.
4. Sweet poison: why sugar makes us fat David Gillespie.
5. Bali & Lombok Lonely PLanet.

Melbourne

Fiction

1. We are all completely beside ourselves Karen Jay Fowler
2. The narrow road to the deep north Richard Flanagan
3. The goldfinch Donna Tart
4. The light between the oceans ML Stedman
5. The silkworm Robert Galbraith

Non-Fiction

1. My story Julia Gillard
2. Yes please May Poehler
3. This changes everything Naomi Klein
4. This house of grief Helen Garner
5. Gallipoli Peter FitzSimons

Hobsons Bay

Fiction

1. Never go back Lee Child
2. The Rosie Project Graeme Simsion
3. The Book Thief Marcus Zuzak
4. Eyrie Tim Winton
5. Gone Girl Gillian Flynn

Non-fiction

1. I quit sugar Sarah Wilson
2. Save with Jamie Jamie Oliver
3. Night Games Anna Krien
4. The fast diet Michael Mosley
5. Father Bob the larrikin priest Sue Williams

Maribyrnong

Fiction

1. Burial rites Hannah Kent
2. The Rosie Project Graeme Simsion
3. Cairo Chris Womersley
4. The Luminaries Eleanor Catton
5. Where'd you go Maria Bernadette Semple

Non-Fiction

1. I quit sugar Sarah Wilson
2. Road to Solo Driving
3. Japan
4. Raising boys Steve Biddulph
5. Save our sleep Tizzie Hall

Mornington Peninsula

Fiction

1. Burning Room Michael Connelly
2. Big Little Lies Laine Moriarty
3. The Rosie Effect Graeme Simsion
4. The narrow road to the deep north Richard Flanagan
5. We are all completely beside ourselves Karen Jay Fowler

Non-fiction

1. This house of grief Helen Garner
2. My Story Julia Gillard
3. Murder in Mississippi John Safran
4. The Bush Don Watson
5. Philomena Martin Sixsmith

Wyndham

Fiction

1. Gone girl Gillian Flynn
2. Never go back  Lee Child.
3. Gone James Patterson
4. The tournament Matthew Reilly
5. Be careful what you wish for Jeffrey Archer

Non-fiction

1. 15 minute meals Jamie Oliver
2. Road to solo driving 
3. I quit sugar your complete 8 week detox program and cookbook Sarah Wilson
4. Save with Jamie Jamie Oliver.
5. It's rhyme time A project of the Victorian Government's Young Reader Program in partnership with the Little Big Book Club

Greater Dandenong

Fiction

1. The return of the Condor heroes Yong Jin
2. The Smiling swordsman Yong Jin
3. The Secret of the Precious Book Long Gu
4. Legend of the Condor heroes Yong Jin
5. The Racketeer John Grisham

Non-Fiction

1. Road to Solo Driving
2.  Australian Citizenship Test Practice Questions
3. Everyday Australian Picture Dictionary English
4. Oxford Picture Dictionary Monolingual
5. The Oxford Picture Dictionary English-Farsi

Moreland

Fiction

1. The fault in our stars John Green
2. The goldfinch Donna Tartt
3. All the birds singing Evie Wyld
4. The Rosie project Graeme Simsion
5. Insurgent Veronica Roth

Whitehorse Manningham

Fiction

1. The Rosie project Graeme Simsion
2. The book thief  Markus Zusak
3. Gone girl  Gillian Flynn
4. Burial rites  Hannah Kent
5. The storyteller  Jodi Picault

Frankston

Fiction

1. Gods of guilt  Michael Connelly
2. Never go back Lee Child
3. Inferno  Dan Brown
4. Scarecrow row  John Grisham
5. Six years  Harlan Coben

Non-fiction

1. Jamie's 15 Minute Meals – Jamie Oliver
2. Save with Jamie – Jamie Oliver
3. The happiest refugee - Anh Do
4. I quit sugar: your complete 8 week detox program and cookbook – Sarah Wilson
5. The lost child of Philomena Lee: a mother her son and a fifty year search – Martin Sixsmith

Eastern Region

Fiction

1. The Collector  Nora Roberts
2. Missing you  Harlan Coben
3. The Rosie effect  Graeme Simsion
4. Never go back Lee Child
5. Burn James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge

Non-fiction

1. Jamie's 15 Minute Meals Jamie Oliver
2. I quit sugar Sarah Wilson

​Stonnington

Fiction 

1. The Rosie Project Graeme Simsion
2. Burial Rites Hannah Kent
3. Barracuda Christos Tsiolkas
4. Eyrie Tim Winton
5. The Luminaries Eleanor Catton

Non-fiction

1. Father Bob: the larrikin priest Sue Williams
2. Jamie's 15-minute meals Jamie Oliver
3. Road to solo driving
4. The good life Hugh Mackay
5. I quit sugar Sarah Wilson

Moonee Valley

Fiction

1. The Book Thief Markus Zusak
2. Fifty Shades of Grey EL James
3. Gone girl Gillian Flynn
4. Now you see her James Patterson
5. Worth Dying For Lee Childs

Non-Fiction

1. The Happiest Refugee Anh Do

Darebin

Fiction

1. The Fault in our Stars John Green
2. The Rosie Project Graeme Simsion
3. The Casual Vacancy J K Rowling
4. Barracuda Christos Tsiolkas
5. Golden Boys Sonya Hartnett

Non-Fiction

1. Road to Solo Driving VicRoads
2. Jamie's 15 Minute Meals Jamie Oliver
3. Italy Lonely Planet Travel Guide
4. France Lonely Planet Travel Guide
5. Jamie's 30 Minute Meals Jamie Oliver

Boroondara

Fiction

1. The narrow road to the deep north Richard Flanagan
2. Gone girl Gillian Flynn
3. The girl on the train Paula Hawkins
4. The Rosie effect Graeme Simsion
5. The cuckoo's calling Robert Galbraith

Non-fiction

1. Japan Lonely Planet guide
2. Croatia Insight guide
3. Italy Fodor
4. Paris Dorling Kindersley
5. Stanley Gibbons simplified catalogue of stamps of the world

And the national list ...

Australia's most borrowed books - first quarter of 2015

Adult fiction:

1. Never Go Back by Lee Child (British/thriller)

2. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion (Australian/humour)

3. The Gods of Guilt by Michael Connolly (American/crime)

4. Burial Rites by Hannah Kent (Australian/contemporary literature)

5. Eyrie by Tim Winton (Australian/contemporary literature)

6. The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan (Australian/contemporary literature)

7. Inferno by Dan Brown (American/thriller)

8. The Rook by Daniel O'Malley (Australian/science fiction)

9. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (American/thriller)

10. A Wanted Man by Lee Child (British/thriller)

Adult non-fiction:

1. Jamie's 15 Minute Meals by Jamie Oliver (British/cookery)

2. Guinness World Records 2014

3. I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai (Pakistani/biography)

4. I Quit Sugar by Sarah Wilson (Australian/health)

5. The Happiest Refugee by Anh Do (Australian/biography)

6. Save with Jamie by Jamie Oliver (British/cookery)

7. Father Bob the Larrikin Priest by Sue Williams (Australian/biography)

8. Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth (British/biography)

9. Three Crooked Kings by Matthew Condon (Australian/true crime)

10. Jamie's 30 Minute Meals by Jamie Oliver (British/cookery)

Children's books:

1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney (American/humour)

2. 13-Storey, 26 Storey and 39-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton (Australian/humour)

3. Geronimo and Thea Stilton series by Elisabetta Dami (Italian/adventure)

4. Spot series by Eric Hill (British/picture book)

5. The Wrong Book by Nick Bland (Australian/picture book)

6. Just! series by Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton (Australian/humour)

7. Once by Morris Gleitzman (Australian/Holocaust)

8. Peck Peck Peck by Lucy Cousins (Australian/picture book)

9. Selby series by Duncan Ball (Australian/adventure)

10. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne (Irish/Holocaust)

Young adult fiction:

1. Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins (American/science fiction adventure)

2. Divergent series by Veronica Roth (American/science fiction adventure)

3. The Fault in our Stars by John Green (American/romance)

4. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak (Australian/Holocaust)

5. Looking for Alaska by John Green (American/romance)

6. Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan (American/fantasy adventure)

7. The Maze Runner by James Dashner (American/science fiction)

8. Every Breath by Ellie Marney (Australian/thriller)

9. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green (American/romance)

10. Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare (American/fantasy adventure)