Libraries  |  21 Dec 2023

Share this story

Despite a few new novels climbing the ranks, there’s no knocking Lee and Andrew Child from their number one spot.

Christchurch City Libraries has put together their most popular books for the year, and the thrilling Jack Reacher series has come out as number one with No Plan B by Lee Child and Andrew Child.

“We weren’t surprised to see a Jack Reacher novel as our most popular book for 2023, as this is now the sixth year in a row the British writer Lee Child has taken out the top spot,” says Christchurch City Council Head of Libraries and Information Carolyn Robertson.

“It was fantastic to see New Zealand author Peter Gossage make the top five with How Maui Slowed the Sun, a book that’s been around since 2017.

“The craze of going ‘viral’ on social media was a huge factor this year, with Coleen Hoover’s It Starts With Us and Ugly Love making the list following their popularity on social media platform TikTok.”

Royalty came into the mix with Spare by Prince Harry as the most popular adult non-fiction book, followed by Aotearoa’s Sam Neill with Did I ever tell you this? A memoir.

As well as the most popular overall, No Plan B by the Child brothers was the number one adult fiction book, followed by Better Off Dead by the same author duo.

In the rangatahi teens list, Alice Oseman took out the top four spots with Heartstopper Volume’s 1 – 4. An old favourite The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins came back to play at number five, following the release of the latest film in the dystopian series.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling was the most popular book in the children’s section, also coming out as 18th overall. The series didn’t stop there, with Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire sitting at number two and three on the children’s list.

View the full collection of most popular books from 2023 on the Christchurch City Libraries here, and check out some of the best picks from staff and customers here.