The numbers have been crunched and we have the most popular books and movies at West Lincoln Public Library for 2023.
Adult Fiction, Young Adult Fiction, Junior Fiction, Picture Books, Non-Fiction Books, Movies, Switch
Adult Fiction
Kristen Hannah has been knocked off her pedestal! She ranked this year but dropped from first to 5th. The rest of our most popular titles are not repeats from 2022, but no surprises either. (The top adult graphic novels were Ducks and The Birth of Humankind) Check out the top 5 adult books below:
1st: Without Merit by Colleen Hoover
The Voss family is anything but normal. They live in a repurposed church, newly baptized Dollar Voss. The once cancer-stricken mother lives in the basement, the father is married to the mother’s former nurse, the little half-brother isn’t allowed to do or eat anything fun, and the eldest siblings are irritatingly perfect. Then, there’s Merit.
Merit Voss collects trophies she hasn’t earned and secrets her family forces her to keep. While browsing the local antiques shop for her next trophy, she finds Sagan. His wit and unapologetic idealism disarm and spark renewed life into her—until she discovers that he’s completely unavailable. Merit retreats deeper into herself, watching her family from the sidelines when she learns a secret that no trophy in the world can fix.
Fed up with the lies, Merit decides to shatter the happy family illusion that she’s never been a part of before leaving them behind for good. When her escape plan fails, Merit is forced to deal with the staggering consequences of telling the truth and losing the one boy she loves.
Available in Print, Large Print, E-Book and E-Audio.
2nd – A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny
3rd: Simply Lies by David Baldacci
4th: The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell
5th: The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
Young Adult Fiction
Our best young adult authors remain fairly steady, with not a single new author making the list this year, but the order has moved around a bit and Sarah J. Maas took two spots, bumping James Dashner. (The top teen graphic novels were Fazbear Frights Collection: Volume 1, Heartstopper Volume 3 and The Fourth Closet)
1st: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king’s champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien.
The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass—and it’s there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena’s fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.
Available in Print, E-Book and E-Audio.
2nd: The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Barnes
3rd: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
4th: A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
5th: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
Junior Fiction Books
Continuing with our best authors for Junior fiction, so we don’t just give you a list of 5 Jeff Kinney books. Check out which authors had the most loans and which of their titles made the ranking,
1st: Raina Telgemeier
The highest numbers of loans per item went to Raina Telgemeier again. Her books just don’t stay on the shelves. The titles that were at the top of the list were Smile and Sisters.
2nd: Dav Pilkey with the books A Tale of Two Kitties, Cat Kid Comic Club Perspectives, Cat Kid Comic Club Collaborations, Cat Kid Comic Club On Purpose and Grime and Punishment
3rd: Jeff Kinney with Roderick Rules, Double Down, Hard Luck, The Deep End, Dog Days and Greg Heffley’s Journal
4th: Ann M. Martin with the graphic novel adaptations Boy-Crazy Stacey, Claudia and the New Girl, Mary Anne’s Bad Luck Mystery and Good-Bye Stacey, Good-Bye
5th: J.K. Rowling with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Picture Books
Lots of our favourite authors and lots of variety to choose from, a Little Blue Truck book made the list this year, and a second title in the series just missed the list, so we can’t help but recommend you have a look at all the Little Blue Truck titles if you have a chance, just to add a bit more to your reading lists! Check out who else made the list.
1st: The Sour Grape by Jory John
The Sour Grape holds grudges for every reason under the sun. Lime never returned a scarf they borrowed? Grudge! Orange never called back? Grudge! But when a friend holds a grudge against the Sour Grape without listening to an explanation, the Sour Grape realizes how unfair grudges can be. Could a bunch of forgiveness and compassion be enough to turn a sour grape sweet?
Available in: Print and E-Book
2nd: Little Blue Truck’s Valentine by Alice Schertle
3rd: Can I Play Too? by Mo Willems
4th: Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses by Kimberly and James Dean
5th: The Thank You Book by Mo Willems
Non-Fiction Books
Can you guess what the most popular non-fiction book of 2023 was? It’s not a surprise (plus it’s pictured right below) but maybe some other titles on the list will surprise you, check them out.
1st: Spare by Prince Harry
An autobiography of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. It was one of the most searing images of the twentieth century: two young boys, two princes, walking behind their mother’s coffin as the world watched in sorrow–and horror. As Diana, Princess of Wales, was laid to rest, billions wondered what the princes must be thinking and feeling–and how their lives would play out from that point on. For Harry, this is that story at last. With its raw, unflinching honesty, Spare is a landmark publication full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief.
Available in Print, Large Print, Audio, E-Book and E-Audio.
2nd: The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama
3rd: Minecraft Beginner’s Handbook by Stephanie Milton
4th: Guinness World Records 2023
5th: LEGO Play Book
Movies
1st: Ticket to Paradise
Academy Award® winners George Clooney and Julia Roberts reunite on the big screen as exes who find themselves on a shared mission to stop their lovestruck daughter from making the same mistake they once made. They find themselves racing to Bali, Indonesia, to stop their daughter from marrying a seaweed farmer. As they desperately try to sabotage the wedding, the bickering duo soon find themselves rekindling old feelings that once made them happy together.
2nd: Elvis
3rd: Sing 2
4th: A Man Called Otto
5th: The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Switch Games
This is our second year for switch games and only one repeat on this list, Pokemon Shining Pearl was bumped from 1st to 3rd but still made the rankings, lets see what else West Lincoln liked best in 2023! Check out the list below
1st: LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga marks the return to the franchise that kicked off the LEGO video game series. The game will give fans an all-new LEGO Star Wars experience with complete freedom to explore the LEGO Star Wars galaxy. With the Skywalker saga coming to an end, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga will bring to life all those Star Wars adventures remembered and undiscovered in an epic culmination of all nine saga films as fans celebrate the closing of this chapter in Star Wars.
2nd: LEGO The Incredibles
4th: LEGO City Undercover
5th: Pokémon Brilliant Diamond
P.S. We also offer Board Games, the most popular of which were Settlers of Catan and The Game of Life. Our most circulated item of all was our WiFi hotspots, have you borrowed one yet?
And Lastly, there are some items that came out later in the year and didn’t accumulate as many loans, but since they are the highest loans among our new shelves, we thought you might want to give some a try.
Top Items on the New Shelf
1st: Barbie (film)
2nd: Obsessed by James Patterson
3rd: The Flash (film)
4th: Payback in Death by JD Robb
5th: Judgment Prey by John Sandford
WLP Library Recommends 
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