The UK's Most Borrowed Books

What were we borrowing from the public lending libraries last year?

Figures are now available reflecting the habits of the UK's reading population in 2007 - at least, the habits of those who borrow their books from the library rather than buying from the bookshop. So what were the top ten most borrowed books?

The Top Ten Most Borrowed Books

1. At Risk, Patricia Cornwell (Little, Brown, 2006)
2. The Island, Victoria Hislop (Review, 2006)
3. Judge and Jury, James Patterson & Andrew Gross (Headline, 2006)
4. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown (Corgi, 2004)
5. Mary, Mary, James Patterson (Headline, 2005)
6. Journey's End, Josephine Cox (HarperCollins, 2006)
7. My Best Friend's Girl, Dorothy Koomson (Time Warner, 2006)
8. The 5th Horseman, James Patterson & Maxine Paetro (Headline, 2006)
9. The Hard Way, Lee Child (Transworld, 2006)
10. The Historian, Elizabeth Kostova (Time Warner, 2006)

So what do these choices say about us? Well, the Richard and Judy effect remains unstoppable, with three of their Book Club choices in the top ten, at numbers 2, 7 and 10. The Da Vinci Code still won't go away, and thrillers have become increasingly popular judging by the success of Cornwell, Patterson (and helpers) and Child.

But it's not all trashy thrillers - next week I'll publish the list of the top ten most borrowed classic authors.