By Lucy Neill | 4 February 2026
To inspire people to get reading in 2026 – The National Year of Reading – Suffolk Community Libraries is sharing the lists of the most borrowed adult and children’s books from libraries last year!
Last year, Suffolk Community Libraries loaned out over 4 million items to borrowers all across the county – issuing over 1.9m physical items and more than 2.2m digital loans.
The most popular adult fiction authors for 2025 were Richard Osman, Elly Griffiths, Lee Child, Kate Atkinson and Anthony Horowitz. The most issued children’s books included titles by Jamie Smart, John Patrick Green, Julia Donaldson and Jeff Kinney.
Author Dav Pilkey dominated children’s loans last year with his popular Cat Kid Comic Club oraz Dog Man books. Comic books are clearly a favourite amongst Suffolk children!
Paul Howarth, Library Content, Engagement and Development Manager, said:
“Elly Griffiths and Anthony Horowitz are writers who often come to Suffolk so it’s great to see their books are still well read by our readers. We always keep an eye on which books are most popular so we can make extra copies available in libraries. Of course, there are so many books and writers out there for readers of all ages to enjoy too.
“We are always keen to give customers what they want but can also recommend other titles and authors so we can inspire people to try different things. The beauty of libraries is we can offer so much choice to our readers!”
“I’m a big supporter of our libraries and it’s fascinating to see what’s popular amongst Suffolk readers. I’m going to make sure to check out some of these books myself! It’s a great reminder about the choice and range of books in our libraries too.
“Hopefully this will inspire people to get behind the National Year of Reading and check out the many books on offer from Suffolk Community Libraries.”
- We Solve Murders by Richard Osman
- The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths
- In Too Deep by Lee Child
- The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman
- Death at the Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson
- Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz
- You Are Here by David Nicholls
- The Dark Wives by Ann Cleeves
- The Secret by Lee Child
- We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes
Other popular books included Chatka na plaży by Leah Pitt, Orbitalny by Samantha Harvey (which won the 2024 Booker Prize), and The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey.
Most popular children’s books:
- Cat Kid Comic Club: Perspectives by Dav Pilkey
- Bunny Bonanza! by Jamie Smart
- Cat Kid Comic Club: Influencers by Dav Pilkey
- Cat Kid Comic Club: On Purpose by Dav Pilkey
- Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea by Dav Pilkey
- The Impossible Pig! by Jamie Smart
- Class Action by John Patrick Green
- Machine Mayhem! by Jamie Smart
- For Whom the Ball Rolls by Dav Pilkey
- Dog Man Unleashed by Dav Pilkey
All these books and more are free to borrow from the Katalog bibliotek społeczności Suffolk with your library card. You can borrow up to 20 books at a time and collect from any of our 45 libraries for free.
We also don’t charge for overdue children’s books. Our full range of available titles aren’t just what’s on the library shelves – all customers can reserve items for free from across the catalogue and collect them from their local branch.
Digital loans across our extensive eLibrary services were also strong in 2025. Murder on the Marlo Belle by Robert Thorogood, The Bookseller by Tim Sullivan, and Precipice by Robert Harris were the most popular digital loans on Libby.
On BorrowBox, the top audiobook titles were We Solve Murders by Richard Osman, The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley, and My Favourite Mistake by Marian Keyes.
Anyone with a library card in Suffolk can get access to free eBooks on Libby, eAudiobooks on BorrowBox, films and documentaries on Kanopy, music streaming on Freegal, and also magazines and newspapers on PressReader.
Don’t have a library card? It’s free and easy to sign up. Visit any of our 45 libraries or register online and we’ll get a card sent to you in the post.
Take a look at our recommendations for books suitable for all ages, including the latest fiction and non-fiction releases, audiobook titles, book club favourites and more.
Subscribe to our regular library newsletter to be the first to hear about new releases available to borrow, as well as events and activities for all ages.
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