American romance author Colleen Hoover a hit with Palmerston North book lovers

Black Fern Ruby Tui's autobiography Straight Up was the borrowed adult non-fiction book from Palmerston North City Library in 2023. Photo / Michael Craig

American romance author Colleen Hoover is a hit with Palmerston North book lovers.

Three of her novels, Verity, It Ends with Us, and It Starts with Us are in the top 10 most borrowed adult fiction books from Palmerston North City Library last year.

Top spot goes to Northern Irish author Lucinda Riley. She writes historical fiction and Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt - the final novel in the Seven Sisters series - was the most borrowed adult fiction book.

It was also the second most borrowed ebook last year while Riley’s The Murders at Fleat House was the second most borrowed audiobook.

Birnam Wood was the most popular adult fiction book by a New Zealander with Eleanor Catton taking sixth spot. It was the fourth most popular e-book.

Kiwi authors fared better in the most borrowed adult non-fiction category. Winning gold was Black Fern Ruby Tui with her autobiography Straight Up. Half of the books in this category were written by New Zealanders.

Palmerston North author Helen Lehndorf takes eighth spot with her memoir A Forager’s Life: Finding my heart and home in nature.

The most borrowed audiobook was Made In Scotland: My Grand Adventures in a Wee Country by Sir Billy Connolly. The actor and comedian reflects on his life, his homeland and what it means – then and now – to be Scottish.

The Last Goodnight: A Riveting New Thriller by American author Kat Martin was the most borrowed e-book.

Auckland author Josie Shapiro’s debut novel Everything is Beautiful and Everything Hurts was the ninth most borrowed e-book.

Next week we will reveal the most popular DVDs and children’s fiction.

Judith Lacy has been the editor of the Manawatū Guardian since December 2020. She graduated from journalism school in 2001 and this is her second role editing a community paper.