Masterton library users seek thrillers

The Girl on the Train, the most popular reserved book in libraries. PHOTO/FILE

Masterton's most popular library books have been revealed - and it appears readers have a thirst for thrillers.

Masterton District Library manager Sandy Green said Paula Hawkins' thriller The Girl on the Train was the most reserved item.

Lee Child's Jack Reacher thriller Make Me was second on the list for the Masterton, Kapiti, Porirua and Hutt City public libraries combined.

Other frequently reserved items were Anthony Doerr's All the Light We Cannot See, Jeffrey Archer's Mightier than the Sword and Kate Atkinson's A God in Ruins.

Ms Green said she had also noticed an increase in demand for "male-oriented" literature as baby boomers were starting to retire.

Many were looking for westerns and there was high demand for war, adventure and thriller novels.

She said librarians were encouraging those readers to move beyond their usual authors to other writers they might enjoy.

Ms Green said there was still high demand for romance novels.

Demand for paranormal horror books had dropped.

The library was targeting its buying to the areas people were using and had increased its fiction purchases and reduced its non-fiction buying.

Ms Green said the number of issues of physical books had been "extremely consistent" for the past four or five years, which was encouraging.

There was a consistent increase in the use of eBooks and audiobooks at the libraries, but the increase was not as dramatic as it had been previously.