Atlantis Books owner Fraser Newman says Dune has been a popular read in 2021. Photo / Andrew Warner
What do Lee Child, Lucinda Riley, David Baldacci, Nora Roberts and James Patterson all have in common other than being world-class authors?
Their books are some of the most issued from libraries throughout the Bay of Plenty.
And a book about puppies is the region's longest overdue book - more than 11 years overdue.
The tales of a former US military police major proficient in hand-to-hand combat were often the most popular individual books in 2021. That's right - more than 20 editions later, the Jack Reacher series continues to pack a punch. If Child didn't claim the top spot for most issues, his books weren't far off the top.
Atlantis Books owner Fraser Newman says there's no specific recipe when writing a great book.
"Everyone likes things a bit different but for commercial success and wide readership, books need a tight plot, characters with depth, simple but not boring English, and a decent pace that keeps people turning the page."
The Rotorua bookstore's most popular author of 2021 was Lucinda Riley with the Seven Sisters series. Riley died in June but her son Harry Wittaker was completing the last book in the series and it was set for release in 2023, Newman said.
Asked what his all-time favourite book was, Newman said: "It is hard to pick one, but if I had to I'd say Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett is my favourite.
"If I was allowed a second, The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss blew me away and still excites me to think about it."
If anyone was looking to read a book over summer, Newman said there were a few classics everyone should try "at least once".
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald;
• 1984 by Eric Arthur Blair;
• The Secret History by Donna Tartt;
• Catch-22 by Joseph Heller;
• and The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, "to name a few," Newman said.
"And now with the release of Dune in cinemas fans of the film should read Dune by Frank Herbert. They'll need to find a new copy though as used copies have flown off the shelves since the day the movie was released."
However, for Bay of Plenty readers in 2021, it was Child who reigned supreme — most of the time.
The Long Call by Ann Cleaves: Number of issues per copy 13.2 (10 copies);
The Sentinel by Lee Child: Number of issues per copy 13.05 (19 copies);
The Night Fire by Michael Connelly: Number of issues per copy 11.93 (15 copies);
The Darkest Evening by Ann Cleaves: Number of issues per copy 11.25 (12 copies);
Blue Moon by Lee Child: Number of issues per copy 11.12 (25 copies);
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens: Number of issues per copy 10.53 (17 copies);
WeirDo by Anh Do: Number of issues per copy 10.34 (53 copies);
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah: Number of issues per copy 10.33 (12 copies);
Diary of a Whimpy Kid: The Meltdown by Jeff Kinney: Number of issues per copy 10.24 (17 copies);
The Sun Sister: Electra's story by Lucinda Riley: Number of issues per copy 10.23 (13 copies).
The Sentinel by Lee Child: Issued 82 times;
Daylight by David Baldacci: Issued 62 times;
The Pearl Thief by Fiona McIntosh: Issued 56 times;
Blue Moon by Lee Child: Issued 56 times;
The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly: Issued 52 times;
The Coast-to-Coast Murders by James Patterson: Issued 52 times;
A Time for Mercy by John Grisham: Issued 51 times;
The Butterfly Room by Lucinda Riley: Issued 50 times;
The Sun Sister: Electra's story by Lucinda Riley: Issued 50 times;
The Tea Gardens by Fiona McIntosh: Issued 49 times;
Long Road to Mercy by David Baldacci: Issued 49 times.
The Midnight Line by Lee Child: Issued 24 times;
The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly: Issued 23 times;
The Sentinel by Lee Child: Issued 23 times;
Bombshell by Stuart Woods: Issued 22 times;
Fifty Fifty by James Patterson: Issued 22 times;
One Good Deed by David Baldacci: Issued 21 times;
Shakeup by Stuart Woods: Issued 21 times;
Talk of the Town by Rachael Johns: Issued 21 times;
1st Case by James Patterson: Issued 20 times;
Blue Moon by Lee Child: Issued 20 times.
The Awakening by Nora Roberts: Issued 17 times;
Hideaway by Nora Roberts: Issued 13 times;
Prodigal Son by Gregg Hurwitz: Issued 11 times;
The Coast-to-Coast Murders by James Patterson: Issued 11 times;
The Last Reunion by Kayte Nunn: Issued 11 times;
The Cuckoo Child by Katie Flynn: Issued 10 times;
Impossible: My story by Stan Walker: Issued 10 times;
Flying the Nest by Rachael Johns: Issued 10 times;
The Russian by James Patterson: Issued 10 times;
While Paris Slept by Ruth Druart: Issued 10 times.
The Sentinel by Lee Child: Issued 42 times;
The Shadow Sister: Star's story by Lucinda Riley: Issued 30 times;
Night School by Lee Child: Issued 29 times;
The Storm Sister: Ally's story by Lucinda Riley: Issued 28 times;
The Seven Sisters: Maia's story by Lucinda Riley: Issued 26 times;
Daylight by David Baldacci: Issued 26 times;
Superworm by Julia Donaldson: Issued 24 times;
Dog Man by Dav Pilkey: Issued 24 times;
Shelter in Place by Nora Roberts: Issued 24 times;
When it all went to Custard by Danielle Hawkins: Issued 24 times;
The Grinny Granny Donkey by Craig Smith: Issued 24 times;
The Escape by David Baldacci: Issued 24 times.
Issued 42 times in Whakatāne, 82 in Katikati
The Sentinel is the 25th book in Child's Jack Reacher series and was originally published in October 2020. It is the first Jack Reacher book to be co-authored by James Grant and Andrew Grant but published using their respective pen names of Lee Child and Andrew Child.
The book is set in a sleepy no-name town outside of Nashville, Tennessee. Reacher plans to get a coffee and move along but the town has been shut down by a cyber attack and at the centre of it all is an IT guy who knows more than he thinks.
Issued 13.2 times per copy (10 copies) in Tauranga
The Long Call is the first novel in a new series from Ann Cleeves, the creator of Vera and Shetland. It was originally published in August 2019.
In North Devon, where the rivers Taw and Torridge converge and run into the sea, detective Matthew Venn stands outside the church as his father's funeral takes place. The day Venn turned his back on the strict evangelical community, he lost his family too. Now he's back but not only to mourn the death of his father.
Issued 17 times in Ōpōtiki
The Awakening is the first novel in a trilogy by Nora Roberts, an American romance writer. The book was first published in November 2020.
In the realm of Talamh, a teenage warrior called Keegan emerges from a lake holding a sword. It represents both power and the terrifying responsibility to protect the Fey. In another realm known as Philadelphia, a young woman has just discovered she possesses a treasure of her own.
Issued 24 times in Rotorua
The Midnight Line is another Jack Reacher novel and is the 22nd in the series. It was originally published in November 2017.
It starts with Reacher having a bad day. He sees a West Point class ring in a pawn shop window. Why would the person give it up, he thought? Reacher was a West Pointer too and he knows what that person went through to get it. All he wants to do is to find them but he'll have to go through bikers, cops, crooks and low-life muscle to get there.
Three of the Bay of Plenty's longest overdue books were all children's books and were all issued out of Katikati Library and Service Centre.
The longest overdue book, All about your Puppy, was last checked out on April 6, 2010, and was due back a whopping 11 years and five months ago when the LGOIMA was returned.
Love is Hell and The Hollow were both issued on May 17 and were more than 11 years overdue.
Next were three books issued in Whakatāne: This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti was due on October 1, 2010. How to Raise the Perfect Dog by Cesar Millan and Fantasy! Cartooning by Ben Caldwell were both due on October 7, 2010.
In Ōpōtiki, Holding back the Stars by Katie Khan and The Crystal Guide: Identification, purpose, powers and values by Patti Polk were both due back more than a year ago. A council spokesperson said they joined the "swelling ranks" of other libraries to no longer fine people for overdue books.
Tauranga City Council and Rotorua Lakes Council did not have the information on hand about overdue library books.
The library information was provided by the Tauranga City Council, Rotorua Lakes Council, Western Bay of Plenty District Council, Ōpōtiki District Council and Whakatāne District Council following Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA) requests by the Bay of Plenty Times/Rotorua Daily Post.
A disregard for authority could be why those attending court are thumbing their noses.