The Girl on the Train most borrowed library book

Psychological thriller, The Girl on the Train, has steamed into the number one spot as the most borrowed book in UK libraries during 2015/16.
The success of Paula Hawkins The Girl on the Train saw it adapted into a film starring Emily BluntThe success of Paula Hawkins The Girl on the Train saw it adapted into a film starring Emily Blunt
The success of Paula Hawkins The Girl on the Train saw it adapted into a film starring Emily Blunt

First published in 2015, The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins quickly rose to the top of the bestseller list and was adapted into a film starring Emily Blunt in 2016 and now the latest data released today by Public Lending Right (PLR) proves the novel was one of the most read books in the last two years.

Hawkins credits library visits for success

Commenting on her delight at the book’s success in libraries Paula said: “As a voracious reader possessed of a fevered imagination, my childhood visits to the library were a thrill.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I credit those weekly trips with making me the reader - and the writer - I became, so I could not be more delighted to discover that The Girl on the Train was the most borrowed book from UK libraries last year,” Paul said.

Harper Lee makes a comeback

Second and third place on the list up on the list was awarded to Lee Child for his thrillers Personal and Make Me. Jeff Kinney’s young adults novel Diary of a Wimpy Kid claimed three spots in the most borrowed books list (fourth, fifth and eighth place) and legendary author Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman which features many of the characters from the acclaimed To Kill a Mockingbird landed in seventh place.

PLR figures today also reveal that James Patterson was the most borrowed author for the 10th year running. His books clocked up over two million loans from UK public libraries during 2015-16. Over the 10 years he has been in the top spot his books have been borrowed over 20 million times.