Yesterday marked one full year of Greater Victoria Public Library’s (GVPL) decision to do away with overdue-book fees to incentivize people to use the library’s services—and it appears to be working. Since launching the fine-free initiative, 22K people have signed up for library cards, according to the GVPL.  

Reading, both physical and digital literature, remains a popular pastime for Victoria residents. Digital borrowing from the library increased by 20% last year, with e-books, audiobooks, and online resources, such as Libby, Hoopla, or NYTimes.com, seeing record usage. In total, patrons borrowed 2.5M digital titles. 

Still, there’s nothing like sticking your nose in an actual book—Victorians borrowed a whopping 3.5M physical titles last year. 

The GVPL released its 2024 Most Borrowed Books List which compiles the most popular titles in all formats—print, ebooks, audiobooks, and large print—borrowed from all 12 branches and online. 

Of those borrowed, there are some resounding favourites among the city’s bookworms.

Adults gravitated toward historical fiction, with popular titles carried over from last year’s list thanks to word of mouth, according to the library. Celebrity memoirs were still popular for Adult Non-fiction this year—they dominated 2023’s list—but it was psychology and self-help books that topped the list. 

Teens continued to be influenced by BookTok—a community for book recommendations on TikTok—and fantasy novels reigned supreme for the young adult category. Kids continued to enjoy comic books and graphic novels the most.

See which books made the top 10 for adults, teens, and kids below.

Adult Fiction

• The Women by Kristin Hannah
• The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
• Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
• The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
• Funny Story by Emily Henry
• Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
• None of This is True by Lisa Jewell
• Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
• Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
• The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny

Adult Non-Fiction

• The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt
• Atomic Habits by James Clear
• The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
• Outlive by Peter Attia
• Fire Weather by John Vaillant
• The Myth of Normal by Gabor Maté
• The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
• I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
• Doppelganger by Naomi Klein
• How to Know a Person by David Brooks

Teens

• A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
• Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
• Powerless by Lauren Roberts
• Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
• A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
• Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
• Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
• Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

Kids

• No Brainer by Jeff Kinney
• Diper Överlöde by Jeff Kinney
• Stacey’s Mistake by Ellen T. Crenshaw and Ann M. Martin
• Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea by Dav Pilkey
• Claudia and the Bad Joke by Arley Nopra and Ann M. Martin
• Influencers by Dav Pilkey
• Big Shot by Jeff Kinney
• Move It or Lose It! by Lincoln Peirce
• Karen’s Haircut by Katy Farina‍
• Winter Turning by Tui Sutherland