It was the year of the celebrity memoir, according to the Greater Victoria Public Library’s most-borrowed list, with Prince Harry’s memoir Spare topping the 2023 list.
It’s unusual for a non-fiction book to emerge as the most popular book across all genres, said Rachel Rogers, the library’s collections and technical services coordinator, but its popularity wasn’t surprising given that Spare generated “so much buzz” and media attention before its January release.
“I think people were excited to get a glimpse into the life of a royal figure navigating challenges and responsibilities,” she said.
Released in January, the book details the Duke of Sussex’s childhood and adolescence, delving into the profound effect of his mother’s death. The deeply personal memoir included an inside look at his relationship with his brother, Prince William, and his father, King Charles III, and his marriage to Meghan Markle.
The memoir, which was praised by some for its openness and criticized by others for including too many intimate details, became the fastest selling non-fiction book of all time on the first day of its release in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., according to the Guinness World Records.
The popularity of memoirs appears to be driven by audio books, especially when narrated by the author, as in the case of Spare, Rogers said.
“It’s that feeling of connection that they’re telling their story right to you,” Rogers said.
Other celebrity memoirs on the top-borrowed list include The Woman in Me by Britney Spears, Michelle Obama’s The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times and Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry, who died unexpectedly in October.
Many of the non-fiction books focused on health, trauma and healing, Rogers said. After years living through the pandemic, people appear to be seeking wisdom to help themselves through uncertain times, she said.
Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results by James Clear, which came in third on the non-fiction list this year, has been on the library’s most popular list since 2020.
It was exciting to see Vancouver Island author Susan Juby appear sixth on the adult fiction list with her mystery novel Mindful of Murder set on a fictional island off the coast of Vancouver Island, Rogers said.
Television and movie adaptations influenced readers, putting titles like Lessons in Chemistry, A Court of Thorns and Roses and The Summer I Turned Pretty on adult and teen fiction lists. Literature communities on social media, such as BookTok on TikTok and Bookstagram on Instagram, also continue to drive readership of certain books, she said. The popularity of Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros — fourth on the adult fiction list — was largely fuelled by BookTok.
“It’s that power of word of mouth that has found a new platform,” Rogers said.
The library’s most popular list includes titles in all formats, including print, ebooks and audio books, borrowed from its 12 branches and www.gvpl.ca.
