Library book list shows people in Windsor, Ont., care about Prince Harry too

2023 was a great year for books. But, what were your fellow Windsorites interested to read last year? The Windsor Public Library's list of most popular titles has finally been released.

The library says its annual borrowing stats include ebooks and print books.

Oliver Thompson · CBC News · Posted: Jan 05, 2024 4:00 AM EST | Last Updated: January 5

Many books on display in a library during the day. — A display of books at Windsor Public Library's Central Branch. Photographed Aug. 31, 2023. (Dalson Chen)

A memoir by former Windsor, England, resident Prince Harry tops Windsor Public Library's (WPL) list of its most popular titles of 2023.

The list includes the circulation numbers for ebooks and print books during the whole of last year.

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A book cover featuring a close-up portrait of Prince harry. — Spare was released on Jan. 10, 2023 (Random House Canada)

Harry's Spare is a tell-all memoir ghostwritten by J.R. Moehringer.

Katie Vlanich, public service librarian at the central branch of the WPL, said that the Duke of Sussex's illustrious success amongst Windsorites was not at all surprising.

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"It now holds the Guinness record for the fastest-selling nonfiction book of all time [and] it superseded Barack Obama's A Promised Land," Vlanich said. "I think people have just always been fascinated with the Royal Family and especially Prince Harry, because he's always been an outlier."

Genre fiction

Spare is not the only titillating title that topped the WPL's most popular books for 2023 list.

Crime, mystery and romance novels stood firm in Windsorites reading habits.

A composite of two photos. On the left, a portrait of a smiling woman with gray, chin-length hair, blue glasses and a multi-coloured sleeveless blouse, sitting on a white sofa in front of a bookshelf. On the right, a book cover with the image of an old-fashioned pocket watch. The words "Louise Penny" are at the top in large white font. Below, in a smaller yellow font, is the title: "A World of Curiosities." — Louise Penny's mystery novel, A World of Curiosities, pays homage to the Montreal Massacre. (Raincoast Books)

Book 18 of Louise Penny's Chief Inspector Gamache series named A World of Curiosities placed fourth on the list. The novel pays homage to the tragedy of the 1989 Montreal Massacre.

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"It's not unexpected," Vlanich said. "Mystery novels, crime novels are always very popular. If you look at our list, there's a very strong showing for genre fiction versus what would be considered literary fiction ... The books that are tend to be the award winners."

"The ones that are popular are the ones that people know that they're going to love — it's like going back to an old friend."

Library trends

Vlanich said that library users' habits for certain genres are somewhat unchanging across the entire country. Although, there are some exceptions.

It's like going back to an old friend.- Katie Vlanich

"I actually was talking to a friend of mine who is a librarian up at London Public Library, and we both kind of joked that the driver's handbook isn't on on either of our list," she remarked. "That's a very popular book that people check out."