What books had people turning pages and turning up the volume this year?

Libraries NI’s borrowing figures show that audiobooks attracted more downloads than physical books in Northern Ireland over the year to September 2026. Thrillers and self-help titles were popular, while the continued success of Harry Potter among young readers highlighted the series’ lasting appeal.

Freida McFadden’s The Housemaid topped both adult fiction audiobooks and physical loans, with more than 3,000 physical loans; eight of her books featured in the audiobook top ten. The movie adaptation helped bring new readers to her work, while Niall Williams’s Time of the Child came just 15 loans behind The Housemaid. Mel Robbins’s The Let Them Theory led non-fiction ebooks with more than 2,000 loans, and all seven Harry Potter books appeared among the top ten audiobooks for younger listeners.