AUTHOR JEFF KINNEY may have to start considering a name change for the titular ‘wimpy kid’ in his popular children’s novel series.

Books from the series dominate the public libraries’ ‘most borrowed’ list for 2012, taking up six places — including all slots in the top five.

Kathryn Stockett’s ‘The Help’ – which was adapted into a movie in 2011 – fills the number six slot, followed by a perennial favourite, The Guinness Book of Records.

The top ten is completed by Francesca Simon’s ‘Horrid Henry and the Bogey Babysitter’ and Irish author Alan Early’s ‘Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent’.

The annual lists are compiled from information supplied from the library system to the Public Lending Remuneration Scheme, which manages payments to authors for the loans of their books.

A total of €221,482.06 was paid out to 4,685 authors in respect of their total loans last year. Nineteen authors received the maximum payment of €1,000.

Top Ten Most Borrowed Titles

1. Jeff Kinney — Diary of a Wimpy Kid
2. Jeff Kinney — Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth
3. Jeff Kinney — Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
4. Jeff Kinney — Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever
5. Jeff Kinney — Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick rules
6. Kathryn Stockett — The Help
7. Guinness World Records — Guinness World Records 2011
8. Jeff Kinney — Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog days
9. Francesca Simon:  illustrated by Tony Ross — Horrid Henry and the bogey babysitter
10. Alan Early — Arthur Quinn and the world serpent

Top Ten Adult Fiction

1. Kathryn Stockett — The Help
2. John Grisham — The Litigators
3. Julian Barnes — The sense of an ending
4. Maeve Binchy — Minding Frankie
5. Jon McGregor — Even the Dogs
6. Stieg Larsson — The Girls with the Dragon Tattoo
7. James Joyce — Dubliners
8. Sebastian Barry — On Canaan’s side
9. Jo Nesbo — Headhunters
10. Lee Child — The Affair

Most Borrowed Fiction by Irish Authors

1. Alan Early — Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent
2. Marita Conlon-McKenna — Under the Hawthorn Tree
3. Maeve Binchy — Minding Frankie
4. Nicola Pierce — Spirit of the Titanic
5. Judi Curtin — Eva’s Journey
6. Judi Curtin — Alice in the middle
7. James Joyce — Dubliners
8. Judi Curtin — Alice  & Megan Forever
9. Sebastian Barry — On Canaan’s Side
10. Judi Curtin — Eva’s Holiday

Most Borrowed Irish Authors

1. Judi Curtin
2. Martin Waddell
3. Maeve Binchy
4. Marita Conlon-McKenna
5. Eoin Colfer
6. Roddy Doyle
7. Sheila O’Flanagan
8. Malachy Doyle
9. Brianog Brady Dawson
10. Derek Landy

Full breakdowns of the most popular books and authors can be found on the PLR website.

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