Cocaine Bear is a film favourite among prisoners at HMP Grampian, new figures reveal.
A freedom of information request has revealed the books and DVDs most loaned out to inmates at the HMP Grampian library so far this year.
The records show an interesting mix of educational and entertainment material, although films and TV shows featuring superheroes, drugs and extreme violence also feature heavily.
The number one book, loaned out 35 times since the start of April, is the Chambers Dictionary of Science and Technology.
The second most popular film, Black Adam starring The Rock, has been loaned out 21 times and is the first of six superhero movies in the top 10.
Cocaine Bear is a HMP Grampian film favourite
Comedy-thriller movie Cocaine Bear, about a bear that ingests 34kg of cocaine before going on a murderous rampage, is also a huge hit with 18 loans.
The other superhero films in the top 10 are:
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – 16 loans
- Black Widow – 16 loans
- Morbius – 16 loans
- Shazam!: Fury of the Gods – 15 loans
- Thor: Love and Thunder – 14 loans
Crime and prison media features heavily
Films, TV series and books about crime and prison also feature heavily.
Gangs of London – a Sky Atlantic show that is infamous for its extreme violence involving machetes and eye-gouging – has been loaned out 13 times.
Graeme Armstrong’s award-winning novel about North Lanarkshire’s gang culture, The Young Team, was borrowed 13 times as well.
The various season boxsets of Breaking Bad, the story of science teacher-turned-drugs drugs-kingpin Walter White, feature throughout the list.
Prison and police dramas, such as Orange is the New Black, set in a women’s prison in America, Clink, FBI: Most Wanted, Luther and Line of Duty continue the crime theme.
Sons of Anarchy, which tells the story of an outlaw biker gang, is another top pick.
But it isn’t just crime that prisoners are interested in – comedies like Still Game, Peep Show and Dirty Grandpa all feature, as well as the children’s animated film Despicable Me.
Non-fiction books also big hits in HMP Grampian
Various dictionaries and thesauruses were also borrowed multiple times.
A number of instructional books were each borrowed once as well, including, encouragingly, How to Change: The Science of Getting From Where You Are to Where You Want To Be.
Other “how to” books included explainers on chess, making a profit from auctions and how to speak French.
A number of different books about learning to draw also proved popular.
The extensive library, run by Aberdeenshire Council, features a huge array of material, with the full list of items borrowed stretching across 92 pages.
The statistics for the 2022/23 financial year were broadly similar, with the Chambers Dictionary of Science and Technology coming top of the list, with 67 loans over the year.
