Arts

Most Borrowed Books

Q.
What were the most borrowed library books in 2020?

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A.

Open or closed, the Vancouver Public Library was busy during Pandemic 2020. CBC News reports that digital book borrowing went up 50% over the year. Which were the most borrowed books?

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Adult Fiction

Print books

  1. The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
  2. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
  3. Dutch House by Ann Patchett
  4. Better Man by Louise Penny
  5. Big Sky by Kate Atkinson

E-books

  1. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
  2. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
  3. Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
  4. The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
  5. The Old Success by Martha Grimes

Audiobooks

  1. Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
  2. 1984 by George Orwell
  3. Crazy Rich Asians (Book 1) by Kevin Kwan
  4. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
  5. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

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Jan Davidsz de Heem. Still Life With Books. 1628

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Adult Non-Fiction

Print

  1. Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know by Malcolm Gladwell
  2. Becoming by Michelle Obama
  3. Educated by Tara Westover
  4. The Body: A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson
  5. Three Women by Lisa Taddeo

E-books

  1. Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla F. Saad
  2. Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don’t Know by Malcolm Gladwell
  3. Becoming by Michelle Obama
  4. White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin J. DiAngelo
  5. Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover

Audiobooks

  1. So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
  2. Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla F. Saad
  3. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson
  4. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plantsby Robin Wall Kimmerer
  5. Becoming by Michelle Obama

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Evert Collier. Vanitas Still Life with a Candlestick, Musical Instruments, Dutch Books, a Writing Set, an Astrological and a Terrestial Globe and an Hourglass, All on a Draped Table. 1662

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Young Adult Fiction

Print

  1. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
  2. The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
  3. One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus
  4. The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black
  5. The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman

E-books

  1. Funny, You Don’t Look Autistic: A Comedian’s Guide to Life on the Spectrum by Michael McCreary
  2. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
  3. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes: The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins
  4. The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
  5. Reverie by Ryan La Sala

Audiobooks

  1. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
  2. The Hunger Games (Book 1) by Suzanne Collins
  3. Funny, You Don’t Look Autistic: A Comedian’s Guide to Life on the Spectrum by Michael McCreary
  4. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
  5. Children of Blood and Bone (Book 1) by Tomi Adeyemi

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Vincent Van Gogh. Piles of French Novels. 1887

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Juvenile

Print

  1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Meltdown by Jeff Kinney
  2. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Wrecking Ball by Jeff Kinney
  3. Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid: Rowley Jefferson’s journal by Jeff Kinney
  4. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Getaway by Jeff Kinney
  5. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School by Jeff Kinney

E-books

  1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
  2. I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen
  3. Wonder by R.J. Palacio
  4. Big Nate From the Top by Lincoln Peirce
  5. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Wrecking Ball by Jeff Kinney

Audiobooks

  1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
  2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
  3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
  4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
  5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

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Walter Firle. The Fairy Tale. 1900

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And how was book borrowing in other markets?

New York Public Library

NYPL 2020 Top Ten Borrowed Books

  1. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
  2. White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
  3. The Glass Hotel: A Novel by Emily St. John Mandel
  4. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
  5. The Dutch House: A Novel by Ann Patchett
  6. The Nickel Boys: A Novel by Colson Whitehead
  7. Educated by Tara Westover
  8. Becoming by Michelle Obama
  9. Normal People: A Novel by Sally Rooney
  10. Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb

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Henri Matisse. Still Life with Books and Candle. 1890

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NYPL 2020 Top Borrowed Titles by Genre

  • Children: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
  • Teens: American Royals by Katharine McGee
  • Classics: 1984 by George Orwell
  • Comics and Graphic Novels: The Handmaid’s Tale (Graphic novel) by Margaret Atwood
  • Sci-Fi/Fantasy: The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
  • Horror: If it Bleeds by Stephen King
  • Mystery and Detective: The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
  • Romance: The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
  • Spanish Language: Tierra Americana (American Dirt) by Jeanine Cummins

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Kerry James Marshall. SOB, SOB. 2003

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www.justcurious.ca

Header: Jacob Lawrence. The Library. 1960

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