Numerous times, I've come across complete strangers in coffee shops who were toting the same book around with them that I was reading. Or perhaps they had one that looked interesting that I had heard a lot about, but never bothered to pick up. We all have our favorite book genres, but have you ever wondered what other people in Western New York are reading?
The Buffalo & Erie County Public Library recently released a list of the most popular items circulated in 2010. All of these titles are available at the 37 different library locations in their system or can be requested online through their system website.
Here's what the list looked like, broken down into categories:
Adult Fiction The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
New Adult Fiction Worst case: a novel by James Patterson
New (21-day) Adult Fiction House rules: a novel by Jodi Picoult
Graphic Novel Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya
Adult Non-Fiction Oprah, a Biography by Kitty Kelley
Adult Trade Paperback Now eat this! : 150 of America's favorite comfort foods, all under 350 calories by Rocco DiSpirito
Children Fiction Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
Children Non-Fiction Wimpy Kid Movie Diary by Jeff Kinney
Children Trade Paperback The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
One title you might recognize is The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I know I heard several people talking about it and I have many friends who powered through it in a few days. "The popularity of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was a little surprising," said Joy Testa Cinquino, manager of the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library. "It is a translation of a work originally published in Swedish. The story is rather dark. The popularity of the book continued to snowball and the book seemed to be everywhere."
While there were some surprises, the genres and popular authors remained similar to previous years. According to Cinquino, mysteries, suspense, romance, action-adventure and fantasy were still the most popular genres. Authors such as James Patterson, Jodi Picoult and Kitty Kelley were familiar names from years before. National bestsellers, of course, are always in demand.
"There was no major change in what people are reading, but there was in how they are reading," Cinquino said. "B&ECPL started offering downloadable eBooks in December of 2009. In December of 2010, 5,571 eBooks were circulated (compared to 713 the previous December)."
The regional Library System has 37 libraries that provide not only books, but also periodicals, DVDs and tapes, and also a collection of downloadable items, such as music and material for e-readers. All of these services are free to those with a library card. For more information, visit www.buffalolib.org or call 716-858-7182.
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The Buffalo & Erie County Public Library recently released a list of the most popular items circulated in 2010. All of these titles are available at the 37 different library locations in their system or can be requested online through their system website.
Here's what the list looked like, broken down into categories:
Adult Fiction The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
New Adult Fiction Worst case: a novel by James Patterson
New (21-day) Adult Fiction House rules: a novel by Jodi Picoult
Graphic Novel Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya
Adult Non-Fiction Oprah, a Biography by Kitty Kelley
Adult Trade Paperback Now eat this! : 150 of America's favorite comfort foods, all under 350 calories by Rocco DiSpirito
Children Fiction Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
Children Non-Fiction Wimpy Kid Movie Diary by Jeff Kinney
Children Trade Paperback The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
One title you might recognize is The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I know I heard several people talking about it and I have many friends who powered through it in a few days. "The popularity of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was a little surprising," said Joy Testa Cinquino, manager of the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library. "It is a translation of a work originally published in Swedish. The story is rather dark. The popularity of the book continued to snowball and the book seemed to be everywhere."
While there were some surprises, the genres and popular authors remained similar to previous years. According to Cinquino, mysteries, suspense, romance, action-adventure and fantasy were still the most popular genres. Authors such as James Patterson, Jodi Picoult and Kitty Kelley were familiar names from years before. National bestsellers, of course, are always in demand.
"There was no major change in what people are reading, but there was in how they are reading," Cinquino said. "B&ECPL started offering downloadable eBooks in December of 2009. In December of 2010, 5,571 eBooks were circulated (compared to 713 the previous December)."
The regional Library System has 37 libraries that provide not only books, but also periodicals, DVDs and tapes, and also a collection of downloadable items, such as music and material for e-readers. All of these services are free to those with a library card. For more information, visit www.buffalolib.org or call 716-858-7182.
it is hard not to read this puff piece in the context of the unwanted media attention that the library is getting for its heavy-handed weeding.
the message seems to be: see, we're giving people what they do want so why are you hassling us about tossing what they don't want?
ok, except that the library fails to make a crucial distinction between what people want and what people need. sure, everybody wants brand-name fiction, that doesn't require a masters degree to predict.
but we usually don't know what we -need- until life smacks us in the face. like getting a cancer diagnoses, a pink slip, custody of your grandkids, a failing grade in school, an unwanted demolition, a new home in america, extensive revision demands from your thesis advisor, or even just an annoying assignment from the boss.
just because no one exactly wants the stuff in the stacks they way they want harry potter doesn't mean that no one will ever need it.