It’s always interesting to see what Buffalonians are reading from year to year. The most popular books can tell you a lot about a city and its residents. Every year, the Buffalo and Erie County Public Libraries send out a list of the most popular borrowed materials, including eBooks. The results are pulled from the borrowing habits of 350,000 Erie County library cardholders, as well as the Library on Wheels bookmobile.
“It’s always very exciting and interesting at the end of the year to see what Erie County residents are reading,” said Joy Testa Cinquino, Assistant Deputy Director, Development & Communications at The Central Library. “The books run the gamut of popular memoirs to sophisticated novels and mysteries. On a personal note, I have read three of the books and agree they were brilliant! Best of all, you can get them free with a library card.”
Here are a few more observations from Testa Cinquino:
- In Nov 2018, just a year ago, David Baldacci was here at the Library promoting Long Road to Mercy which made the top 3 Adult Fiction – most popular titles. WNY readers love him!
- Becoming by Michelle Obama and the book Educated; A Memoir by Tara Westover were both released in 2018. They are popular, I think among women and book club readers.
- The children’s books always, without fail, include Diary of Wimpy Kid selections. Young readers are attracted to those books because they are fun journey into the life of a middle schooler. Minecraft (which is also popular among computer gamers) books appear on the list each year as well.
Most requested book
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
Adult Fiction – most popular titles
The Reckoning by John Grisham
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Long Road to Mercy by David Baldacci
Adult Non-Fiction – most popular titles
Becoming by Michelle Obama
Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover
Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward
Young Adult/Teen – most popular titles
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Children’s Fiction – most popular titles
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Meltdown by Jeff Kinney
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down by Jeff Kinney
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Getaway by Jeff Kinney
Children’s Non-Fiction – most popular titles
Minecraft: Redstone Handbook by Nick Farwell
National Geographic Kids Almanac 2019
Minecraft Essential Handbook by Stephanie Milton
eBook Fiction – most popular title
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
eBook Non-Fiction – most popular title
Becoming by Michelle Obama
eBook Fiction – most requested title
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
eBook Non-Fiction – most requested title
Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover
People’s Choice – best book (selected through online voting)
Becoming by Michelle Obama
Library Employees’ Choice – best book
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Interested in borrowing any of these titles? In a book club and looking for book ideas? Visitwww.BuffaloLib.org or any Buffalo & Erie County Public Library for details. There are more than 3 million books, periodicals, audio books, CDs, DVDs and more available for borrowing through the library system including downloadable eBooks, music and video. Library card applications can be downloaded 24/7 and taken to any Buffalo & Erie County Public Library for processing. A valid form of identification and proof of address is necessary. eLibrary cards are available online for those 17 and older. Follow the Library on social media – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and on the “All Booked Up” podcast on SoundCloud and iTunes. For more information, call 716-858-8900 or visit www.BuffaloLib.org.