The full lists of 2021 top checkouts can be found at www.nypl.org/topcheckouts2021, https://bklynlib.org/topcheckouts21; or queenslibrary.org.
Adult titles are below:
Brooklyn Public Library
- The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
- The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
- A Promised Land by Barack Obama
- The Guest List by Lucy Foley
- Caste: the Origins of our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
- Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong
- The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
- The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
- The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
- Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
The New York Public Library (which includes the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island)
Systemwide:
- The Vanishing Half: A Novel by Brit Bennett
- Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- Klara and the Sun: A Novel by Kazuo Ishiguro
- A Promised Land by Barack Obama
- Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
- The Guest List: A Novel by Lucy Foley
- Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
- Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb
- The Other Black Girl: A Novel by Zakiya Dalila Harris
- Malibu Rising: A Novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Bronx:
- The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
- The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
- 21st Birthday by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
- A Gambling Man by David Baldacci
- Caste: the Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
- The Russian by James Patterson and James O. Born
- The Affair: A Novel by Danielle Steel
- The Red Book by James Patterson and David Ellis
- Win by Harlan Coben
- Neighbors: A Novel by Danielle Steel
Manhattan:
- The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
- Caste: the Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
- The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
- The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
- Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
- The Guest List: A Novel by Lucy Foley
- Such A Fun Age: A Novel by Kiley Reid
- Anxious People: A Novel by Fredrik Backman translated by Neil Smith
- A Promised Land by Barack Obama
- Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Staten Island:
- The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
- 21st Birthday by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
- Neighbors: A Novel by Danielle Steel
- Legacy by Nora Roberts
- A Gambling Man by David Baldacci
- Deadly Cross by James Patterson
- Eternal by Lisa Scottoline
- The Red Book by James Patterson and David Ellis
- The Russian by James Patterson and James O. Born
- The Affair: A Novel by Danielle Steel
Queens Public Library
- The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
- A Promised Land by Barack Obama
- The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
- The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
- The Guest List: A Novel by Lucy Foley
- The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
- Caste: the Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
- Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
- Anxious People: A Novel by Fredrik Backman translated by Neil Smith
- The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab
“This year’s top checkouts document what NYPL patrons were reading as they began turning the page on a difficult, historic chapter, ” said Anthony W. Marx, president of The New York Public Library. “These are the books that they chose when they returned to their local libraries, to read on their first trip in months, to keep them company as they got back to commuting. 2021 was a significant year, and the books that New Yorkers chose to read to accompany them on their journey through that year are equally significant.”
“The people of Queens were so hard hit by the pandemic and Hurricane Ida, and much like the protagonists and figures featured in many of the books on our list, they persevered,” said Dennis M. Walcott, president and CEO of Queens Public Library. “These books provided hope, humor, and joy at a time of tremendous uncertainty and challenge, and show how much people love great writing, and love a great story.”
“Brooklyn’s most-read books of 2021 reflect a city seeking to better understand its past and write a different future,” said Linda E. Johnson, President and CEO of Brooklyn Public Library. “From Brit Bennet and Isabel Wilkerson to Cathy Park Hong and Kiley Reid, readers across the borough are still reckoning with racism’s long legacy. Along with Matt Haig, Barack Obama, and V. E. Schwab, they’re also reflecting on how we want to be remembered. Thankfully, literature continues to ask complex questions and evade simple answers.”
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