Hello readers! This is the third and final installment of our "Top Books of 2019" series. We looked at a variety of collections from youth to adult to see what books were most popular based on the number of times they were checked out. If you haven't read our Kids' and Teens' blogs yet, you should check them out! This week we will be looking at the most popular books in our adult categories: Fiction, Non-fiction, and Graphic Novels. We hope you'll find a new book or series to explore!
Fiction
Where the Crawdads Sing has been all the rage since it’s release in August 2018 (it still has a waiting list!). This is author, Delia Owen’s first novel – she wrote several books of non-fiction detailing her adventures and work as a wildlife scientist. Where the Crawdads Sing takes place on the North Carolina coast and – although we own several copies – the copy with the most checkouts was taken out 25 times in 2019!
Best-selling author, Danielle Steel, has been writing and publishing romance novels since 1978. Although not her latest release, Turning Point, was checked out the most in 2019. The novel follows four San Francisco trauma surgeons who have been chosen to work in a mass-casualty training session with colleagues in Paris. However, an extreme act of mass violence occurs while they’re in Paris and all four are faced with tremendously tough decisions. Just one of our copies of Turning Point was checked out 25 times in 2019.
Who I Am With You is the first book in the Legacy of Faith trilogy by best-selling Christian romance author, Robin Lee Hatcher. The story takes place in the fictional town of Hope Springs, Idaho, where the lives of a man hiding from a political scandal and a woman recovering from the loss of her husband and daughter will be forever changed. This book was released in December 2018 and was checked out 25 times in 2019.
Graphic Novels
I probably shouldn’t have been surprised to see a Calvin & Hobbes collection top the list, but I thought a newer title would win out. It’s good to know that some things never get old. The Indispensable Calvin and Hobbes is a large collection of some of the best Calvin & Hobbes comics and was checked out 17 times in 2019.
Another classic made the list - Garfield! The Garfield comics are so popular that two of the graphic novel/comic collections made our list of most used adult graphic novels in 2019. Garfield: Older & Wider is the 41st collection of Garfield comics published in book format and was published in 2005. It was checked out 16 times in 2019.
Garfield Brings Home the Bacon is the 53rd Garfield book, published in 2012. As Garfield might say, “Grab a fork and eat some pork!” Although everyone knows his favorite food is lasagna. I was surprised that Garfield’s later books weren’t as popular, but hey, it’s Garfield, so I won’t complain. This book was checked out 15 times in 2019.
Non-fiction
I covered Undo It! in my earlier blog on books for Healthy Living. If you didn’t catch that post, you can check it out here. This health book was published in 2019 by Dr. Dean Ornish and his wife, Anne. Its popularity is not surprising since the authors offer solutions to reversing chronic disease and slowing the aging process. What’s the secret? Lifestyle changes, of course! The book outlines Dr. Ornish’s lifestyle change plan to help readers live a healthier life. 27 people checked the book out in 2019, and it’s still a popular read.
Staying Stylish was written by actress Candace Cameron-Bure ( better know as DJ Tanner from Full House). Although published in 2017, it has lasting popularity through 2019, with a total of 23 checkouts throughout the year! Cameron-Bure wrote this book to help women feel good both inside and out – she covers mind, body, and spirit, with beauty tips, fitness routines, and spiritual recommendations.
If you liked Evicted or Nickel & Dimed, you won’t want to miss Maid by Stephanie Land. This memoir recounts Land’s time as a maid in upper-middle-class households and highlights the egregious gap between the middle class and the working poor. Land worked hard to raise herself and her daughter out of poverty while writing about the struggles of overworked and underpaid Americans. Our patrons checked this book out 22 times in 2019.
Did you like this list? Tell us what we should write about next: infolibrary@cityofcaldwell.org.