At the Library: What did we read this year?
This is the time of year when lists abound — the top movies, the most notable books, the best new chefs, the hottest restaurants, and on it goes. In this spirit, it is fun to see what 100 books were “most requested” at the Shelter Island Public Library in 2011. What were we all reading? So let’s take a look back at the books we read and the genres we gravitated to as this year draws to a close.
Not surprisingly, the most requested books closely mirrored the national best-seller lists. The most popular authors were Michael Connelly, David Baldacci and Suzanne Collins, each of which had three books in the top 100 slots. James Patterson, the top selling author in the country, had two slots.
But the single most popular title, checked out some 35 times over the course of the year, was “In the Garden of Beasts” by Erik Larsen, the story of the first American ambassador to the Third Reich and a real page turner if there ever was one. James Patterson’s “Tick Tock” was next in line, having circulated 29 times. The “Hunger Games” trilogy by Suzanne Collins, a young adult series that had “crossover” appeal to older readers and is soon to be a movie, was the only young adult book to make the top 100.
As a community, our reading tastes veered sharply towards mysteries and thrillers, which accounted for 42 of the most popular titles. Despite this, among the 25 most circulated items were works of fiction such as “Maine” by Courtney Smith, “The Tiger’s Wife” by Tea Obreht (a “notable” book of 2011 on the list of both the Economist and the New York Times) and Geraldine Brooks’ new novel, “Caleb’s Crossing.”
Only a handful of non-fiction titles were in high demand this year, the most popular being “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand, followed by “Bossy Pants” by Tina Fey. When it comes to non-fiction, we like our memoirs, with books by Judi Dench (“And Furthermore”), Annie Proulx (“Bird Cloud”) and Andre Dubus III (“Townie”) being very popular. (The overall presence of non-fiction in this list, may be underrepresented, however, as that collection was being packed for storage beginning in October.)
You can view the entire list on the library’s Facebook page. This analysis takes into account only those books that circulated in the Shelter Island collection, so titles that were requested through the county’s inter-library loan program are not included. Neither are digital downloads, which increased exponentially this year, especially after the Kindle became part of the program — and that will be the subject of a future column.
Who knows what the new year will bring in terms of new authors, new reading adventures and new favorites? Booksellers report that holiday sales are surpassing expectations, with titles such as Stephen King’s “11/22/63,” “The Angel Esmeralda” by Dom DeLillo and “Killing Lincoln” by media pundits Bill O’Reilly and Chris Matthews are flying off the shelves — all of which are now available at the library. There is no doubt that e-readers will continue to grow in importance, and the library has already made plans to significantly increase its e-resources collection next year.
Just remember, over the next few months as the lower level renovation takes place, the staff will be happy to order any books you may want through the inter-library loan program or you can request the items yourself through the library’s website readshelterisland.org.
Happy holidays and here’s to a New Year of joyful reading. See you at the library!
NEW FICTION
“The Drop,” Michael Connelly*
“Explosive Eighteen,” Janet Evanovich*
“Kill Alex Cross,” James Patterson*
“V is for Vengeance,” Sue Grafton*
“11/22/63,” Stephen King* (also in large print)
“The Next Always,” Nora Roberts* (also in large print)
“The House of Silk,” Anthony Horowitz
“The Angel Esmeralda,” Dom DeLillo
“The Christmas Wedding,” James Patterson and Richard DiLallo*
“The Corn Maiden and Other Nightmares,” Joyce Carol Oates
“Hotel Vendome,” Danielle Steel
“The Snow Angel,” Glenn Beck*
“Prince of Ravenscar,” Catherine Coulter
“The Printmaker’s Daughter,” Katherine Govier
“Out of Oz,” Gregory Maguire
“Dead Man’s Grip,” Peter James
“The Night Eternal,” Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan
“The Sisters,” Nancy Jensen
NEW NON-FICTION
“Blue Nights,” Joan Didion
“Catherine the Great,” Robert K. Massie*
“The End of Normal,” Stephanie Madoff Mack
“Eva Braun,” Damion Searls
“Gabby,” Gabrielle Giffords and Mark Kelly*
“Hedy’s Folly,” Richard Rhodes
“Howard Cosell,” Mark Ribowsky
“Jack Kennedy,” Chris Matthews*
“Pauline Kael,” Brian Kellow
“Then Again,” Diane Keaton*
“Tolstoy,” Rosamund Bartlett
“Shockaholic,” Carrie Fisher
“Back to Work,” Bill Clinton*
“Killing Lincoln,” Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard*
“Midnight Rising,” Tony Horwitz
“Pacific Crucible,” Ian W. Toll
“Thinking Fast and Slow,” Daniel Kahneman*
“The Time of Our Lives,” Tom Brokaw
“Spontaneous Happiness,” Andrew Weil
*New York Times best seller
