Borrowing picked up last year as we were able to increase our hours while taking appropriate safety precautions. One thing remains certain: Our borrowers know what they love! Below are some of your most-loved loans of 2021.
Up first is Most Borrowed Novel: “The Midnight Library” by Matt Haig. This reader favorite was even the featured read at our December Check ‘Em Out Books discussion group.
Bethlehem’s Most Borrowed DVD of 2021? “Minari,” which follows a Korean American family who move to an Arkansas farm in search of the American dream. What will we watch in 2022?
In non-fiction, this title rose to the top in 2021: “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson. It was also the most-borrowed non-fiction e-audiobook. “Caste” takes a deep dive into the caste systems throughout civilization, including those in the United States that institutionalize the divisions within our society.
Readers stayed immersed in the world of the Hunger Games with the prequel “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” by Suzanne Collins, which was the most-borrowed YA title of 2021.
“MarioKart 8” for the Nintendo Switch was once again the most-borrowed videogame title in 2021, but last year we also added some PS5 titles like “Jurassic World: Evolution 2” and “Subnautica: Below Zero” that are sure to give Mario a run for his money in the future.
Dog Man author Dav Pilkey continues to rule the roost when it comes to Most Borrowed Children’s Book. In 2021, it was the 10th in the series, “Mothering Heights.”
Last year, more people started venturing out and about, but many were still looking at activities that would keep them socially distanced and outside. That might be why The Empire Pass to New York State Parks was our most borrowed museum pass in 2021.
For the third straight year (pre- and mid-pandemic), laptop computers and WiFi hotspots were the most borrowed items in our Library of Things collection, reflecting the need in our community for digital access. The collection isn’t all about being practical, though, it also includes board games, trail cameras, digital projectors and much more.
In e-books, “The Four Winds” by Kristin Hannah – topped the most-borrowed list in 2021 for fiction. This bestseller is an epic novel of love and heroism and hope, set against backdrop of the Great Depression.
“Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed” by Lori Gottlieb takes the reader behind the scenes of a therapist’s world and came in first for most-borrowed non-fiction e-books of 2021.
The suspenseful thriller “Five Total Strangers” by Natalie D. Richards was the most-borrowed digital YA title of 2021.
Our digital magazine collection grew in 2021, but it was the gossipy distraction of US Weekly that propelled it to the top of the Most Borrowed list for 2021.
Downloadable audiobooks have quickly replaced CDs as the preferred way to listen to books. In the top spot for most-borrowed fiction titles for 2021 is the great American detective story “Promised Land” by Robert B. Parker.
To check out one of these most-borrowed titles for yourself, visit www.bethlehempubliclibrary.org and search the catalog or click on the eContent button on the homepage to download digital content.
— Kristen Roberts
