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It’s the end of the year and everyone is releasing their best book lists for 2019. But what are people actually reading? We looked at the books checked out most often at West St. Paul’s own Wentworth Library in 2019.
Top 25 Adult Books for 2019
- Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
- Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover
- Becoming by Michelle Obama
- Neon Prey by John Sandford
- Holy Ghost by John Sandford
- This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
- Desolation Mountain by William Kent Krueger
- Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver
- The Reckoning by John Grisham
- A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult
- Redemption by David Baldacci
- Bloody Genius by John Sandford
- The 18th Abduction by James Patterson
- The Wedding Guest by Jonathan Kellerman
- A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
- The First Lady by James Patterson
- City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert
- Look Alive Twenty-Five by Janet Evanovich
- One Good Deed by David Baldacci
- The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
- Nine Perfect Strangers by LIane Moriarty
- Long Road to Mercy by David Baldacci
- Under Currents by Nora Roberts
- The A List by Judith A. Jance
- Dark Sacred Night by Michael Connelly
What does it take to be #1? 299 check outs.
Top 25 Children’s Books for 2019
- Dog Man: Brawl of the Wild by Dav Pilkey
- Happy Pig Day! by Mo Willems
- We Are in a Book! by Mo Willems
- Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy Part 2: Revenge of the Ridiculous Robo-Boogers by Dav Pilkey
- Big Nate: Goes Bananas by Lincoln Pierce
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Meltdown by Jeff Kinney
- Pigs Make Me Sneeze! by Mo Willems
- I Will Surprise My Friend! by Mo Willems
- Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy Part 1: The Night of the Nasty Nostril Nuggets by Dav Pilkey
- Today I Will Fly! by Mo Willems
- My Friend is Sad by Mo Willems
- Let’s Go for a Drive! by Mo Willems
- Waiting Is Not Easy! by Mo Willems
- A Big Guy Took My Ball! by Mo Willems
- Pete the Cat: Firefighter Pete by James Dean
- Pete the Kitty and the Case of the Hiccups by James Dean
- I Will Take a Nap! by Mo Willems
- The Thank You Book by Mo Willems
- Dog Man by Dav Pilkey
- My New Friend Is So Fun! by Mo Willems
- Fly High, Fly Guy! Tedd Arnold
- I Am Going! by Mo Willems
- I Broke My Trunk! by Mo Willems
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Getaway by Jeff Kinney
- Hooray for Fly Guy by Tedd Arnold
Mo Willems dominates this list with 14 of the 25 spots. It’s also kind of incredible that only six guys make up the entirety of the most-checked out children’s books.
Top 25 Teen Books for 2019
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
- Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
- To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
- Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
- Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
- Yukon Ho!: A Calvin & Hobbes Collection by Bill Watterson
- Bone: Volume 1 by Jeff Smith
- Coraline by Neil Gaiman
- Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
- Check Please: #Hockey! by Ngozi Ukazu
- Matched by Allyson Braithwaite Condie
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
- Invasion! by Walter Dean Myers
- Descendant of the Crane by Joan He
- Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons: A Calvin & Hobbes Collection by Bill Watterson
- Copper Sun by Sharon M. Draper
- The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
- Ms. Marvel Vol. 9: Teenage Wasteland by G. Willow Wilson
- Calvin & Hobbes: Sunday Pages 1985-1995 by Bill Watterson
- Bone: Volume 3 by Jeff Smith
- Amulet: Book 2 by Kazu Kibuishi
- Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat: A Calvin & Hobbes Collection by Bill Watterson
- Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
- The Far Side Gallery 5 by Gary Larson
It does my gen X heart proud to see Calvin & Hobbes on this list four times.
There you have it. Get out to the library and do some more reading in 2019 (or maybe play some video games).
Thanks to the Dakota County Library staff for running the numbers for us.