What Did You Guys Read?
Last week I shared my reads for 2021, so this week I thought you might want to know what the rest of our patrons liked for 2021.
My patrons have great taste! The most checked out adult book was The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah, see, I told you she was good. The most checked out adult book from OverDrive/Libby, Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey, a title I mentioned in my 2020 list, followed closely, by you guessed it, The Four Winds. The Bridgerton Collection was the third most checked out digital title, which, if I would have listed fun TV for 2020, inspired the Netflix series, Bridgerton. I usually want to consider myself “unique” (example: I did not read Where the Crawdads Sing for a long time, because it was just too popular/mainstream), but apparently not, maybe if it is good, it doesn’t matter, it just is.
Our other digital resource, Hoopla, showed some interesting numbers. It seems as if our users prefer the audio and TV content on this app. The number one checkout, Murdoch Ahoy, Murdoch Mysteries, Season 7. Number 2 and 3 I am totally on board with, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and HP and the Goblet of Fire audiobooks, ol’ HP is pretty excellent reading. I am wondering if I need to check out the Murdoch series, 19 checkouts for one episode on Hoopla and 38 checkouts from the various seasons here at the library, seems like a really great kind of “mainstream”. The most checked out DVD from the library was the Brady Bunch, also a great show, loved by a bunch of us. 😉 Oh, one more comment on the Hoopla stats, the number 4 checkout, Kidz Bop 2021, I had to check it out myself, it sounds like a soundtrack for TikTok.
Here are some other stats from our physical collection. Number 1 CD checkout, George Jones: Heartaches and Hangovers, with 20 checkouts it seems the perfect soundtrack for the craziness that 2021 held. There was a three-way tie for most checked out children’s book: Snack Attack! By Terry Border, When Pencil Met Eraser by Karen Kilpatrick, and The Donkey Egg by Janet Stevens. Snack Attack was a Show Me Readers nominee and with a summery like this, “Although warned of the dangers lurking outside their packages, Cookie, Pretzel, and Cheese Doodle venture into the kitchen for fun but soon discover that Monster Kids are real”, I might have to spend some time reading in the children’s area this week. When Pencil Met Eraser and The Donkey Egg are both Show Me nominees for the current year. Seems like the Show Me Reader board has pretty good taste too!
Graphic novels show a strong following, with Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Dog Man, and The Hobbit (graphic novel version) leading the pack on Juvenile and YA checkouts. I love that we have started purchasing this content for all ages.
Non-fiction content just doesn’t get the love that fiction does, except for Greenlights, only 2 other non-fiction items made the list, Awesome Ideas and LEGO Play Book, both of which are LEGO books. I can agree with the dominance of LEGO content, again, we can all agree that LEGO’s are pretty amazing.
Our Activity Kits had excellent check out in 2021. We were so sad when they were pulled during COVID, so high numbers in 2021 shows that our little patron’s agree. The number one kit for 2021, Kitchen Playset with 52 checkouts, followed by Magnetic Tiles (41) and Wacky Factory Gears (34). No kitchen playset for me, although I was all about it as a kid, now I get to do that every day, cook, wash dishes, etc., not near as fun as that metal kitchen set I had back in the day.
Last but not least in more ways than one. I shared my total book reads, so how about the most checkouts by a patron, drumroll please, 925 checkouts from the library (all material included), 391 checkouts from OverDrive (different patron, again all material included(digital)). That patron with 925 checkouts, saved $12700.00, again, 2021 wasn’t all that bad.
Upcoming Events: 1/19 Story Time at 10am. The Young Adult Reading Challenge has started (Adults can participate), swing by the library for more information.