It’s time to look at some of our most popular checkouts of the year so far. The books that emerged as our most popular titles of 2019 continue to lead checkouts for the beginning of 2020, but one kids series was particularly dominant this month. Read on to find out which one!

Adult Fiction

The top book on our adult fiction list, Where the Crawdads Sing, has been a popular title at the library since it came out in 2018. It’s also been the top book on the New York Times bestseller list for fiction for 30 weeks. And it was our second most checked-out book in all of 2019... nothing seems to be stopping this one!

1. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (99 checkouts)
2. This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger (91 checkouts)
3. Blue Moon by Lee Child (89 checkouts)
4. Neon Prey by John Sandford (76 checkouts)
5. The 19th Christmas by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (72 checkouts)

Adult Nonfiction

Our top adult nonfiction titles have also spent a fair amount of time atop the New York Times bestsellers list last year – 14 weeks for Becoming and 12 weeks for Educated. 

1. Educated by Tara Westover (63 checkouts)
2. Becoming by Michelle Obama (47 checkouts)
3. Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis (46 checkouts)
4. The World Book Encyclopedia (39 checkouts)
5. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi (29 checkouts)

Teen Fiction

The teen fiction list is dominated by older titles, too, with several that have recent movies or sequels. Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give, a 2017 title that was made into a movie in 2018, was also our top teen fiction title across all of 2019. 

1. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (49 checkouts)
2. One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus (42 checkouts)
3. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han (40 checkouts)
4. The Maze Runner by James Dashner (32 checkouts)
5. Scythe by Neal Shusterman (31 checkouts)

Juvenile Fiction

Kids titles in a series are usually at the top of any popular checkouts list we run, but the dominance of Diary of a Wimpy Kid to begin the year is a bit unprecedented. You need to drop all the way to the ninth book on the list before you get to a book outside this series... Dork Diaries #14: Tales From a Not-so-Best Friend Forever by Rachel Renée Russell. 

1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Getaway by Jeff Kinney (90 checkouts)
2. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel by Jeff Kinney (73 checkouts)
3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Wrecking Ball by Jeff Kinney (70 checkouts)
4. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul by Jeff Kinney (68 checkouts)
5. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney (68 checkouts)

Juvenile Nonfiction

And finally, we get to the kids nonfiction, a mix of activity books and books of outrageous facts. Are the kids of Washington County getting ready for a trivia contest? 

1. LEGO Star Wars: A Visual Dictionary by Simon Beecro (37 checkouts)
2. Minnesota by Ann Heinrichs (32 checkouts)
3. Weird But True 10! 350 Outrageous Facts by the National Geographic Society (29 checkouts)
4. Unofficial Minecraft Lab for Kids by John Miller (29 checkouts)
5. Battle Royale: 5 Books in 1! by Jerry Pallotta and Rob Bolster (29 checkouts)

Still looking for your next great read? Browse through our catalog to find a great book, or reach out to a Washington County librarian at your local branch to get their best recommendation for you. Happy reading!