We tallied the numbers, and our annual top ten lists are in. The first four lists below include print checkouts, followed by a separate list showing the most popular e-books and audiobook downloads in our Cloud Library collection. (Note that most of the books listed below are also available as e-books. Browse and search our e-book and audiobook download collection here.) 

The winner in this year's popularity contest was Ann Patchett's The Dutch House, which maintained its momentum from 2019 (when it placed #8) to place number one in print checkouts (by a very large margin) and number three in e-book circulation. Elizabeth Strout's Olive Again also appeared in our 2019 top ten at number nine, climbing to the number three slot this year, while Where the Crawdads Sing hit number two last year and placed number six in 2020.  The Library was closed from March 16 to June 22nd, so no new books were processed (or checked out) for a crucial three months; and many publishers reacted to COVID lockdowns by postponing some of the bigger spring releases until later in the year. These two factors no doubt account for the prominence of 2019 releases on our 2020 lists.

Debut authors made a strong showing in 2019, while the 2020 lists are dominated by perennial Society Library favorites such as Julian Barnes, Elena Ferrante, Elizabeth Strout, John le Carré, Hilary Mantel, and Peter Robinson. The appearances of Henry James, Jane Austen, and Agatha Christie on our e-book and audiobook list takes this to a comforting extreme.  And while only one work of "genre fiction" made its mark in the overall top ten last year, this year's list is a much more mixed group. Three critical (to put it mildly) books about Donald Trump hit our nonfiction top ten, showing that many readers just can't look away. Finally, it was a very strange year in so many ways but some things never change: Donna Leon appears for the fifth consecutive year with a new Brunetti mystery.  

THE TOP 10

1.     The Dutch House by Ann Patchett 

2.     Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout

3.     The Man in the Red Coat by Julian Barnes

4.     Under Occupation by Alan Furst | The Mirror & the Light by Hilary Mantel

5.     The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante (translated from the Italian by Ann Goldstein) | The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

6.     Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

7.     Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson | Hamnet: A Novel of the Plague by Maggie O'Farrell

8.     The Night Fire by Michael Connelly | Many Rivers to Cross: A DCI Banks Novel by Peter Robinson

9.     The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Erik Larson

10.   Agent Running in the Field by John le Carré

NONFICTION

1.     The Man in the Red Coat by Julian Barnes 

2.     The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Erik Larson

3.     Caste: the Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

4.     A Very Stable Genius: Donald J. Trump's Testing of America by Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig

5.     Rage by Bob Woodward

6.     Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory In Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe | The Body: A Guide For Occupants by Bill Bryson

7.     The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom

8.     Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man by Mary L. Trump

9.     Mama's Last Hug: Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us About Ourselves by Frans De Waal | Working: Researching, Interviewing, Writing by Robert A. Caro.

10.     Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy To Protect Predators by Ronan Farrow | Lady In Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown by Anne Glenconner | The Survivors: A Story of War, Inheritance, and Healing by Adam P. Frankel | Uncanny Valley: A Memoir by Anna Wiener | Memorial Drive: A Daughter's Memoir by Natasha Trethewey

LITERARY FICTION

1.     The Dutch House by Ann Patchett 

2.     Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout

3.     The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel

4.     The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante (translated from the Italian by Ann Goldstein) | The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

5.     Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

6.     Nothing To See Here by Kevin Wilson | Hamnet: A Novel of the Plague by Maggie O'Farrell

7.     American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

8.     Trust Exercise by Susan Choi |  A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende (translated from the Spanish by Nick Caistor and Amanda Hopkinson) | Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler

9.    Apeirogon by Colum McCann | Weather by Jenny Offill

10.  Normal People by Sally Rooney | On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

MYSTERIES, SUSPENSE & CRIME NOVELS

1.     Under Occupation by Alan Furst 

2.     The Night Fire by Michael Connelly | Many Rivers to Cross: A DCI Banks Novel by Peter Robinson

3.     Agent Running in the Field by John Le Carré

4.     Snow by John Banville       

5.     Trace Elements by Donna Leon

6.     The Order by Daniel Silva | The Searcher by Tana French

7.     A Divided Loyalty: An Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery by Charles Todd | The Guest List by Lucy Foley

8.     The Accomplice by Joseph Kanon

9.     Bryant & May: The Lonely Hour by Christopher Fowler

10.   The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides | Westwind by Ian Rankin | All the Devils are Here by Louise Penny

MOST POPULAR E-BOOKS & AUDIOBOOK DOWNLOADS 

(all available on this shelf in the Cloud Library)

1.     The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett 

2.     The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson

3.     The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

4.     Writers and Lovers by Lily King | Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler

5.     All Adults Here by Emma Straub

6.     Emma (audiobook) by Jane Austen | Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry | Dirt by Bill Buford

7.     The Man in the Red Coat by Julian Barnes | The Secret Guests by Benjamin Black | Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

8.     The Early Cases of Hercule Poirot (audiobook) by Agatha Christie

9.     A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende | Agent Running in the Field by John le Carré | The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel | The Mirror & the Light by Hilary Mantel | A Good Marriage by Kimberly McCreight | Weather by Jeny Offill | All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny

10.   Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (audiobook) | The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich | Under Occupation by Alan Furst | The Europeans (audiobook) by Henry James | Apeirogon by Colum McCann | Unnatural Death (audiobook) by Dorothy L. Sayers | Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout