best books 2019

These were the most popular books at the Toronto Library this year

The Toronto Public Library shared a list of its most popular books this year, allowing a glimpse into the reading habits of Torontonians.

The number one book on the list for 2019 is Becoming by Michelle Obama, and following in second place is Washington Black by Esi Edugyan. 

To find the most popular adult print books this year, the Toronto Public Library calculated the number of times a book was borrowed and added the number of people on hold as of November 28.

Here are the most popular books according to the TPL:

1. Becoming by Michelle Obama
2. Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
3. Educated by Tara Westover 
4. Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny
5. The Reckoning by John Grisham
6. The Testaments by Margaret Atwood 
7. Women Talking by Miriam Toews
8. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens 
9. Dark Sacred Night by Michael Connelly
10. Normal People by Sally Rooney 

The list proves that it was an excellent year for female writers, as out of the top ten most popular books, eight of them were written by women, and two by men.

When it came to genres, literary fiction was the most popular kind of fiction. Unlike last year, where thrillers and politics dominated the list. According to the TPL this year is all about personal stories driven by character and voice. 

But while the likeness for literary fiction is on the rise, Torontonians are still showing a huge interest in American Politics. 

Last year, one of the  top-circulating books was the explosively popular Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, by Michael Wolff. This year, it was former First Lady Michelle Obama's memoir, Becoming.

Lead photo by

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