Earlier this year, the New York Times set off a frenzy among book lovers in the city when they published a list of the most popular books ever checked out from the New York Public Library.
Which made us wonder: What are readers here in Atlanta checking out the most from the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System?
Thanks to data from the library system, now we know. Although the local data wasn’t available for all time, here is a deep dive into what’s been most popular at the library in the last couple years, split up by adult, young adult and children’s books.
Overwhelmingly, readers checked out “Where the Crawdads Sing” more than anything else in the last two years. In 2019, it was checked out 836 times at from Fulton County Library System, which is almost twice as many times as 2018’s most popular library book.
The novel by Delia Owens was on the New York Times best seller list for 67 weeks. Being top sellers is a trait many of the popular library books share.
“Our patrons are definitely getting their reading suggestions from the New York Times best sellers list. All of the titles on these lists have at one time or another spent time on one best seller list or another,” Fulton County Library Executive Director, Gayle Hunter Holloman, said via email. “Our patrons do their homework and know what books they want to read when they come out. Oftentimes, we’ll have a full list of holds before the book has even hit the shelves.”
Owens’ novel is set here in the South. And it’s not the only Southern-inspired read to earn a spot on the top titles list.
Atlanta readers were also likely to check out “An American Marriage” by Atlanta author Tayari Jones, which was the fourth most popular adult book checked out in both 2019 and 2018.
“We always do our best to include regional authors in our collection. When we have a popular Southern writer that we can highlight in our branches, our patrons love it,” Holloman said.
Among young adult readers, anime, manga and graphic novels rule the day. In the last two years, “Naruto,” a Japnese manga series, by Masashi Kishimoto has been the most likely young adult read to fly off the library shelves.
While recent releases are more popular in the world of grown ups, kids (or those who read to them, anyway) still opt for the timeless classics. Of the 20-most-checked-out children’s books in 2019, 12 were penned by Dr. Seuss.
“Dr. Seuss will always top our most checked out books because he’s a classic,” Holloman said.
Jeff Kinney’s “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series also had a strong showing among youngsters.
Without futher ado, check out what books Atlantans are checking out.
Most checked out titles in 2019 and how many times they were checked out in the year:
Adult
1. "Where the Crawdads Sing" by Delia Ownes
Number of times checked out: 836
2. "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Number of times checked out: 545
3. "Educated: A Memoir" by Tara Westover
Number of times checked out: 498
4. "An American Marriage" by Tayari Jones
Number of times checked out: 460
5. "The Reckoning" by John Grisham
Number of times checked out: 448
6. "Nine Perfect Strangers" by Liane Moriarty
Number of times checked out: 441
7. "Past Tense" by Lee Child
Number of times checked out: 429
8. "The Great Alone" by Kristin Hannah
Number of times checked out: 367
9. "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
Number of times checked out: 353
10. "The Silent Patient" by Alex Michaelides
Number of times checked out: 344
11. "The Wedding Guest: An Alex Delaware Novel" by Jonathan Kellerman
Number of times checked out: 310
12. "The Woman in the Window" by A. J. Finn
Number of times checked out: 289
13. "Long Road to Mercy" by David Baldacci
Number of times checked out: 287
14. "Liar Liar" by James Patterson
Number of times checked out: 285
15. "A Gentleman in Moscow" by Amor Towles
Number of times checked out: 271
16. "Winter in Paradise" by Elin Hilderbrand
Number of times checked out: 261
17. "Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine" by Gail Honeyman
Number of times checked out: 260
17. "The Tattooist of Auschwitz" by Heather Morris
Number of times checked out: 260
19. "Redemption" by David Baldacci
Number of times checked out: 253
20. "The President Is Missing" by Bill Clinton
Number of times checked out: 241
Credit: ALYSSA POINTER/ALYSSA.POINTER@AJ
Credit: ALYSSA POINTER/ALYSSA.POINTER@AJ
Young adult
1. "Naruto" by Masashi Kishimoto
Number of times checked out: 445
2. "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
Number of times checked out: 387
3. "My Hero Academia" by Kohei Horikoshi
Number of times checked out: 265
4. "One Piece" (2003) by Eiichiro Oda
Number of times checked out: 177
5. "Ms. Marvel" by G. Willow Wilson
Number of times checked out: 127
6. "Bleach" by Tite Kubo
Number of times checked out: 112
7. "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
Number of times checked out: 105
8. "One Piece" (1997) by Eiichiro Oda
Number of times checked out: 102
9. "Maximum Ride" by NaRae Lee
Number of times checked out: 101
10. "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
Number of times checked out: 97
11. "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner
Number of times checked out: 96
12. "Avengers" by Jonathan Hickman
Number of times checked out: 95
13. "Children of Blood and Bone" by Tomi Adeyemi
Number of times checked out: 94
14. "Dear Martin" by Nic Stone
Number of times checked out: 93
15. "One Punch Man" by ONE
Number of times checked out: 90
16. "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee
Number of times checked out: 89
17. "The Sun is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon
Number of times checked out: 85
18. "The Poet X" by Elizabeth Acevedo
Number of times checked out: 83
19. "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
Number of times checked out: 81
20. "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
Number of times checked out: 80
Children’s
1. "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" by Dr. Seuss
Number of times checked out: 477
2. "Fox in Socks" by Dr. Seuss
Number of times checked out: 460
3. "Hop on Pop" by Dr. Seuss
Number of times checked out: 422
4. "I Can Read with My Eyes Shut!" by Dr. Seuss
Number of times checked out: 408
5. "Pokémon Adventures" (2013) by Hidenori Kusaka
Number of times checked out: 394
6. "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss
Number of times checked out: 389
7. "Pokémon Adventures" (2009) by Hidenori Kusaka
Number of times checked out: 365
8. "Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!" by Dr. Seuss
Number of times checked out: 355
9. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth" by Jeff Kinney
Number of times checked out: 354
10. "I Am Not Going to Get Up Today!" by Dr. Seuss
Number of times checked out: 346
11. "There's a Wocket in My Pocket!"by Dr. Seuss
Number of times checked out: 343
12. "Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?" by Dr. Seuss
Number of times checked out: 340
13. "The Foot Book" by Dr. Seuss
Number of times checked out: 333
14. "Rocket The Brave!" by Tad Hills
Number of times checked out: 326
15. "Oh Say Can You Say?" by Dr. Seuss
Number of times checked out: 321
16. "Waiting Is Not Easy!" by Mo Willems
Number of times checked out: 312
17."Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Meltdown" by Jeff Kinney
Number of times checked out: 289
17. "The Cat in the Hat Comes Back" by Dr. Seuss
Number of times checked out: 289
19. "I Lost My Tooth!"by Mo Willems
Number of times checked out: 287
20. "Brawl of the Wild"by Dav Pilkey
Number of times checked out: 285
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Most checked out titles in 2018 and how many times they were checked out in the year:
Adult
1. "The Woman in the Window" by A. J. Finn
Number of times checked out: 444
2. "A Gentleman in Moscow" by Amor Towles
Number of times checked out: 365
3. "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
Number of times checked out: 325
4. "An American Marriage" by Tayari Jones
Number of times checked out: 318
5. "Before We Were Yours" by Lisa Wingate
Number of times checked out: 272
6. "The Great Alone" by Kristin Hannah
Number of times checked out: 251
7. "Educated: A Memoir" by Tara Westover
Number of times checked out: 245
8. "I've Got My Eyes on You" by Mary Higgins Clark
Number of times checked out: 238
9. "Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine" by Gail Honeyman
Number of times checked out: 232
10. "Red Alert" by James Patterson
Number of times checked out: 230
11."All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
Number of times checked out: 221
12. "The Fallen" by David Baldacci
Number of times checked out: 215
13. "Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI" by David Grann
Number of times checked out: 210
14. "Fifty Fifty" by Candice Fox and James Patterson
Number of times checked out: 208
15. "Unbound" by Stuart Woods
Number of times checked out: 197
16. "Shoot First (Think Later)" by Stuart Woods
Number of times checked out: 193
17. "Born a Crime" by Trevor Noah
Number of times checked out: 192
18. "Night Moves" by Jonathan Kellerman
Number of times checked out: 185
19. "Surprise Me" by Sophie Kinsella
Number of times checked out: 184
20. "The Death of Mrs. Westaway" by Ruth Ware
Number of times checked out: 183
Young adult
1. "Naruto" by Masashi Kishimoto
Number of times checked out: 296
2. "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
Number of times checked out: 255
3."One Piece" (2003) by Eiichiro Oda
Number of times checked out: 146
4. "Ms. Marvel" by G. Willow Wilson
Number of times checked out: 132
5. "My Hero Academia" by Kohei Horikoshi
Number of times checked out: 114
6. "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner
Number of times checked out: 111
7. "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
Number of times checked out: 107
8. "Everything, Everything" by Nicola Yoon
Number of times checked out: 101
9."To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee
Number of times checked out: 98
10."Dear Martin" by Nic Stone
Number of times checked out: 97
10. "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak
Number of times checked out: 97
12. "Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You" by Karuho Shiina
Number of times checked out: 95
13. "Children of Blood and Bone" by Tomi Adeyemi
Number of times checked out: 89
14. "Turtles All the Way Down" by John Green
Number of times checked out: 88
14. “The Devil Is a Part-Timer!” by Satoshi Wagahara
Number of times checked out: 88
16. "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli
Number of times checked out: 87
17. "Tokyo Ghoul" by Sui Ishida
Number of times checked out: 86
18. "Eleanor & Park" by Rainbow Rowell
Number of times checked out: 85
19. "All-new X-Men" by Brian Michael Bendis
Number of times checked out: 84
20. "Long Way Down" by Jason Reynolds
Number of times checked out: 83
Credit: Courtesy of Rachel Daniels/Atlan
Credit: Courtesy of Rachel Daniels/Atlan
Children’s
1. "Pokémon Adventures" (2013) by Hidenori Kusaka
Number of times checked out: 524
2. "Pokémon Adventures" (2009) by Hidenori Kusaka
Number of times checked out: 471
3. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth" by Jeff Kinney
Number of times checked out: 407
4. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School" by Jeff Kinney
Number of times checked out: 390
5. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down" by Jeff Kinney
Number of times checked out: 372
6. "Bad Babysitter" by Jennifer L. Holm
Number of times checked out: 357
7. "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" by Dr. Seuss
Number of times checked out: 348
8. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Hard Luck" by Jeff Kinney
Number of times checked out: 344
8. "I Really Like Slop!" by Mo Willems
Number of times checked out: 344
10. "Waiting Is Not Easy!" by Mo Willems
Number of times checked out: 330
11."Hop on Pop" by Dr. Seuss
Number of times checked out: 327
12. "LEGO Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu" by Greg Farshtey
Number of times checked out: 326
12. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days" by Jeff Kinney
Number of times checked out: 326
14. "The Long Haul" by Jeff Kinney
Number of times checked out: 307
15. "Pete the Cat and the Lost Tooth" by James Dean
Number of times checked out: 305
15. "Dog Man Unleashed" by Dav Pilkey
Number of times checked out: 305
17. "Fox in Socks" by Dr. Seuss
Number of times checked out: 303
18. "Cleopatra in Space" by Mike Maihack
Number of times checked out: 286
19. "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw" by Jeff Kinney
Number of times checked out: 285
20. "Pete the Cat's Train Trip" by James Dean
Number of times checked out: 284
