Long Island's most popular library book checkouts of 2024
Hardcovers are ready to be checked out at Hicksville Public Library earlier this month. Credit: Morgan Campbell
Bookworms of Long Island — does your 2024 reading list measure up?
The Nassau Library System and the Suffolk Cooperative Library System released their topmost borrowed books of the year.
"The Women," a novel by Kristin Hannah, took the No. 1 slot for both counties, with a total of 19,650 checkouts in Nassau and 25,018 in Suffolk. Lisa Zuena, Nassau Library System communications and marketing specialist, said she wasn’t surprised to see that it was the most popular novel of the year, as Hannah’s historical fiction books are generally loved by a large audience.
But this year, the number of checkouts for "The Women" surpassed Nassau's No. 1 book of 2023, "Lessons in Chemistry," by Bonnie Garmus, by 5,299 checkouts.
"Seeing that number, I pulled the stats a second time. I was convinced it was wrong," Zuena said. "It was just so high. But no, it's correct."
Published in February, "The Women" is a work of historical fiction that tells the story of Frances "Frankie" McGrath, a young nurse who serves in the United States Army Nurse Corps during the Vietnam War.
It was no surprise that the top 10 books were all novels, said both Zuena and Samantha Alberts, administrator for member services at the Suffolk Cooperative Library System. Aside from Prince Harry's memoir, "Spare," making Nassau’s top 10 last year, fiction is generally the norm, Zuena said.
But both systems also noticed the popularity of a rising genre of romance and fantasy, or "romantasy," especially in e-books.
"Our patrons are engaging with the story, but in different formats," Alberts said.
For example, Rebecca Yarros’ "Fourth Wing," published in 2023, placed on both 2024 lists and ranked higher in e-book checkouts than print.
As of Monday, Alberts said the "romantasy" book had 1,019 print checkouts this year, with 6,306 in e-books and 3,558 in audiobooks. It ranked in the top five of Suffolk's most checked-out books. Its sequel, "Iron Flame," placed eighth in overall books, fifth in e-books and 10th in audiobooks.
Zuena said "Fourth Wing" ranked 56th or had a little more than 1,000 checkouts of its print books for Nassau, but the "romantasy" had over 7,000 checkouts in e-books, boosting it up to seventh place in overall most checked-out books.
"A Court of Thorns and Roses," a novel by Sarah Maas published in 2015, also ranked fifth on Suffolk’s most requested audiobooks.
Other books that made both lists included "The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store" by James McBride, "None of This Is True," by Lisa Jewell and "First Lie Wins," by Ashley Elston.
Alberts said the requests for e-books and audiobooks overall almost match the requests for print books in the library system.
This can be challenging because e-books must be licensed and aren’t as easily accessible as a print book. "Not all books are always available in those different formats," Alberts said. "It’s not because the library won't do it, it’s a lot of times because they can't get those same e-books that you can buy personally."
Zuena said she expects to see a significant number of checkouts for sequels next year, as the third book in the "Fourth Wing" series is set to be published January.
Whichever genre you read, and whether you’re an e-book fan or favor a print book, be sure to request your books soon.
"Definitely get your hold on it," Zuena said.
Bookworms of Long Island — does your 2024 reading list measure up?
The Nassau Library System and the Suffolk Cooperative Library System released their topmost borrowed books of the year.
"The Women," a novel by Kristin Hannah, took the No. 1 slot for both counties, with a total of 19,650 checkouts in Nassau and 25,018 in Suffolk. Lisa Zuena, Nassau Library System communications and marketing specialist, said she wasn’t surprised to see that it was the most popular novel of the year, as Hannah’s historical fiction books are generally loved by a large audience.
But this year, the number of checkouts for "The Women" surpassed Nassau's No. 1 book of 2023, "Lessons in Chemistry," by Bonnie Garmus, by 5,299 checkouts.
"Seeing that number, I pulled the stats a second time. I was convinced it was wrong," Zuena said. "It was just so high. But no, it's correct."
Published in February, "The Women" is a work of historical fiction that tells the story of Frances "Frankie" McGrath, a young nurse who serves in the United States Army Nurse Corps during the Vietnam War.
It was no surprise that the top 10 books were all novels, said both Zuena and Samantha Alberts, administrator for member services at the Suffolk Cooperative Library System. Aside from Prince Harry's memoir, "Spare," making Nassau’s top 10 last year, fiction is generally the norm, Zuena said.
But both systems also noticed the popularity of a rising genre of romance and fantasy, or "romantasy," especially in e-books.
"Our patrons are engaging with the story, but in different formats," Alberts said.
For example, Rebecca Yarros’ "Fourth Wing," published in 2023, placed on both 2024 lists and ranked higher in e-book checkouts than print.
As of Monday, Alberts said the "romantasy" book had 1,019 print checkouts this year, with 6,306 in e-books and 3,558 in audiobooks. It ranked in the top five of Suffolk's most checked-out books. Its sequel, "Iron Flame," placed eighth in overall books, fifth in e-books and 10th in audiobooks.
Zuena said "Fourth Wing" ranked 56th or had a little more than 1,000 checkouts of its print books for Nassau, but the "romantasy" had over 7,000 checkouts in e-books, boosting it up to seventh place in overall most checked-out books.
"A Court of Thorns and Roses," a novel by Sarah Maas published in 2015, also ranked fifth on Suffolk’s most requested audiobooks.
Other books that made both lists included "The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store" by James McBride, "None of This Is True," by Lisa Jewell and "First Lie Wins," by Ashley Elston.
Alberts said the requests for e-books and audiobooks overall almost match the requests for print books in the library system.
This can be challenging because e-books must be licensed and aren’t as easily accessible as a print book. "Not all books are always available in those different formats," Alberts said. "It’s not because the library won't do it, it’s a lot of times because they can't get those same e-books that you can buy personally."
Zuena said she expects to see a significant number of checkouts for sequels next year, as the third book in the "Fourth Wing" series is set to be published January.
Whichever genre you read, and whether you’re an e-book fan or favor a print book, be sure to request your books soon.
"Definitely get your hold on it," Zuena said.
Top 10 Nassau checkouts
1. "The Women," by Kristin Hannah — 19,686
2. "The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store," by James McBride — 10,747
3. "First Lie Wins," by Ashley Elston — 10,177
4. "Funny Story," by Emily Henry — 9,166
5. "None of This is True," by Lisa Jewell — 8,959
6. "Tom Lake," by Ann Patchett — 8,859
7. "Fourth Wing," by Rebecca Yarros — 8,152
8. "Long Island," by Colm Tóibín — 6,963
9. "The Five Star Weekend," by Elin Hilderbrand — 6,638
10. "The Covenant of Water," by Abraham Verghese — 6,295
Top 10 Suffolk checkouts
1. "The Women" — 25,018
2. "First Lie Wins" — 15, 302
3. "None of This is True — 12,045
4. "The Heaven & Earth Grocery" — 11,666
5. "Forth Wing" — 10,883
6. "Tom Lake" — 10,283
7. "Funny Story" — 9,807
8. "Iron Flame" — 9,481
9. "Remarkable Bright Creatures" — 9,206
10. "Lessons in Chemistry" — 8,750
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