Library Chat: Popular books and, possibly, the time to read them

By Keith McLean on December 6, 2019.

Although we like to brand the Medicine Hat Public Library as “more than just books,” it’s nice to have occasions to talk about them, and the start of December -which brings a flood of recommendations, and the tantalizing prospect of more spare time to read them – is a perfect opportunity.

The most popular adult titles in the library from 2019 continue to be written by familiar names: J.D. Robb, Danielle Steel and James Patterson, thrice! It’s much the same in children’s books with Dav Pilkey, Ben Clanton, Thea Stilton, and Lemony Snicket. As far as best of the year lists go, we are seeing some common titles – “The Testaments” by Margaret Atwood, of course, “The Starless Sea” by Erin Morgenstern, a follow-up to her tremendously lyrical debut “The Night Circus,” and “The Water Dancer” by Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Despite the tremendous books published this year, my favourite reads this year came from 2018; “Educated” by Tara Westover, a memoir of the academic success of the author despite her tumultuous upbringing with a doomsday prepping father, and “American War” by Omar El Akkad, a story of radicalization and refugees in a future America torn apart by irreconcilable differences over the future of fossil fuels. The former was a selected read for both of our book clubs in 2019 while the latter was the runnerup to “Forgiveness” by Mark Sakamoto on Canada Reads 2018. If you’re interested in starting your own club, the library has you covered with a variety of fiction and non-fiction Book Club Kits, and there is room in our existing clubs. The Good Life: A Political Book Club meets on the third Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. in 2020, and The Medicine for the Soul Book Club will continue to meet on the third Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.

We pride ourselves on staying on top of popular titles, as you’ll see by the books within our collection gracing the “best of” lists, but we do occasionally miss popular ones, and we’re sometimes unaware of hidden gems, so we’re always happy to receive recommendations from the community; if your favourite read from this year is absent from our shelves, or we’re missing something obvious (hopefully not James Patterson’s newest), please fill in our Suggest A Purchase form; you’ll find a link to it at mhpl.biblicommons.com .

Happy readings!

Keith McLean is head of non-fiction services at the Medicine Hat Public Library.