These Are The Queens Public Library's Top Checkouts Of 2020

QUEENS, NY — The Queens Public Library has released its list of this year's top checkouts.

In 2020, bookworms in Queens turned to everything from John Grisham and James Patterson thrillers to Michelle Obama's bestselling memoir as they sought a literary escape from the coronavirus pandemic.

The top titles were primarily borrowed digitally, as libraries closed for several months due to the pandemic. Select branches reopened for to-go services starting in July.

“Our list suggests that readers in Queens, the epicenter of the pandemic when it first came to New York City, needed comfort and escape during one of the bleakest periods our communities have ever experienced,” Dennis M. Walcott, president of the Queens Public Library, said in a statement. “People turned to popular titles and authors to keep them connected to the familiar while struggling with so many unknowns.”

Here are the Queens Public Library's top checkouts in 2020:

1. "The Guardians" by John Grisham
2. "Moral Compass" by Danielle Steel
3. "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
4. "Lost" by James Patterson and James O. Born
5. "Where the Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens
6. "A Minute to Midnight" by David Baldacci
7. "Educated" by Tara Westover
8. "Criss Cross" by James Patterson
9. "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
10. "The Silent Patient" by Alex Michaelides