These Are NYC's Favorite Books By Borough

NEW YORK CITY — Michelle Obama's memoir "Becoming" was New York City's favorite book this year, except for in Staten Island where they prefer Jodi Picoult.

The New York Public Library released its list of the Top 10 books checked out from outposts in The Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island (Brooklyn and Queens have independent systems) in 2019.

Women writers shone this year, with the former first lady, memoirist Tara Westover and novelist Celeste Ng leading the pack of nine female authors who claimed the top 10 spots citywide.

Top 10 Books Systemwide

1. Becoming by Michelle Obama
2. Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover
3. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
4. A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult
5. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
6. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
7. Circe by Madeline Miller
8. Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
9. Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou
10. Milkman by Anna Burns

Once Bronx readers had flipped through "Becoming" and read Westover's "Educated: A Memoir," they reached for some old favorites. Namely, James Patterson.

Top 10 Books in the Bronx

1. Becoming by Michelle Obama
2. Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover
3. Ambush by James Patterson and James O. Born
4. The Chef by James Patterson
5. A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult
6. Liar Liar by James Patterson and Candice Fox
7. The 18th Abduction by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro
8. Long Road to Mercy by David Baldacci
9. Target: Alex Cross by James Patterson
10. The House Next Door by James Patterson, Tim Arnold, Max DiLallo, and Susan DiLallo

Manhattanites kept their reading international, favoring Irish author Anna Burns and "Milkman," Korean novelist Min Jin Lee's "Pachinko," and Australian writer Liane Moriarty's "Nine Perfect Strangers."

Top 10 Books in Manhattan

1. Becoming by Michelle Obama
2. Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover
3. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
4. Circe by Madeline Miller
5. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
6. Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou
7. Milkman by Anna Burns
8. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
9. Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
10. An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

But Staten Island demanded Picoult, James Patterson, John Grisham, Danielle Steel and more James Patterson.

Top 10 Books in Staten Island

1. A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult
2. Ambush by James Patterson and James O. Born
3. The Reckoning by John Grisham
4. Target: Alex Cross by James Patterson
5. Liar Liar by James Patterson and Candice Fox
6. The Chef by James Patterson
7. Turning Point by Danielle Steel
8. The House Next Door by James Patterson, Tim Arnold, Max DiLallo, and Susan DiLallo
9. Unsolved, Book 2 by James Patterson and David Ellis
10. Juror No. 3 by James Patterson and Nancy Allen

For those who want to know what book their local library preferred, check out the complete map courtesy of the New York Public Library.