The 10 Most Checked Out Coventry Public Library Books Of 2020

COVENTRY, RI — Out of the thousands of books checked out from Coventry Public Library last year, some titles appeared more often than others. Lauren Walker, the library's assistant director, compiled a list of 2020's most popular titles.

As was the case in many libraries, Coventry saw increased interest in digital materials during the coronavirus pandemic, including e-books, downloadable audiobooks and other online resources.

"Even though the library was closed for several weeks during the stay-at-home order, we never stopped working to bring our patrons the best resources and services that we could provide," Walker said in an email.

Over the course of the year, patrons borrowed 19,865 e-books, 29,101 digital audiobooks and 1,278 downloadable videos.

Since the library has reopened, take-home craft kits for kids, teens and adults have become popular. Patrons can either visit the library or call ahead of curbside pickup of a bag of materials and instructions. Popular kits included seasonal children's crafts such as foam apples or beaded pumpkins or the book page pumpkins kits for adults. The most popular item of the year was reverse tie-dyed face masks for teens.

Other non-book items borrowed included items from the equipment library, such as the telescope.

Fiction titles were the most popular book genre borrowed in 2020. Popular authors included James Patterson, Danielle Steel and Harlan Coben. Along with fiction, political memoirs from big names like Bob Woodward and John Bolton were hot commodities.

"I think in a year with so much inconsistency, patrons wanted to borrow titles they knew they would enjoy by authors with whom they were already familiar," Walker said.

Ten of the most popular titles of 2020 are listed below, in no particular order.

• Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
• The Order by Daniel Silva
• So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
• The Boy from the Woods by Harlan Coben
• 28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand
• The Other Mrs. by Mary Kubica
• The 20th Victim by James Patterson
• The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
• All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny
• Royal by Danielle Steel