NYPL Top Checkouts of 2018

By Lynn Ann Lobash, Associate Director, Readers Services and Engagement
December 17, 2018

Jennifer Egan’s historical novel set in New York City topped the Library’s annual top checkouts list, which includes books and e-books from the Library’s collections. The New York Public Library—which includes 92 locations in The Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island—has about 20 million checkouts per year. When Egan found out she graciuosly said: 

“The NYPL system was essential to my research, and it’s incredibly gratifying to think that Manhattan Beach gave something back in return. Manhattan Beach grew straight out of my love for New York—my adopted home—and involved years of research into the city's wartime shipbuilding, deep sea diving, and criminal activity. The book takes place in all five boroughs, and I can’t fathom a greater honor than to have had it embraced by New Yorkers at public libraries throughout the city!”  

The list of our top checkouts is always a fascinating look at the diversity of the city, and at what books resonate with the most people. Here is the systemwide top 10 as well as top 10 for each of the boroughs we serve. 

This is an interactive map.

Top 10 Books Systemwide

  1. ​​Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan

  2. Origin: A Novel by Dan Brown

  3. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

  4. Sing, Unburied, Sing: A Novel by Jesmyn Ward

  5. Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House by Michael Wolff

  6. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

  7. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

  8. Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by​ ​J. D. Vance

  9. The Underground Railroad: A Novel by Colson Whitehead

  10. Exit West: A Novel by Mohsin Hamid 

Top 10 Books in the Bronx

  1. Origin: A Novel by Dan Brown

  2. TASC: Test Assessing Secondary Completion: Strategies, Practice, & Review, 2017-2018 by Kaplan

  3. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

  4. The People vs. Alex Cross by James Patterson

  5. Red Alert by Marshall Karp and James Patterson

  6. The 17th Suspect by James Patterson

  7. Haunted by James O. Born and James Patterson

  8. Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan

  9. Count to Ten by ​James Patterson and Ashwin Sanghi

  10. Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House by Michael Wolff

Top 10 Books in Manhattan

  1. Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan

  2. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

  3. Origin: A Novel by Dan Brown

  4. Sing, Unburied, Sing: A Novel by Jesmyn Ward

  5. Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House by Michael Wolff

  6. Exit West: A Novel by Mohsin Hamid 

  7. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

  8. Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by​ ​J. D. Vance

  9. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

  10. The Underground Railroad: A Novel by Colson Whitehead

Top 10 Books in Staten Island

  1. Fifty Fifty by Candice Fox and James Patterson

  2. Origin: A Novel by Dan Brown

  3. The People vs. Alex Cross by James Patterson

  4. Haunted by James O. Born and James Patterson

  5. Past Perfect by Danielle Steel

  6. Fairytale by Danielle Steel

  7. The 17th Suspect by James Patterson

  8. Every Breath You Take by Alafair Burke and Mary Higgins Clark

  9. End Game: Book 5 by David Baldacci 

  10. The Fallen by David Baldacci

--

Have trouble reading standard print? Many of these titles are available in formats for patrons with print disabilities.

Staff picks are chosen by NYPL staff members and are not intended to be comprehensive lists. We'd love to hear your ideas too, so leave a comment and tell us what you’d recommend. And check out our Staff Picks browse tool for more recommendations!