Brooklyn Author's Novel Is Most Checked-Out Title
Brooklyn Author's Novel Is Most Checked-Out Title
When it comes time to curl up with a good book, New Yorkers apparently go for a hometown favorite.
Jennifer Egan’s “Manhattan Beach,” the Brooklyn novelist’s historical tale set in her home borough, was the most checked-out adult title throughout New York City’s libraries during the past year, according to data provided by all three of the branch systems (New York Public Library, Brooklyn Public Library and Queens Library).
Beyond the hometown factor, Ms. Egan had plenty in her favor to spur demand, including the fact the novel was already chosen by city residents as their pick for the 2018 “One Book, One New York” program. Scribner, the novel’s publisher, also supplied 1,500 free copies to city libraries to ensure that New Yorkers had plenty of opportunity to read the book.
Ms. Egan, who has received such honors as the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award for her 2010 novel “A Visit from the Goon Squad,” said it was nevertheless meaningful to learn about her status among New York library users.
“Especially for this book because I was so dependent on the library for my research,” she said in an interview.
The top-10 lists do vary greatly from branch system to branch system. Indeed, no author other than Ms. Egan landed on all three lists.
The list for the New York Public Library, whose system encompasses branches in Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island, was arguably the most eclectic. It blended works of literary fiction along with such nonfiction titles as Michael Wolff’s “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House” and J.D. Vance’s memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy.”
By contrast, perennially popular authors of romance novels and thrillers, such as Danielle Steele, John Grisham, James Patterson and David Baldacci, figured heavily into the Brooklyn and Queens lists.
The Queens Library’s list also included a test-prep book, Kaplan Publishing’s “TASC Strategies, Practice & Review,” which is geared for a high-school equivalency exam.
“It’s always popular,” Queens Library Technical Services Director Hong Yao said of the title.
In almost every case, however, the library lists are quite different than the best-seller ones. NPD Group, a market research firm, notes that the year’s top-selling book in print, both in the New York market and nationally, is Michelle Obama’s “Becoming,” which was released in November.
But at libraries, the title hasn’t been out long enough to generate significant borrowing, though library officials said the demand is certainly there. Sheila Schofer, the Brooklyn Public Library’s director of neighborhood services, added that she “absolutely expected” the title would show up on the top-10 checked-out list in 2019.
New York Public Library: Top Checkouts of 2018
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
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