10 Most Popular Books at Rochester Hills Library in 2011

It’s interesting to think about which other patrons at the have read the same copy of the book you checked out. Someone you know may have read the exact copy of the book days, if not years, before you.

This following list shows which fiction books were checked out the most in 2011.

“It’s an interesting mix. There are a couple of books that appeal mostly to women, some thrillers and a few children’s books,” the library's Adult Services Manager Sheila Konen said.

The 10 most circulated fiction books at the Rochester Hills Public Library in 2011:

1. The Confession by John Grisham
2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
3. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson
4. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
5. Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney
6. Hell’s Corner by David Baldacci
7. Don’t Forget I Love You by Miriam Moss and illustrated by Anna Currey
8. The Red Pyramid (The Kane Chronicles, Book 1) by Rick Riordan
9. Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult
10. Tick Tock by James Patterson

Digital, film boosts interest

Digital versions of books boost their appeal, Konen said.  and the number of downloads to devices such as a Kindle or iPad has steadily increased throughout the year.

“Digital download books have been extremely popular since people got their new gadgets for Christmas. It’s been a constant question every since Monday morning,” Konen said.

Book titles also experience a surge in loans when they hit the New York Times Best Seller list or a big screen version of the book is released, such as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Help.

“There hasn’t been a copy of The Help on the shelf since it hit the New York Times Best Seller list two years ago,” Konen said.

The American version of Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is hot at the box office and the entire trilogy (the third is The Girl Who Played with Fire) sits in the top 20 of the New York Times Best Seller list.

Konen wasn’t surprised when she saw two of Larsson’s books made the list because she hears a lot of library patrons asking about the trilogy. “When people get hooked on the first book usually continue to read the entire series,” she said.

Books for young people

What Konen was surprised about: two preschool and kindergarten-aged books made the list (at numbers 5 and 7, if you couldn’t tell by the titles). Both books are also in the library's “100 Books Every Child Should Experience” section in the youth room, and may have helped increase their popularity.

The Red Pyramid also fits this mold being the first book of The Kane Chronicles.  Riordan is famous for his Percy Jackson pentalogy (series of five books), from which the first movie version was released last year: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.