The end of 2021 is near, and with it comes the chance to reflect back on a year of reading. We've tallied the checkouts and looked through reading trends of the year to present some of the best and most popular titles of the year. Read on to see lists for adult fiction and nonfiction, teens, and children's titles.

Adult Fiction

In February 2021, Washington County Library moved our entire digital collection into the MELSA: Twin Cities Metro eLibrary. This shared collection among all Twin Cities public libraries offers increased access to a wider variety of digital titles than ever before! As a result, we have an exciting and diverse list of top adult fiction checkouts of the year: 

• Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
• The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
• Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam
• Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
• Carnegie's Maid by Marie Benedict
• The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott
• An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
• Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
• The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Dare
• Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal

Adult Nonfiction

Is anyone surprised that a book about living amidst chaos is one of our top nonfiction checkouts of the year? Other popular titles include award winners, books that inspired movies, and local writers on local foods.

• 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos by Jordan B. Peterson
• Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker
• Age Happens: Garfield Hits the Big 4-0 by Jim Davis
• Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder
• The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
• Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don't Know by Malcolm Gladwell
• Three Ordinary Girls: The Remarkable Story of Three Dutch Teenagers Who Became Spies, Saboteurs, Nazi Assassins – and WWII Heroes by Tim Brady
• Practical Houseplant Book by Fran Bailey and Zia Allaway
• The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen by Sean Sherman
• Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World's Largest Owl by Jonathan C. Slaght

Teens

Moving to a shared digital library has also benefitted our teen collections. This year's popular titles are inspired by movies, celebrity book clubs, and titles that have some crossover appeal for adult readers.

• Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley           
• The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
• They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
• A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi
• Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett
• Fireborne by Rosaria Munda
• Lovely War by Julie Berry
• Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig
• You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson
• We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson

 Children's Fiction and Nonfiction

We'd be remiss if we didn't note that our most popular children's books are always those that are part of series like Dog Man and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. To highlight some less well-known titles, we've skipped books for this year's top checkouts list.

• Sled Dog School by Terry Lynn Johnson
• Resistance Jennifer A. Nielsen
• The Magic Day by Calliope Glass
• Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper
• Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess by Shari Green
• Goodbye, Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea
• Mustaches for Maddie by Chad Morris and Shelly Brown
• Amina's Voice by Hena Khan
• Unplugged by Gordon Korman
• The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown

Still looking for your next great read? Browse through our catalog to find a great book, or reach out to a Washington County librarian at your local branch to get their best recommendation for you. Happy reading!