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Top 5 Books, Vinyl Records San Franciscans Checked Out at Libraries in 2023

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Collage with five book covers side by side.
The top five most circulated books in 2023 at the San Francisco Public Library. (Collage by Lakshmi Sarah)

Earlier this month, the San Francisco Public Library shared a list of the top fiction and nonfiction books read by library patrons this year.

Dysfunctional family memoirs,” said Jaime Wong, deputy director of communications, was one of the themes. “That speaks to people wanting to read about the experience of someone who has trials and tribulations but also demonstrates a strength to overcome.”

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So, what were the top five most-read books across all formats, including fiction and nonfiction?

  1. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow — Zevin, Gabrielle (14083)
  2. Lessons in Chemistry — Garmus, Bonnie (12314)
  3. Spare — Prince Harry (11936)
  4. I’m Glad My Mom Died — McCurdy, Jennette (10195)
  5. Demon Copperhead — Kingsolver, Barbara (9179)

All are bestsellers published in the last couple of years that received national recognition. The top books show that San Franciscans are “tapped into a bigger conversation about books and want to be a part of the cultural discourse,” Wong said.

While the books cover different topics, from the struggle with addiction and poverty in Appalachia to the dysfunction of the British royal family, Wong says they all have “a riveting storyline, and they allow readers to step into the shoes of someone else and experience, just for a moment, another life.”

In addition to books, the library also included the top vinyl albums of the year, according to library circulation. “The love of vinyl is absolutely in line with San Francisco’s legendary music history,” Wong said. The library saw a rise in vinyl checkouts during the pandemic, and in 2022, they increased the collection by more than 50%, adding thousands of albums, including both contemporary and classic music. In fiscal year 2019, Wong said they circulated 7,226 records, and in fiscal year 2023, the circulation increased to 17,076, up 136%.

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Wong, an avid reader and someone who loves being surrounded by books for her job, “It’s like being in a candy store all day,” often recommends Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and This Is Ear Hustle: Unflinching Stories of Everyday Prison Life by Bay Area authors Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods. The book is based on the story of the first podcast created entirely inside a prison. “You will come out of that book with an entirely new understanding of America’s carceral system,” Wong said.

Wong says the library has begun tracking data more closely over the past couple of years and is able to respond to demand from patrons.

“San Franciscans read quality books,” she said. “It’s a city deeply committed to a rich literary heritage.”

Here are the full lists by category, including links to KQED coverage:

Top Print Fiction

  1. When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole
  2. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
  3. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (Featured on KQED Forum)
  4. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (Featured on KQED Forum)
  5. The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
  6. Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng (Featured on NPR)
  7. When We Were Sisters by Fatimah Asghar (Featured on NPR)
  8. Dry by Neal Shusterman
  9. Happy Place by Emily Henry
  10. Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

Top eBooks Fiction

  1. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
  2. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
  3. Happy Place by Emily Henry
  4. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
  5. Verity by Colleen Hoover
  6. Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng
  7. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
  8. The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
  9. It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover
  10. Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Top Print Nonfiction

  1. Spare by Harry
  2. The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times by Michelle Obama
  3. This Is Ear Hustle: Unflinching Stories of Everyday Prison Life by Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods (Featured on KQED Forum)
  4. Solito by Javier Zamora (Featured on KQED Forum)
  5. I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
  6. Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (Featured on KQED Forum)
  7. Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls by T Kira Madden
  8. Stay True by Hua Hsu (Featured on KQED Forum)
  9. Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui (Featured on KQED Forum)
  10. Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond (Featured on KQED Forum)

Top eBook Nonfiction

  1. Spare by Prince Harry
  2. I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
  3. Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb
  4. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
  5. Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
  6. Stay True by Hua Hsu
  7. The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times by Michelle Obama
  8. Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by Peter Attia
  9. How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell (Featured on KQED Forum)
  10. Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents: How to Heal from Distant, Rejecting, or Self-Involved Parents by Lindsay C. Gibson

Top Teen Fiction

  1. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
  2. The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
  3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
  4. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
  5. Heartstopper, Volume 1 by Alice Oseman
  6. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
  7. American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
  8. Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
  9. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
  10. One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

Top Vinyl

  1. Kind of Blue by Miles Davis
  2. The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd
  3. Evermore by Taylor Swift
  4. Abbey Road by The Beatles
  5. An Evening with Silk Sonic by Thundercat
  6. Purple Rain by Prince
  7. Folklore by Taylor Swift
  8. Fine Line by Harry Styles
  9. A Love Supreme by John Coltrane
  10. Thriller 25 by Michael Jackson

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