The Public Libraries of Suffolk County and the Suffolk Cooperative Library System recently revealed the top 10 most borrowed items of 2024, reflecting the diverse range of materials offered across all 56 public libraries.
“The top 10 books are a combination of print and digital reading. Readers in Suffolk are engaged with the stories in different formats, which can be challenging for our public libraries. However, with the support of our local communities, the public libraries in Suffolk are meeting the challenge,” said Kevin Verbesey, Director of the Suffolk Cooperative Library System.
In 2024, Suffolk County Libraries experienced more growth in digital checkouts, surpassing the figures from the previous year by a margin of over 231,000 checkouts. This growth culminated in a year-end total of 3.8 million digital checkouts and 3.6 million print checkouts, resulting in a combined total of over 7.4 million.
If there was one novel that dominated 2024, it was The Women by Kristin Hannah (author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds). The book debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times fiction bestseller list last February, and is still hanging out at No. 4 more than 50 weeks later. The story follows twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath who in 1965 follows her brother to serve during the Vietnam War in the Army Nurse Corps. However the real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.
The top 10 checkouts at Suffolk County Libraries in 2024 were:
1. The Women by Kristin Hannah (25,018 checkouts)
2. First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston (15,302 checkouts)
3. None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell (12, 045 checkouts)
4. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride (11,666 checkouts)
5. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (910,883 checkouts)
6. Tom Lake by Ann Patchett (10,283 checkouts)
7. Funny Story by Emily Henry (9,807 checkouts)
8. Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros (9,481 checkouts)
9. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (9,206 checkouts)
10. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (8,758 checkouts)
Did your favorite book make the list?
This article originally appeared in TBR News Media’s Prime Times supplement on Jan. 30, 2025.
