I Know What You Read Last Summer
Do your reading habits change with the season? Many people do. The number of books borrowed from the library ebbs and flows depending on the time of year. We also notice that the types of books people borrow are affected by various factors, including the season, trends, and global events.
Summer reading is often characterized as the season of “beach reads”—books you can flip through without much focus. Burlington’s summer reading taste was right on track this year, with top choices reflecting a desire for page-turning thrills, reliable plot lines, and some familiar characters.
Topping our list of most-borrowed adult books was the Big Library Read eBook club featured novel presented by OverDrive/Libby.
The idea behind OverDrive’s eBook clubs is to get a wide community of book lovers to share a great reading experience through their local library—and the numbers show it works! A few times each year, members of libraries with an OverDrive/Libby digital collection enjoy limitless borrowing of a selected title for a period. Along with no waitlist, readers may also join a book discussion on social media. Group reads are a fantastic way for local book clubs to access titles and discussion guides their members can use. Check out OverDrive’s current Canada-wide group read, Together We Read, from now until September 13—Hotline by Dimitri Nasrallah.
BPL’s Most Borrowed Books
Have you checked out the top choices in July and August? Readers borrowed each title at least 150 times, with the top title checked out a whopping 501 times!
A Very Typical Family by Sierra Godfrey
In her debut novel about messy families, forgiveness, and second chances, author Sierra Godfrey delivers a heartfelt, darkly humourous story with endearing characters and a dash of romance.
When inheriting a historic family home depends on three estranged siblings reuniting to claim it—together—what could possibly go wrong? As it happens, quite a lot. Natalie Walker is the reason her brother and sister went to prison years ago. Ten years after that fateful event, she finds herself driving cross-country to settle their inheritance, only to discover her brother is missing. Meeting up with her sister, Natalie unpacks the guilt she’s held onto for so many years, wondering how—or if—she can salvage a relationship with her siblings after all this time.
Spare by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex
We know the main characters, but do we know the real story? With its raw, unflinching honesty, Spare is Prince Harry’s story behind the headlines—in his own words—revealing the past that shaped the man he is today. A Royal celebrity who has lived a tabloid-riddled lifetime under intense public scrutiny, it’s hard not to applaud his efforts to say his peace.
Borrow Spare
Happy Place by Emily Henry
After years of being in love, how hard can it be for a former "perfect couple" to fake it for their friends during the group's decade-long annual summer getaway week at the cottage? With the cottage sold, that’ll be their last time there together, and Harriet and Wyn don't want to disappoint their friends. Determined to play their parts, they hatch a flawless plan (if you look at it from a great distance and through a pair of sunscreen-smeared sunglasses). While it’s a perfect beach read, reach for this contemporary rom-com any time!
Borrow Happy Place
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
As an underemployed journalist with a career going nowhere, no one is more surprised than Monique Grant when 79-year-old Evelyn Hugo, a former A-list Hollywood legend, hires her to write her coveted biography. With exclusive access to Hugo’s untold story, Monique embarks on a celebrity tell-all odyssey, capturing Evelyn’s climb up the rungs of the entertainment industry ladder, one husband at a time—uncovering her past, revealing her darkest secrets, and discovering what truly lies at the heart of Evelyn’s love life. If you’re a fan of celebrity memoirs or glamourous 1950s Hollywood, give this fictional novel a read.
A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny
Bestselling Canadian mystery writer Louise Penny does it again! A World of Curiosities is book number 18 in her immensely popular Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series. In this book, the past resurfaces for Gamache and fellow Sûreté du Québec investigator Jean-Guy Beauvoir, with the unexpected reappearance of siblings whose mother was tragically murdered years before. Shortly after, the discovery of an alarming 150-year-old letter points to a bricked-up room that, when unsealed, reveals puzzles within puzzles and hidden warnings of mayhem and revenge—and releases an old enemy into their midst. Is there a connection?
Borrow A World of Curiosities
Fall Into A Good Book
With summer coming to a close, we’ve got our sights set on cozy fall reads. What’s on your list for the cooler months? Craving an enthralling horror story? Or maybe a spicy fall romance? Check out these fiction titles recommended by CBC Books that will warm you up like a cup of hot apple cider.
