This year, the D.C. Public Library saw the highest number of items circulated with more than seven million items borrowed, streamed or downloaded.
“The ways in which people are reading are changing pretty dramatically,” said Richard Reyes-Gavilan, D.C. Public Library executive director. “So adults are consuming eBooks at a much greater rate than they were just a few years ago. And that signals a lot for us in the library. Kids are still very much enamored with print books.”
According to the D.C. Public Library, in 2023, Washingtonians were most interested in graphic novels and memoirs. Dav Pilkey’s “Dog Man” and “Cat Kid Comic Club” took eight of the top 10 fiction spots. Meanwhile, the top favored memoirs for adults were Prince Harry’s “Spare” and Jennette McCurdy’s “I’m Glad My Mom Died.”
“For our young readers, teens are still enamored with graphic novels,” said Reyes-Gavilan. “As you can see, those ‘Dog Man’ graphic novels are incredibly popular with teens. My own kids love graphic novels, so I love to see them engaging with books, and engaging with the library there. In terms of adults, they certainly love literary fiction, but they also love popular books that might have connections now to adapt to television programs.”
Reyes-Gavilan said eBooks, audiobooks, streaming services and technology skill courses on LinkedIn Learning were popular in 2023.
“None of these courses require somebody to give any money and they provide all the flexibility in the world. So I think people are seeing the benefit of the free public library and their tax dollars being put to good use,” he said.
Check out the full list of the top 2023 reads.
