In the immortal words of Arthur the aardvark, having fun isn’t hard when you’ve got a library card.
There’s no beating around the bush: I love the Enoch Pratt Free Library. I’m an active cardholder and frequent user of Libby, the app that connects to my library card and allows me to read e-books.
And according to the latest data from the library, at least 127,000 people agree with me: That’s about how many active cardholders the Pratt reported for its fiscal year 2024, from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024.
During that time, the Enoch Pratt Free Library saw more than 8,000 materials checked out on an average day and 1.192 million visits, according to the system’s annual report.
That’s interesting, but I also wanted to know which books were the most popular at the Pratt. Check out the list below, and tell me: How many have you read? What book, whether on this list or not, was your favorite in the last year? Fill out the form below or email me at cody.boteler@thebaltimorebanner.com.
The Enoch Pratt Free Library was able to tell me which books were the most popular, but unable to pull data on how many times each one had been circulated.
Most popular adult nonfiction books
“Between the World and Me,” Ta-Nehisi Coates
Coates was born in Baltimore and wrote about his life here in an earlier memoir. “Between the World and Me” is a book that grapples with difficult questions about race in America, written as a letter to his son.
“The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” Rebecca Skloot
It’s probably fair to say this is the book that made Henrietta Lacks, whose cancer cells scientists discovered could replicate outside a human body, a household name. “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” tells the story of Henrietta and her cells, from the segregated wards of the Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s to laboratories filled with her “immortal” cells.
“The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration,” Isabel Wilkerson
Wilkerson’s 2010 Pulitzer Prize-winning book chronicles the Great Migration, a movement of some six million Black Americans from the South to other parts of the country between 1915 and 1970. The book combines intense research with more than 1,000 interviews and focuses on the lives of three people who migrated from the South.
“Not in My Neighborhood: How Bigotry Shaped a Great American City,” Antero Pietila
A book about Baltimore written by a Baltimorean that looks at how housing discrimination against Black people and Jewish people “shaped the cities in which we live.” It looks at Baltimore’s early suburbanization, white flight following WWII and the early days of the 21st century.
“Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI,” David Grann
Perhaps buoyed in popularity by the movie, “Killers of the Flower Moon” investigates a series of murders among the Osage people in Oklahoma in the 1920s after oil was discovered beneath their land. The FBI was newly formed at the time, and this book describes the agency’s work in the investigation.
Most popular adult fiction books
“Lessons in Chemistry,” Bonnie Garmus
This debut novel from Garmus tells the story of a chemist who becomes a beloved cooking show host. It was adapted into an Apple TV+ miniseries that premiered in October 2023.
“Yellowface,” R.F. Kuang
A satirical look at the publishing industry, “Yellowface” tells the story of an unsuccessful young white author who takes the mostly finished manuscript from her Asian colleague — just after witnessing her death — and passes it off as her own work.
“The Housemaid,” Freida McFadden
“The Housemaid” is a psychological thriller that promises a “jaw-dropping twist.” It tells the story of a young woman who takes a job as housekeeper for a wealthy family. Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried are set to star in a film adaptation.
“Demon Copperhead,” Barbara Kingsolver
Kingsolver’s latest novel made her the co-recipient of the Pulitzer Prize in 2023. The author said she was inspired by “David Copperfield,” and “Demon Copperhead” explores similar ideas around poverty — but set in Appalachia and with more contemporary issues.
“Hello Beautiful,” Ann Napolitano
This novel, which earned a spot in Oprah’s Book Club, is a drama about an Irish Catholic family in Chicago and tells the story of their 25-year split. The New York Times called it “Little Women” but with basketball.
The five most popular e-books read via Libby were all novels, according to the data from the Pratt. They were, in order: “Fourth Wing,” Rebecca Yarros; “The Women,” Kristin Hannah; “Happy Place,” Emily Henry; “Iron Flame,” Rebecca Yarros; and “Lessons in Chemistry,” Bonnie Garmus.
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