Dragons and Excel Tips: DC Public Library’s Lists Show What's Hot in 2024

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Dragons, Excel tutorials, and daily art practices captured DC readers' interests in 2024, with Rebecca Yarros's "Fourth Wing" appearing as a top choice across multiple formats while professional development and creative courses drew learners to the library's digital platforms.

These diverse interests emerge from the DC Public Library's 2024 circulation data, which shows how customers engaged with content across books, magazines, streaming media, and online learning platforms, resulting in more than 5.5 million checkouts and renewals.

"The numbers highlight the vibrancy and imagination of our community," said Richard Reyes-Gavilan, executive director of DC Public Library. "Each checkout is a step toward discovery, a chance to explore new ideas, or a moment to connect with something meaningful. We're proud to be a resource for exploration and inspiration, and we look forward to seeing how our community continues to learn and grow in 2025."

• Dragons and Romance Lead 2024 Fiction Reads: Fiction drew readers across formats in 2024. Literary works like "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow" and "The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store" led print circulation, while digital readers sought recent releases like "Yellowface" and "Fourth Wing." In youth collections, Dav Pilkey's Dog Man and Cat Kid Comic Club series dominated print borrowing.
• Memoirs and History Resonate with Non-Fiction Readers: Adult nonfiction also saw strong engagement in 2024, with memoirs, historical accounts, and mental health topics leading the charge. Print readers gravitated toward “Crying in H Mart” by Michelle Zauner and David Grann’s “The Wager” and “Killers of the Flower Moon,” while digital listeners propelled “I’m Glad My Mom Died” by Jennette McCurdy to the top of e-audiobook list. Books like Erik Larson’s “The Demon of Unrest,” Matthew Desmond’s “Poverty, by America,” and Bessel Van der Kolk’s “The Body Keeps the Score” added depth to the nonfiction lineup. In youth collections, Nathan Hale’s historical graphic novels dominated the nonfiction lists.
• Current Affairs and Science Dominate Magazine Downloads: Magazine readers gravitated toward news and intellectual content, with The Economist, The New Yorker, and New Scientist leading digital magazine circulation. The New York Review of Books and The Guardian Weekly rounded out the top choices.
• Tech Skills Meet Daily Art Practice in Top Courses: The Library's online learning platforms showed varied interests through their top 10 lists. LinkedIn Learning's most-accessed courses included technology topics like "Rust Tips and Tricks" and "Excel Essential Training," while Creativebug's top courses featured multiple daily art practice programs, including drawing and watercolor workshops.
• Half a Million Songs Streamed, Beyoncé Leads Downloads: Library customers streamed more than 500,000 songs in 2024. They also downloaded songs for offline listening. Beyoncé, Hozier, and Bob Dylan were the top downloaded artists.

The books, movies, and videos on these lists can be borrowed through the Library's catalog or the Libby app.

1. "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow" by Gabrielle Zevin
2. "The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store" by James McBride  
3. "The Bee Sting" by Paul Murray
4. "The Women" by Kristin Hannah
5. "Yellowface" by R.F. Kuang
6. "Funny Story" by Emily Henry
7. "North Woods" by Daniel Mason
8. "Tom Lake" by Ann Patchett
9. "Fourth Wing" by Rebecca Yarros
10. "Lessons in Chemistry" by Bonnie Garmus

1. "Crying in H Mart" by Michelle Zauner
2. "The Wager" by David Grann
3. "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
4. "The Demon of Unrest" by Erik Larson
5. "I'm Glad My Mom Died" by Jennette McCurdy
6. "The Body Keeps the Score" by Bessel Van der Kolk
7. "The Anxious Generation" by Jonathan Haidt
8. "The Art Thief" by Michael Finkel
9. "Poverty, by America" by Matthew Desmond
10. "Caste" by Isabel Wilkerson

1. "Cat Kid Comic Club: Perspectives" by Dav Pilkey
2. "Dog Man: Mothering Heights" by Dav Pilkey
3. "Dog Man: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea" by Dav Pilkey
4. "Cat Kid Comic Club: Collaborations" by Dav Pilkey
5. "Cat Kid Comic Club: On Purpose" by Dav Pilkey
6. "Dog Man: Fetch-22" by Dav Pilkey
7. "Dog Man: Grime and Punishment" by Dav Pilkey
8. "No Brainer" by Jeff Kinney
9. "Cat Kid Comic Club" by Dav Pilkey
10. "Dog Man: The Scarlet Shedder" by Dav Pilkey

1. "Blades of Freedom" by Nathan Hale
2. "Raid of No Return" by Nathan Hale
3. "Cold War Correspondent" by Nathan Hale
4. "Lafayette!: A Revolutionary War Tale" by Nathan Hale
5. "Whales: Diving into the Unknown" by Casey Zakroff
6. "Who is Taylor Swift?" by Kirsten Anderson
7. "Blue Whale vs. Mosquito" by Jerry Pallotta
8. "Above the Trenches" by Nathan Hale
9. "Monster Trucks" by Amy McDonald
10. "Electricity: Energy in Action" by Andy Hirsch

1. "My Brilliant Friend" by Elena Ferrante
2. "Fourth Wing" by Rebecca Yarros
3. "You Shouldn't Have Come Here" by Jeneva Rose
4. "The Paris Apartment" by Lucy Foley
5. "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen
6. "Iron Flame" by Rebecca Yarros
7. "Pucking Around" by Emily Rath
8. "The Guest List" by Lucy Foley
9. "The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle" by Stuart Turton
10. "Assistant to the Villain" by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

1. "I'm Glad My Mom Died" by Jennette McCurdy
2. "101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think" by Brianna Wiest
3. "Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents" by Lindsay C. Gibson
4. "The Woman in Me" by Britney Spears
5. "Educated" by Tara Westover
6. "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
7. "Braiding Sweetgrass" by Robin Wall Kimmerer
8. "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck" by Mark Manson
9. "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl
10. "Finding Me" by Viola Davis

1. "Demon Copperhead" by Barbara Kingsolver
2. "Yellowface" by R.F. Kuang
3. "Fourth Wing" by Rebecca Yarros
4. "Don't Believe It" by Charlie Donlea
5. "The Goldfinch" by Donna Tartt
6. "Remarkably Bright Creatures" by Shelby Van Pelt
7. "The Covenant of Water" by Abraham Verghese
8. "Tom Lake" by Ann Patchett
9. "Happy Place" by Emily Henry
10. "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow" by Gabrielle Zevin

1. "Educated" by Tara Westover
2. "Maybe You Should Talk to Someone" by Lori Gottlieb
3. "I'm Glad My Mom Died" by Jennette McCurdy
4. "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
5. "Born a Crime" by Trevor Noah
6. "The Woman in Me" by Britney Spears
7. "Going Infinite" by Michael Lewis
8. "Crying in H Mart" by Michelle Zauner
9. "The Wager" by David Grann
10. "When Breath Becomes Air" by Paul Kalanithi

1. "A Court of Thorns and Roses" by Sarah J. Maas
2. "A Wrinkle In Time" by Madeleine L'Engle
3. "The Summer I Turned Pretty" by Jenny Han
4. "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" by Suzanne Collins
5. "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
6. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling
7. "Divine Rivals" by Rebecca Ross
8. "Firekeeper's Daughter" by Angeline Boulley
9. "Children of Blood and Bone" by Tomi Adeyemi
10. "If He Had Been with Me" by Laura Nowlin

1. "A Court of Thorns and Roses" by Sarah J. Maas
2. "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" by Suzanne Collins
3. "Divine Rivals" by Rebecca Ross
4. "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
5. "The Summer I Turned Pretty" by Jenny Han
6. "Check & Mate" by Ali Hazelwood
7.  "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak
8. "Lightlark" by Alex Aster
9. "The Giver" by Lois Lowry
10. "Powerless" by Lauren Roberts