Whether they were books that have been popular for years, hits with book clubs, or newer DVDs, 2019 saw the circulation of over 20 million materials (and counting)! We're hoping to break our circulation record by reaching 21.3 million circulated materials. Read on to see what Cincinnati community members were reading and watching this year and check out anything that strikes your interest to help us break the record! All of the books listed are available in multiple formats including print, eBook, and audiobook.
Adult Fiction
1. Where the Crawdads Sing, opens a new window by Delia Owens
For years, rumors of the "Marsh Girl" have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. She's barefoot and wild; unfit for polite society. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark. But Kya is not what they say.
2. The Reckoning , opens a new windowby John Grisham
Pete Banning was Clanton's favorite son, a returning war hero, the patriarch of a prominent family, a farmer, father, neighbor, and a faithful member of the Methodist church. Then one cool October morning in 1946. he rose early, drove into town, walked into the church, and calmly shot and killed the Reverend Dexter Bell.The murder became the most mysterious and unforgettable crime Ford County had ever known.
3. Redemption , opens a new windowby David Baldacci
Decker is visiting his hometown of Burlington, Ohio, when he's approached by a man named Meryl Hawkins. Hawkins is a convicted murderer. In fact, he's the first killer Decker put behind bars. But he's innocent, he claims. Now suffering from terminal cancer, it's his dying wish that Decker clear his name. It's unthinkable. But then Hawkins later turns up dead with a bullet in his head, and even Decker begins to have doubts.
4. Long Road to Mercy, opens a new window by David Baldacci
Atlee Pine is an FBI special agent assigned to the remote wilds of the western United States. Ever since her twin sister was abducted by a notorious serial killer at age five, Atlee has spent her life hunting down those who hurt others. Now, Atlee is called in to investigate the mutilated carcass of a mule found in the Grand Canyon--and hopefully, solve the disappearance of its rider. But this isn't the only recent disappearance.
5. Run Away, opens a new window by Harlan Coben
You've lost your daughter. She's addicted to drugs and to an abusive boyfriend. And she's made it clear that she doesn't want to be found. Before you know it, both your family and your life are on the line. And in order to protect your daughter from the evils of that world, you must face them head-on.
1. Becoming, opens a new window by Michelle Obama
Narrating with grace, good humor, and uncommon candor, Michelle Obama provides a vivid, behind-the-scenes account of her family's history-making launch into the global limelight as well as their life inside the White House over eight momentous years. Becoming takes us through moments of heart-stopping grief and profound resilience, bringing us deep into the soul of a singular, groundbreaking figure in history.
2. Educated: A Memoi, opens a new windowr, opens a new window by Tara Westover
Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she prepared for the end of the world. The family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education and no one to intervene when one of Tara's older brothers became violent. As a way out, Tara began to educate herself.
3. Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis , opens a new windowby J.D. Vance
This memoir shares the story of the author's family and upbringing, describing how they moved from poverty to an upwardly mobile clan that included the author, a Yale Law School graduate while navigating the demands of middle-class life and the collective demons of the past.
4. Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, opens a new window by Bryan Stevenson
Bryan Stevenson was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need: the poor, the wrongly condemned, and women and children trapped in the farthest reaches of our criminal justice system. One of his first cases was that of Walter McMillian, a young man who was sentenced to die for a notorious murder he insisted he didn’t commit.
Bryan Stevenson was the Library's inaugural 2019 Mary S. Stern Lecture Series speaker.
5. Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic, opens a new window by Sam Quinones
With a great reporter's narrative skill and the storytelling ability of a novelist, acclaimed journalist Sam Quinones weaves together two tales of capitalism catastrophically run amok: Perscription pain-killers and black tar heroin. Together these phenomena continue to lay waste to communities from Tennessee to Oregon, Indiana to New Mexico.
Young Adult Fiction
1. To All the Boys I've Loved Before, opens a new window by Jenny Han
Lara Jean writes love letters to all the boys she has loved and then hides them in a hatbox until one day those letters are accidentally sent!
2. The Hunger Games, opens a new window by Suzanne Collins
In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition pitting young people from each of the twelve districts against one another, sixteen-year-old Katniss's skills are put to the test when she voluntarily takes her younger sister's place.
3. The Hate U Give, opens a new window by Angie Thomas
After witnessing her friend's death at the hands of a police officer, Starr Carter's life is complicated when the police and a local drug lord try to intimidate her in an effort to learn what happened the night Kahlil died.
4. Turtles All the Way Down, opens a new window by John Green
It all begins with a fugitive billionaire and the promise of a cash reward. Tying together lifelong friendship, the intimacy of an unexpected reunion, Star Wars fan fiction, and tuatara. But at its heart is Aza Holmes, a young woman navigating daily existence within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.
5. Fangirl, opens a new window by Rainbow Rowell
Feeling cast off when her best friend outgrows their shared love for a favorite celebrity, Cath, a dedicated fan-fiction writer, struggles to survive on her own in her first year of college while avoiding a surly roommate, bonding with a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words and worrying about her fragile father.
1. Pokemon Adventures, opens a new window
A comic series based on the original Game Boy video game, not the animated TV series. Each issue contains chapters in the continuing adventures of various characters which are divided into story arcs.
2. Wonder, opens a new window by R.J. Palacio
Ten-year-old Auggie Pullman, who was born with extreme facial abnormalities and was not expected to survive, goes from being home-schooled to entering fifth grade at a private middle school in Manhattan, which entails enduring the taunting and fear of his classmates as he struggles to be seen as just another student.
3. The Babysitters Club: A Graphic Novel , opens a new windowby Raina Telgemier
Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia, and Stacey are best friends and founding members of The Baby-sitters Club. Whatever comes up--cranky toddlers, huge dogs, scary neighbors, prank calls--you can count on them to save the day. But baby-sitting isn't always easy, and neither is dealing with strict parents, new families, fashion emergencies, and mysterious secrets. But no matter what, the BSC have what they need most: friendship.
4. Because of Winn-Dixie, opens a new window by Kate DiCamillo
Ten-year-old India Opal Buloni describes her first summer in the town of Naomi, Florida, and all the good things that happen to her because of her big ugly dog Winn-Dixie.
5. A Wrinkle in Time, opens a new window by Madeleine L'Engle
Meg Murry and her friends become involved with unearthly strangers and a search for Meg's father, who has disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government.
DVD
1. The Equalizer 2, opens a new window (2018)
Robert McCall has rededicated his life to the pursuit of justice. But when his mission strikes close to home, he will be consumed by vengeance, seeking a revenge that knows no boundaries.
2. Venom , opens a new window (2018)
Investigative journalist Eddie Brock attempts a comeback following a scandal, but accidentally becomes the host of an alien symbiote that gives him a violent super alter-ego. Soon, he must rely on his newfound powers to protect the world from a shadowy organization looking for a symbiote of their own. Includes French audio description.
3. Mission Impossible: Fallout, opens a new window (2018)
Ethan Hunt and his IMF team, along with some familiar allies, race against time after a mission gone wrong.
4. Bohemian Rhapsody, opens a new window (2018)
An enthralling celebration of Queen, their music, and their extraordinary lead singer Freddie Mercury, who defied stereotypes and convention to become one of history's most beloved entertainers. Following Queen's meteoric rise, their revolutionary sound and Freddie's solo career, the film also chronicles the band's reunion and one of the greatest performances in rock history.
5. Peppermint , opens a new window(2018)
A revenge story focusing on a young mother who finds herself with nothing to lose, and is now going to take from her enemies the very life they took from her.
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