What Washingtonians Read in 2022

In 2022, more than 5 million items were borrowed, streamed or downloaded from the DC Public Library. 

Washingtonians were interested in books that were mentioned in popular culture like Jennette McCurdy's “I'm Glad My Mom Died.” Readers also rediscovered Frank Herbert’s “Dune” as interest in the new movie franchise grew. Library programming also impacted the popularity of titles. “How The Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With The History Of Slavery Across America” by Clint Smith was the center of a month long series of discussions and events as part of the 2022 DC Reads program in September. During that month the Library offered unlimited electronic copies. As a result, more than 2,000 copies of the book were checked out.

"Not only do DC residents read a lot, but they have wide reading interests, evidenced by the eclectic list of fiction and non-fiction titles that were popular in 2022," said Richard Reyes-Gavilan, executive director, DC Public Library. "We are proud to be able to offer so much content in so many formats to satisfy the needs of the District's voracious readers."

Below are this year’s most popular items by type and format.

Top 10 Fiction Ebooks  

1. The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
2. Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
3. People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry
4. Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney
5. The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
6. Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
7. The Invisible Life Of Addie Larue by Victoria Schwab
8. Verity by Colleen Hoover
9. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
10. The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

Top 10 Fiction Books   

1. The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
2. Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney
3. Dog Man: Fetch-22 by Dav Pilkey
4. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
5. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
6. Klara And The Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
7. Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
8. Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Big Shot by Jeff Kinney
9. Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
10. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Top 10 Fiction E-Audiobooks  

1. The Guest List by Lucy Foley
2. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
3. Dune by Frank Herbert
4. Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
5. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
6. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
7. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas
8. Five Tuesdays in Winter: Stories by Lily King
9. The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
10. Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty

Top 10 Non-Fiction Ebooks  

1. Crying In H Mart: A Memoir by Michelle Zauner
2. Maybe You Should Talk To Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, And Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb
3. How The Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With The History Of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith
4. Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover
5. Born A Crime: Stories From A South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
6. Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results: An Easy & Proven Way To Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
7. Empire Of Pain: The Secret History Of The Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe
8. I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
9. Caste: The Origins Of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
10. Somebody's Daughter: A Memoir by Ashley C Ford

Top 10 Non-Fiction Books   

1. Crying In H Mart: A Memoir by Michelle Zauner
2. Empire Of Pain: The Secret History Of The Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe
3. The Body Keeps The Score: Brain, Mind, And Body In The Healing Of Trauma by Bessel A. Van der Kolk
4. How The Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With The History Of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith
5. Cultish: The Language Of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell
6. Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results : An Easy & Proven Way To Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
7. Caste: The Origins Of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
8. These Precious Days: Essays by Ann Patchett
9. The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones
10. Atlas Of The Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection And The Language Of Human Experience by Brené Brown

Top 10 Non-Fiction E-Audiobooks  

1. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge And The Teachings Of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
2. 101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think by Brianna Wiest
3. Crying In H Mart: A Memoir by Michelle Zauner
4. Becoming by Michelle Obama
5. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way To Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
6. Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover
7. How The Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With The History Of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith
8. A Promised Land by Barack Obama
9. Adult Children Of Emotionally Immature Parents: How To Heal From Distant, Rejecting, Or Self-Involved Parents by Lindsay Gibson
10. The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A F*Ck: A Counterintuitive Approach To Living A Good Life by Mark Manson

Top 10 Magazines

1. The Economist
2. The New Yorker
3. Us Weekly
4. New Scientist
5. Bon Appetit
6. Cook's Illustrated
7. The New York Review of Books
8. Kiplinger's Personal Finance
9. National Geographic Magazine
10. Architectural Digest

Top 10 Videos Streamed on Kanopy

1. Ultimate Guide To The Presidents
2. A Perfect Spy
3. France
4. Lunana: A Yak In The Classroom
5. 9 Songs [Uncut]
6. Midsommar
7. Spencer
8. What We Do In The Shadows (No Longer Available On Kanopy)
9. Eyes Wide Shut (No Longer Available On Kanopy)
10. Inherent Vice

Top 10 Videos Streamed on Kanopy Kids

1. Don't Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus
2. I'm An Animal Season 1
3. Good Night, Gorilla
4. I'm Fast!
5. Creepy Carrots
6. Don't Let The Pigeon Stay Up Late
7. Duckling Gets a Cookie!?
8. Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs
9. Scaredy Squirrel at Night
10. I'm Brave!

Mango Languages

1. Spanish, Latin American
2. French
3. Italian
4. German
5. Portuguese, Brazilian
6. Japanese
7. English
8. Chinese, Mandarin
9. Russian
10. Korean

The books, movies and videos on this list can be borrowed by visiting the Library’s online catalog or app.