The Toronto Public Library has just released their list of the most borrowed books in 2020 and it’s got quite the lineup. It’s no secret that this year’s been far from normal. With everyone stuck at home, there’s been more time for reading. But along with that, the closure of libraries across the city at the beginning of the pandemic meant that the trends were a little different than in most years.

The most notable change in 2020 was the rise of ebooks and audiobooks. Because people couldn’t take out titles in physical form, many turned to their devices to scratch the literary itch. This year, the Toronto Public Library reported a whopping 30% increase in digital borrowing! Their top-ten books is made up of the combination of digital and in-person selections.

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So what books made the list? We’re here to tell ya. Coming in at number one was Becoming by Michelle Obama. That, along with a few other titles on the list, was also on last year’s top ten selections:

  1. Becoming- Michelle Obama
  2. Talking to Strangers- Malcolm Gladwell
  3. Where the Crawdads Sing- Delia Owens
  4. The Testaments- Margaret Atwood
  5. Atomic Habits- James Clear
  6. Normal People- Sally Rooney (also one of our favourite TV shows of the year)
  7. America Dirt- Jeanine Cummins
  8. Untamed- Glennon Doyle
  9. The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck- Mark Manson
  10. The Dutch House- Ann Patchett

Along with these overall-popular titles, other frequently borrowed e-books included The Skin We’re In by Desmond Cole, Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad, White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo, and How to be Antiracist by Ibrahim X. Kendi. The influx in the borrowing of these books coincided with the eruption of protests around the world in response to the killing of George Flloyd by Minneapolis police officers. The Toronto Public Library branches were closed at the time, but had they been open it’s likely these books would have made the overall-popular list.

So have you read all the popular selections of 2020? If not, now you’ve got some time to occupy yourself with in the upcoming weeks at home! Silver linings, people.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