Ottawa

Ottawa Public Library reveals most requested books of 2022

The Ottawa Public Library has uncovered its most requested books, providing insight into what captivated the minds of Ottawa readers in 2022. 

Movie adaptations, BookTok helped boost popularity of some titles

Cover of each book
The Ottawa Public Library has released a list of its most-requested books of 2022. (Ottawa Public Library/CBC)

The Ottawa Public Library (OPL) has uncovered its most requested books, providing insight into what captivated the minds of Ottawa readers in 2022. 

The list features the top 10 adult, teen and children's books requested between Jan. 1 and Dec. 1. 

Fiction dominated all three categories. Some books proved to be recurring favourites, such as Michelle Good's Five Little Indians, which made the list for the second year in a row. The self-help book Atomic Habits by James Clear is the only title to block a fictional sweep of the adult category, coming in at number nine. 

Some books owe their success in part to the big screen. Delia Owens's Where the Crawdads Sing has seen its popularity intensify two years after publication after it was adapted into a movie of the same name released earlier this year.

Other titles like Heartstopper, Six of Crows, and The Summer I Turned Pretty have also enjoyed popular adaptations on Netflix and Prime Video.  

The list also highlights the influence of TikTok offshoot BookTok, which reviewed every book featured in the OPL's teen category. 

Check out the full list below and learn more on the OPL's website:

Adult

  1. Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens.  
  2. The Maid, by Nita Prose. 
  3. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid. 
  4. Five Little Indians, by Michelle Good. 
  5. It Ends with Us, by Colleen Hoover. 
  6. Reminders of Him, by Colleen Hoover. 
  7. Verity, by Colleen Hoover. 
  8. Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus. 
  9. Atomic Habits, by James Clear. 
  10. The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig. 

Teen

  1. A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, by Holly Jackson. 
  2. Heartstopper -  Volume 1, by Alice Oseman. 
  3. The Inheritance Games, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. 
  4. The Summer I Turned Pretty, by Jenny Han. 
  5. They Both Die at the End, by Adam Silvera. 
  6. A Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah J. Maas. 
  7. One of Us Is Lying, by Karen M. McManus. 
  8. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. 
  9. The Hawthorne Legacy, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. 
  10. Good Girl, Bad Blood, by Holly Jackson. 

Children

  1. Dog Man (series), by Dav Pilkey. 
  2. Diary of a Wimpy Kid (series), by Jeff Kinney. 
  3. Wings of Fire (graphic novel series), by Barry Deutsch.  
  4. Cats Kid Club (graphic novel series), by Dav Pilkey.  
  5. The Baby-sitters club (graphic novel series), by Raina Telgemeier and others. 
  6. Amulet (graphic novel series), by Kazu Kibuishi.  
  7. Percy Jackson & the Olympians (graphic novel series), by Robert Venditti. 
  8. Big Nate (graphic novel series), by Lincoln Pierce. 
  9. InvestiGators (graphic novel series), by John Patrick Green. 
  10. Wings of Fire (fiction series), by Tui Sutherland.