New York City’s three public library systems released their list of most checked out books from the year, topped by Percival Everett’s James and followed by The God of the Woods by Liz Moore and Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros. The top ten lists overwhelmingly feature women writers and are dominated by literary fiction and Romantasy, naturally.
The citywide total list combines check-outs from the three library systems that serve New Yorkers: The Brooklyn Public Library, The Queens Public Library, and The New York Public Library, which is in the boroughs of Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island.
The NYPL also listed the top ten audiobooks (also with James at #1) and Queens listed out other categories, including songs—top three were “If I Get Home On Christmas Day” by Elvis Presley, “Los Esqueletos” by María del Sol Peralta & CantaClaro, and “Texas Hold ‘Em” by Beyoncé—and international books, which were dominated by Nobel Prize winner Han Kang’s books in the original Korean.
The citywide list is impressively varied, and Edwin Maxwell, Chief Librarian at the Brooklyn Public Library, was inspired by its breadth: “Against the backdrop of a record number of book bans across the country, it’s powerful to see New Yorkers continuing to read books from every point of view.”
Queens Public Library Chief Librarian Nick Buron noticed “women authors once again dominating our top-circulating titles,” and noted that that books are getting a check-out boost from award wins like James’ Pulitzer, Demon Copperhead’s Pulitzer, and Han Kang’s Nobel, but also from social media. Buron said that “platforms like BookTok continue to drive strong demand for authors such as Rebecca Yarros, R.F. Kuang, Freida McFadden, and Jeneva Rose.” People aren’t stopping at the hits either. Buron said that “we’re also seeing a clear trend of readers discovering an author and then diving into their full body of work, particularly with McFadden, Yarros, and Kuang.”
Personally, I’m really happy to see so much literary fiction being checked out, and was glad to see a favorite of mine, Parable of the Sower, make the Bronx’s top ten. My hometown library of Brooklyn’s list is about what I’d expect—Emily Henry, Miranda July, and Intermezzo at number 5 is a little on the nose, though.
The big surprise for me it that The Let Them Theory is being checked out so much. I hear such mixed things about this book, but if so many New Yorkers are out there deploying its self help strategies, I might need to prepare myself by reading it too.
Other libraries around the country are releasing their own end of year lists too. Missouri’s Mid-Continent Public Library, the Boston Public Library, and the Los Angeles Public Library all released lists of their most popular books in 2025. The Cincinnati Public Library crunched a lot of numbers, and broke down all the ways people used their services in “Your 2025 Library Wrapped.” My favorite end of the year round up is the Chicago Public Library’s list of the top five most requested collections from their special archives. Researchers loved looking at Chicago’s Urban Renewal Records this year!
It’s just nice to see so many people using the library! New York’s full lists, including the top kids and YA check outs, are below.
TOP 10 ADULT TITLES
Citywide
1. James by Percival Everett
2. The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
3. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
4. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
5. All Fours by Miranda July
6. The Let Them Theory: A Life-Changing Tool That Millions of People Can’t Stop Talking About by Mel Robbins
7. Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
8. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
9. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
10. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
The New York Public Library, Systemwide
1. James by Percival Everett
2. The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
3. All Fours by Miranda July
4. The Let Them Theory: A Life-Changing Tool That Millions of People Can’t Stop Talking About by Mel Robbins
5. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
6. The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami
7. Deep End by Ali Hazelwood
8. The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
9. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
10. Funny Story by Emily Henry
The New York Public Library, in The Bronx
1. The Crash by Freida McFadden
2. The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
3. The Let Them Theory: A Life-Changing Tool That Millions of People Can’t Stop Talking About by Mel Robbins
4. The Wedding People: A Novel by Alison Espach
5. James by Percival Everett
6. Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
7. The House of Cross by James Patterson
8. Paranoia by James Patterson
9. Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
10. The Waiting by Michael Connelly
The New York Public Library, in Manhattan
1. The Wedding People by Alison Espach
2. The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
3. Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
4. James by Percival Everett
5. Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
6. The Women by Kristin Hannah
7. All Fours by Miranda July
8. The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
9. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
10. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
The New York Public Library, in Staten Island
1. The Crash by Freida McFadden
2. The Women by Kristin Hannah
3. The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
4. The Wedding People by Alison Espach
5. The Tenant by Freida McFadden
6. Never Say Never by Danielle Steel
7. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
8. The Waiting by Michael Connelly
9. Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
10. The Let Them Theory: A Life-Changing Tool That Millions of People Can’t Stop Talking About by Mel Robbins
Brooklyn Public Library
1. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
2.The Women by Kristin Hannah
3. The Wedding People by Alison Espach
4. Happy Place by Emily Henry
5. Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
6. All Fours by Miranda July
7.James by Percival Everett
8. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
9. The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
10. 10 The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
Queens Public Library
1. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
2. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
3. Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
4. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
5. Babel, Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution by R.F. Kuang
6. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingslover
7. The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
8. The Perfect Divorce by Jeneva Rose
9. Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
10. The Tenant by Freida McFadden
TOP 10 KIDS TITLES
1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney
2. Dog Man series by Dav Pilkey
3. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
4. Cat Kid Comic Club series by Dav Pilkey
5. Baby-Sitter’s Club series by Ann M. Martin and various authors
6. Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan
7. Smile series by Raina Telgemeier
8. Dork Diaries series by Rachel Renée Russell; illustrated by Nikki Russell
9. Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey
10. Go With the Flow series by Lily Williams and Karen Schneemann
TOP 10 YOUNG ADULT TITLES
1. Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
2. Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
4. Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
5. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
6. The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen
7. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
8. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
9. The Rebel Witch by Kristen Ciccarelli
10. If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin
