The Most Popular Under-The-Radar Library Books Across The U.S. So Far This Year

We’re deep into the heat of summer and while many of us have lengthy to-read lists, it’s also a true fact of the reading life that there are so many more books to read than time to do so. One way to sort out what is worth your time and effort can be as simple as taking a peek at what other people are reading—it can be a guide for whether or not you want to be part of the cultural zeitgeist or want to ignore it all together (or anywhere in between!). Thanks to the incredible new Panorama Project, one way you can assess a book’s acclaim is by looking at the most popular library books across the U.S.

The Panorama Project looks at the books most frequently requested at libraries across the U.S. and breaks down the popularity by region. This snapshot is extremely intriguing, as it not only gives the top-down perspective of the current big books, but it also gives a more micro level look at books which are popular by specific areas of the country. It’s a neat means of seeing if some books are more popular in, say, the midwest than in the southeast, or in California as opposed to the northeast.

The data from the Panorama Project is updated quarterly, and as of this writing, we’ve got a look at what books—adult fiction and nonfiction, as well as young adult books, both fiction and nonfiction. It’s acquired via aggregated and anonymous ebook borrower data and made freely available, with an interest in reaching the eyes of local booksellers who might be able to meet the demand of those patrons. Their criteria is as follows:

• We create lists of the most in-demand titles in each category for eight regions around the country.

• We then identify and rank the adult/young-adult fiction and non-fiction titles published in the last 12 to 24 months. These are titles booksellers are likely to have in stock that in many cases aren’t enjoying significant sales.

• Next, we weed out well known bestsellers, book club selections and other heavily promoted titles.

They’re able to offer up a really nice range of titles, and, for readers, a new means of looking at what their neighbors are reading and maybe what they, too, might find interesting. (Note that, of course, this data is limited to ebook data, so it doesn’t take into account those without ereaders, those who don’t know or use library ebook services, or books which do not have an ebook format or are available to the library ebook market).

The Most Popular Library Books, January–March 2019

There are a total of nine regions included in the data, with some regional overlap (some states, like Illinois, fall into three regions, while a state like Hawaii is a region all its own). I’ve pulled the data for the top ten books in each of the categories and ranked the most popular books in each category across all regions.

This is data from the first quarter of 2019, as data for the second hasn’t yet been released.

Most Popular Adult Fiction

• #1: The Terminal List by Jack Carr
• Tied for #2: A Conspiracy in Belgravia by Sherry Thomas
• Tied for #2: Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
• All the Names They Used for God by Anjali Sachdeva
• Best Friends Forever by Margot Hunt
• Girl Last Seen by Nina Laurin
• Go, Went, Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck
• Light It Up by Nick Petrie
• No Earls Allowed by Shana Galen
• Oath of Honor by Lynette Eason
• One and Only by Jenny Holiday
• Raven Stratagem by Yoon Ha Lee
• Reincarnation Blues by Michael Poore
• Rock Chick Reawakening by Kristen Ashley
• Rosewater by Tade Thompson
• Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft
• The Lost Letter by Jillian Cantor
• the witch doesn’t burn in this one by amanda lovelace
• With You Always by Jody Hedlund

 

Most Popular Adult Nonfiction

• #1: The Phoenix Project by Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, George Spafford
• Tied for #2: The Total Money Makeover Workbook by Dave Ramsey
• Tied for #2: Rick Steves Spain 2018 by Rick Steves
• Tied for #2: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
• Tied for #2: Real Life Organizing by Cassandra Aarssen, Peter Walsh
• Tied for #2: Ready or Not! by Michelle Tam, Henry Fong
• Tied for #2: All About Love by bell hooks

 

Most Popular Young Adult

• #1: The Promised Neverland Volume 1 by Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu
• Tied for #2: Naruto: Kakashi’s Story by Akira Higashiyama, Masashi Kishimoto
• Tied for #2: My Hero Academia Volume 10 by Kohei Horikoshi
• Tied for #2: In The Afterlight by Alexandra Bracken

 

Let’s take a peek at the top 10 books across nine U.S. regions. Again, this data is for the first quarter of 2019, as new data for the second has not yet been released. It’s fascinating to see where there’s huge popularity for a particular genre or author, as well as (maybe most interesting!) where people are interested in traveling and/or eating.

Lots of comics, too, particularly in the young adult category.

California

Adult fiction

• Herding Cats by Sarah Andersen
• Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami, Allison Markin Powell
• American Gods Volume 1 by Neil Gaiman, P. Craig Russell, Scott Hampton, P. Craig Russell, Walt Simonson
• Arm of the Sphinx by Josiah Bancroft
• One and Only by Jenny Holiday
• Embers of Water by Gareth L. Powell
• The Idea of You by Robinne Lee
• The Lost Letter by Jillian Cantor
• Raven Strategem by Yoon Ha Lee
• A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan

Adult Nonfiction

• The Complete Slow Cooker by America’s Test Kitchen
• Peak Performance by Brad Stulberg, Steve Magness
• The Road to Jonestown by Jeff Guinn
• The Wizard and the Prophet by Charles C. Mann
• Eat To Live Quick and Easy Cookbook by Dr. Joel Fuhrman
• Awakening Your Ikigai by Ken Mogi
• In Praise of Difficult Women by Karen Karbo, Cheryl Strayed
• Advice Not Given by Mark Epstein, M.D.
• The Body Is Not An Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor
• Option B by Sheryl Sandberg, Adam Grant

 

Young Adult

• Dawn of the Arcana Volume 8 by Rei Toma, Rei Toma, Shogakukan
• Defy The Stars by Claudia Gray
• The Promised Neverland Volume 1 by Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu
• Conquer Negative Thinking for Teens by Mary Karapetian Alvord, Anne McGrath
• Honey So Sweet Volume 8 by Amu Meguro, Amu Meguro, SHUEISHA Inc.
• A Whole New World by Liz Braswell
• In The Afterlight by Alexandra Bracken
• Paper Girls (2015) by Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang
• Honey So Sweet Volume 1 by Amu Meguro, Amu Meguro, SHUEISHA Inc.
• One-Punch Man Volume 12 by ONE, Yusuke Murata, ONE, Yusuke Murata

Great Lakes (Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan)

Adult Fiction

• Rock Chick Reawakening by Kristen Ashley
• the witch doesn’t burn in this one by amanda lovelace
• The Maze and Windermere by Gregory Blake Smith
• Rosewater by Tade Thompson
• The Largesse of the Sea Maiden by Denis Johnson
• Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
• Light It Up by Nick Petrie
• With You Always by Jody Hedlund
• City of Lies by Victoria Thompson
• Girl Last Seen by Nina Laurin

 

Adult Nonfiction

• The Ethical Slut by Janet W. Hardy, Dossie Easton
• Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
• The Green Witch by Arin Murphy-Hiscock
• The Broken Ladder by Keith Payne
• Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero
• Everyday Watercolor by Jenna Rainey
• The Total Money Makeover Workbook by Dave Ramsey
• Just Sit by Sukey Novogratz, Elizabeth Novogratz
• All About Love by bell hooks
• Real Life Organizing by Cassandra Aarssen, Peter Walsh

 

Young Adult

• The Promised Neverland Volume 1 by Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu
• The Boy In The Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
• The Promised Neverland Volume 2 by Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu
• The Dragon Ball Super Volume 2 by Akira Toriyama, Toyotarou
• My Hero Academia Volume 9 by Kohei Horikoshi
• Dragon Ball Super Volume 1 by Akira Toriyama, Toyotarou
• To Right The Wrongs by Sheryl Scarborough
• Remember Me Forever by Sara Wolf
• More Than We Can Tell by Brigid Kemmerer
• My Hero Academia Volume 11 by Kohei Horikoshi

 

Hawaii

Adult Fiction

• Death Below Stairs by Jennifer Ashley
• Collision Point by Lora Leigh
• Let Me Lie by Clare Mackintosh
• Agent In Place by Mark Greaney
• Markswoman by Rati Mehrotra
• Beyond Scandal and Desire by Lorraine Heath
• Strange Practice by Vivian Shaw
• At His Mercy by Shelly Bell
• Raven Stratagem by Yoon Ha Lee
• Spring Forward by Catherine Anderson

 

Adult Nonfiction

• The Rough Patch by Daphne de Marneffe
• Your Brain Is A Time Machine by Dean Buonomano
• Reverse Inflammation Naturally by Michelle Honda
• The Longevity Code by Kris Verburgh
• Win Bigly by Scott Adams
• Fiery Ferments by Kirsten K. Shockey, Christopher Shockey, Darra Goldstein
• Brotopia by Emily Chang
• Fodor’s Essential Italy 2018 by Fodor’s Travel Guides
• Dr. Berg’s New Body Type Guide by Eric Berg
• Feel Free by Zadie Smith

Young Adult

• There’s Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins
• As You Wish by Chelsea Sedoti
• Daughter of the Siren Queen by Tricia Levenseller
• We Can Be Mended by Veronica Roth
• The Empress by S.J. Kincaid
• The Dangerous Art of Blending In by Angelo Surmelis
• When It’s Real by Erin Watt
• Americanized by Sara Saedi
• One-Punch Man Volume 12 by Kenji Taira, Kenji Taira, Masashi Kishimoto, Masashi Kishimoto
• Generation One by Pittacus Lore

 

Mountains and Plains (Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wyoming)

Adult Fiction

• The Secret of the India Orchid by Nancy Campbell Allen
• Courting Miss Lancaster by Sarah M. Eden
• The Vicar’s Daughter by Josi S. Kilpack
• An Unlikely Match by Sarah M. Eden
• Romancing Daphne by Sarah M. Eden
• A Fine Gentleman by Sarah M. Eden
• The Orphan Keeper by Camron Wright
• Ashes On The Moor by Sarah M. Eden
• Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft
• The Echo Killing by Christi Daugherty

Adult Nonfiction

• Cheers To Eternity by Al Carraway, Ben Carraway
• Going Deep by Lawrence Goldstone
• J. D. Salinger’s the Catcher in the Rye by Josef Benson
• The Impossible by Joyce Smith, Ginger Kolbaba
• Loving Your Spouse When You Feel Like Walking Away by Gary Chapman
• The Phoenix Project by Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, George Spafford
• The Wahls Protocol Cooking For Life by Terry Wahls M.D., Eve Adamson
• Ready Or Not! by Michelle Tam, Henry Fong
• The Total Money Makeover Workbook by Dave Ramsey
• Gentle Discipline by Sarah Ockwell-Smith

 

Young Adult

• The Promised Neverland Volume 1 by Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu
• A Whole New World by Liz Braswell
• Naruto: Kakashi’s Story by Akira Higashiyama, Masashi Kishimoto
• The Promised Neverland Volume 2 by Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu
• Boruto: Naruto Next Generation Volume 3 by Ukyo Kodachi, Mikio Ikemoto
• Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken
• In The Afterlight by Alexandra Bracken
• My Hero Academia Volume 10 by Kohei Horikoshi
• Naruto: Itachi’s Story Volume 1 by Takashi Yano, Masashi Kishimoto
• Amid Stars and Darkness by Chani Lynn Feener

Midwest (Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin)

Adult Fiction

• The Maze at Windermere by Gregory Blake Smith
• In The Distance by Herman Diaz
• The Terminal List by Jack Carr
• Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
• No Earls Allowed by Shana Galen
• The One by John Marrs
• Oath of Honor by Lynette Eason
• Red Sister by Mark Lawrence
• Collision Course by Marie Harte
• The Ones Who Got Away by Roni Loren

 

Adult Nonfiction

• The Body Is Not An Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor
• Ready or Not! by Michelle Tam, Henry Fong
• The Ethical Slut by Janet W. Hardy, Dossie Easton
• The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook For Dummies by Meri Raffetto, Wendy Jo Peterson
• The Green Witch by Arin Murphy-Hiscock
• It’s OK That You’re Not OK by Megan Devine, Mark Nepo
• The Phoenix Project by Gene Kim, kevin Behr, George Spafford
• All About Love by bell hooks
• Gentle Discipline by Sarah Ockwell-Smith
• Real Life Organizing by Cassandra Aarssen, Peter Walsh

 

Young Adult

• Takane & Hana Volume 1 by Yuki Shiwasu
• Dragon Ball Super Volume 1 by Akira Toriyama, Toyotarou
• Naruto: Kakashi’s Story by Akira Higashiyama, Masashi Kishimoto
• Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken
• The Promised Neverland Volume 1 by Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu
• The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
• Naruto: Itachi’s Story Volume 1 by Takashi Yano, Masashi Kishimoto
• My Hero Academia Volume 10 by Kohei Horikoshi
• Very, Very, Very Dreadful by Albert Marrin
• Crash Into You by Katie McGarry

 

New Atlantic (Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia)

Adult Fiction

• All The Names They Used For God by Anjali Sachdeva
• Go, Went, Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck, Susan Bernofsky
• Reincarnation Blues by Michael Poore
• The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch
• The Terminal List by Jack Carr
• Winter Sisters by Robin Oliveira
• Best Friends Forever by Margot Hunt
• The Lost Letter by Jillian Cantor
• The Queen of Hearts by Kimmery Martin
• A Conspiracy in Belgravia by Sherry Thomas

 

Adult Nonfiction

• Lonely Planet Japan by Lonely Planet
• Rick Steves Spain 2018 by Rick Steves
• Python for Data Analysis by Wes McKinney
• What To Expect Before You’re Expecting by Heidi Murkoff, Sharon Mazel
• Night by Elie Wiesel
• The Total Money Makeover Workbook by Dave Ramsey
• The Happiest Kids in the World by Rina Mae Acosta, Michele Hutchison
• Awakening Your Ikigai by Ken Mogi
• Processional Career Opportunities by National Learning Corporation
• New Minimalism by Kyle Louise Quilici

 

Young Adult

• Paper Girls Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang, Matt Wilson
• Follow Me by Sara Shepard
• These Vengeful Souls by Tarun Shanker, Kelly Zekas
• The Wicker King by K. Ancrum
• Winner Take All by Laurie Devour
• Champion: The Graphic Novel by Marie Lu
• Take Me On by Katie McGarry
• A Teen’s Guide to Getting Stuff Done by Jennifer Shannon, Doug Shannon
• Ink, Iron, and Glass by Gwendolyn Clare
• When My Heart Joins The Thousand by AJ Steiger

 

New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont)

Adult Fiction

• Semiosis by Sue Burke
• Cruel Winter by Sheila Connolly
• Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft
• Girl Last Seen by Nina Laurin
• One and Only by Jenny Holiday
• Reincarnation Blues by Michael Poore
• The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor
• A Conspiracy in Belgravia by Sherry Thomas
• The Terminal List by Jack Carr
• Best Friends Forever by Margot Hunt

Adult Nonfiction

• Rick Steves Spain 2018 by Rick Steves
• J. D. Salinger’s the Catcher in the Rye by Josef Benson
• It’s OK That You’re Not OK by Megan Devine, Mark Nepo
• Ready Or Not! by Michelle Tam, Henry Fong
• Kids These Days by Malcolm Harris
• The Broken Ladder by Keith Payne
• Broke Millennial by Erin Lowry
• The Phoenix Project by Gene Kim, Bevin Behr, George Spafford
• The Secret Lives of Colors by Kassia St. Clair
• Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together In The Cafeteria by Beverly Daniel Tatum

Young Adult

• In The Afterlight by Alexandra Bracken
• The Martian by Andy Weir
• The Wicker King by K. Ancrum
• Greek Gods #Squadgoals by Courtney Carbone
• Active Memory by Dan Wells
• A Teen’s Guide to Getting Stuff Done by Jennifer Shannon, Doug Shannon
• The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
• Genesis by Brendan Reichs
• Dare You To by Katie McGarry

 

Pacific Northwest (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington)

Adult Fiction

• Rock Chick Reawakening by Kristen Ashley
• All The Names They Used for God by Anjali Sachdeva
• Rosewater by Tade Thompson
• the witch doesn’t burn in this one by amanda lovelace
• Seeking Persephone by Sarah M. Eden
• Go, Went, Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck, Susan Bernofsky
• The Kiss of a Stranger by Sarah M. Eden
• Friends and Foes by Sarah M. Eden
• The Black Tides of Heaven by JY Yang
• With You Always by Jody Hedlund

 

Adult Nonfiction

• Influential Women of Spokane by Nancy Driscol Engle
• A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge by Project Management Institute
• Pacific Northwest Medicinal Plants by Scott Kloos
• Rick Steves Spain 2018 by Rick Steves
• Rick Steves Iceland by Rick Steves
• Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
• The Fourth Trimester by Kimberly Ann Johnson
• Rick Steves London 2018 by Rick Steves
• Kids These Days by Malcolm Harris
• Rick Steves Paris 2018 by Rick Steves

 

Young Adult

• Greek Gods #Squadgoals by Courtney Carbone
• Maid-sama! (2-in-1 Edition), Volume 8 by Hiro Fujiwara
• Yona of the Dawn Volume 9 by Mizuho Kusanagi
• The Demon Prince of Momochi House Volume 11 by Aya Shouoto
• True North by L.E. Sterling
• The Demon Prince of Momochi House Volume 10 by Aya Shouoto
• Naruto: Kakashi’s Story by Akira Higashiyama, Masashi Kishimoto
• Dragon Ball Super Volume 2 by Akira Toriyama, Toyotarou
• The Grit Guide for Teens by Caren Baruch-Feldman, Thomas R. Hoerr
• Haikyu!! Volume 1 by Haruichi Furudate

 

Southeast (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia)

Adult Fiction

• Devotions by Mary Oliver
• Just Between Us by Rebecca Drake
• The Terminal List by Jack Carr
• The Heirs by Susan Reiger
• The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea
• Light It Up by Nick Petrie
• No Earls Allowed by Shana Galen
• Oath of Honor by Lynette Eason
• Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
• A Conspiracy in Belgravia by Sherry Thomas

 

Adult Nonfiction

• Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
• Keto Slow Cooker and One Pot Meals by Martina Slajerova
• Real Life Organizing by Cassandra Aarssen, Peter Walsh
• All About Love by bell hooks
• They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us by Hanif Abdurraqib
• Zingerman’s Bakehouse by Amy Emberling, Frank Carollo, Antonis Achilleos
• The Phoenix Project by Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, George Spafford
• The Choice by Edith Eva Eger
• Whisper by Mark Batterson
• The Empath’s Survival Guide by Judith Orloff

 

Young Adult

• A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
• 36 Questions That Changed My Mind About You by Vicki Grant
• Paper Girls Volume 3 by Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang
• Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Volume 3 by Ukyo Kodachi, Mikio Ikemoto
• The Delusion by Laura Gallier
• My Hero Academia Volume 11 by Kohei Horikoshi
• My Hero Academia Volume 10 by Kohei Horikoshi
• Runebinder by Alex R. Kahler
• My Hero Academia Volume 8 by Kohei Horikoshi
• Pacifica by Kristen Simmons

 

Keep your eyes on the Panorama Project as they continue sharing such fascinating data.