Edmontonians borrow 11.8 million items from the Edmonton Public Library every year—that’s a lot of books (and movies and music and games)!
But what are the city's residents actually reading?
From buzzy new titles to perennially popular picks, we've taken a look at some of the fiction and non-fiction books with the most library holds going into July 2018 and made suggestions for what to read while you wait for your turn.
Browse these titles now for FREE with your library card. Don’t have one? Sign up for free online, opens a new window.
Top Fiction Holds
1. Top Hold: The Death of Mrs. Westaway, opens a new window by Ruth Ware
Bestselling writer Ruth Ware, author of In a Dark, Dark Wood and The Woman in Cabin 10, returns with a highly anticipated fourth novel.
When tarot-card reader Hal gets a mysterious letter about an inheritance, she quickly realizes it wasn’t meant for her. Just as quickly, it occurs to her that she could use her cold-reading skills to claim it anyway.
The Death of Mrs. Westaway is available as a book, opens a new window, eBook, opens a new window and audiobook CD, opens a new window.
What to Read Instead: Dark Tide, opens a new window by Elizabeth Haynes
Genevieve has been saving up for ages for her dream escape, which comes in the form of a houseboat in Kent. That dream shatters when a familiar body washes ashore the night of her boat-warming party.
She recognizes the victim from her secret life, dancing Friday and Saturday nights at a private members’ club. Deciding her secret should stay secret, she doesn’t tell the police. But soon everything starts to go horribly wrong...
Dark Tide is available as a book, opens a new window and eBook, opens a new window.
2. Top Hold: The Home for Unwanted Girls: A Novel, opens a new window by Joanna Goodman
When Maggie Hughes gets pregnant at the age of 15 in 1950s Quebec, she’s forcibly separated from her baby, Elodie.
Sent to be raised in the province’s impoverished orphanage system, Elodie ends up in a psychiatric hospital where she endures terrible treatment. Years later, Maggie reconnects with her first love and sets off on a journey to find her long-lost daughter.
The Home for Unwanted Girls is available as a book, opens a new window, eBook, opens a new window, audiobook CD, opens a new window and downloadable audiobook, opens a new window
What to Read Instead: Orphan Train: A Novel, opens a new window by Christina Baker Kline
At the turn of the last century, thousands of abandoned children were ferried west from the East Coast of the U.S. to the farmlands of the Midwest. Adoption by loving families awaited some; a childhood of hard labour awaited others.
Young Irish immigrant Vivian Daly rode the orphan train as a child. Now, decades later, 17-year-old Molly Ayer has been sent to help the elderly widow clean out her attic in an effort to keep herself out of juvie. Told in alternating timelines, the two soon realize they have more in common than they realized.
Orphan Train is available as a book, opens a new window, eBook, opens a new window, audiobook CD, opens a new window, large print edition, opens a new window and book club kit, opens a new window.
3. Top Hold: Then She Was Gone: A Novel, opens a new window by Lisa Jewell
For 10 years, the disappearance of Laurel Mack’s daughter Ellie has haunted her. Seven years after her divorce and months since a new clue was unearthed in Ellie’s case, Laurel meets a charming stranger in a café and begins an unexpected romance.
Everything’s going well, that is, until she meets his youngest daughter, who looks eerily like Ellie…
Then She Was Gone is available as a book, opens a new window, eBook, opens a new window, audiobook CD, opens a new window, downloadable audiobook, opens a new window, streaming audiobook, opens a new window and large print edition, opens a new window.
What to Read Instead: What She Knew, opens a new window by Gilly Macmillan
Rachel Jenner isn’t worried when her 8-year-old son Ben asks to run ahead on their walk through the park—until he vanishes, seemingly without a trace.
As the hours turn to days with no sign of him, everyone in Rachel’s life—from her newly married ex-husband to her sister, the perfect mother—is called into question.
What She Knew is available as a book, opens a new window, eBook, opens a new window, audiobook CD, opens a new window, downloadable audiobook, opens a new window and large print edition, opens a new window.
Top Non-Fiction Holds
1. Top Hold: 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos, opens a new window by Jordan B. Peterson
In this bestselling self-help book, Canadian psychologist Jordan B. Peterson tackles some of life’s big questions by looking at both ancient tradition and cutting edge scientific research.
Combining philosophy, mythology and science, the result is a set of guidelines that are both practical and profound.
12 Rules for Life is available as a book, opens a new window, eBook, opens a new window, audiobook CD, opens a new window and downloadable audiobook, opens a new window.
What to Read Instead: Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice From the Best in the World, opens a new window by Timothy Ferriss
The bestselling author of The 4-Hour Workweek takes on some of life’s most challenging questions in this collection of advice from some of the planet’s most successful people.
Short profiles from more than 130 top performers—including iconic entrepreneurs, elite athletes, artists, billionaire investors, to name a few—provide tools, tactics and habits for better living.
Tribe of Mentors is available as a book, opens a new window and eBook, opens a new window.
2. Top Hold: Educated: A Memoir, opens a new window by Tara Westover
Raised in isolation by a survivalist Mormon family in the mountains of Idaho, Tara Westover never set foot in a classroom until she was 17.
Defying her family, she taught herself enough to be admitted to Brigham Young University and went on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University. She shares the incredible story of her life in this moving memoir.
Educated is available as a book, opens a new window, eBook, opens a new window, audiobook CD, opens a new window and large print edition, opens a new window.
What to Read Instead: North of Normal: A Memoir of My Wilderness Childhood, My Counterculture Family and How I Survived Both, opens a new window by Cea Sunrise Person
Riding the wave of the counterculture movement of the late 1960s, Cea Sunrise Person’s family decided to escape civilization, trading in California for northern Alberta. Living off the land in a canvas Teepee, the family hunted and gathered to survive.
When she was five, Person’s mother took her on the road in search of a new boyfriend—an ill-fated adventure that lasted until she broke free at 13, escaping into the world of modelling.
North of Normal is available as a book, opens a new window, eBook, opens a new window, simultaneous access eBook, opens a new window and DAISY accessible audiobook, opens a new window. The author’s follow-up memoir, Nearly Normal: Surviving the Wilderness, My Family and Myself, is available as a book, opens a new window and eBook, opens a new window.
3. Top Hold: A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership, opens a new window by James Comey
Former FBI Director James Comey shares his career experience spanning two decades of American government, examining what good leadership looks like and how good leadership makes decisions.
He gives readers a peek behind-the-scenes at some of the highest-stakes decisions of his career, including prosecuting the mafia and investigating ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.
A Higher Loyalty is available as a book, opens a new window, eBook, opens a new window, audiobook CD, opens a new window, downloadable audiobook, opens a new window and large print edition, opens a new window.
What to Read Instead: Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, opens a new window by Michael Wolff
American journalist Michael Wolff delves into the inside story of the most controversial modern presidency.
From what Donald Trump’s staff really think of him to the a wealth of behind-the-scenes details about the chaos in the Oval Office, Fire and Fury explains how—and why—Trump has become the king of discord and disunion.
Fire and Fury is available as a book, opens a new window, eBook, opens a new window, audiobook CD, opens a new window, downloadable audiobook, opens a new window and large print edition, opens a new window.
Looking for something different? We’ve got plenty of bestsellers, opens a new window (and other titles) to choose from. Looking for something specific? Try out NoveList. You can search topics and themes, find writers similar to an author you like or get read-alikes for specific titles.
