Ottawa Public Library’s most popular books of 2021
Posted Jan 1, 2022 03:00:00 PM.
The Ottawa Public Library (OPL) has some great book recommendations for anyone who's looking for interesting reads heading into 2022.
It's gathered lists of the most popular books between January 1 and December 1, 2021, based on the number of hold requests.
Books in the Adult (English) category:
1. State of Terror by Hillary Clinton and Louise Penny
2. The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny
3. The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
4. Fight Night by Miriam Toews
5. The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
6. The Push by Ashley Audrain
7. Five Little Indians by Michelle Good
8. Indian in the Cabinet: Speaking Truth to Power by Jody Wilson-Raybould
9. What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad
10. A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson
What the OPL's librarians have to say about this list:
“Louise Penny, the extraordinarily popular Quebec crime writer’s foray into state crimes with Clinton has garnered a huge following, on the tail of her success with The Madness of Crowds.
Kate Quinn and Laura Dave are the only two American authors on our list.
Miriam Toew’s Fight Night has her trademark humour and pathos along with unique characters and relationships, and The Push by Ashley Audrain is a gripping psychological drama. Both of these Canadian writers offer refreshing views on motherhood.
Five Little Indians, published in 2020, is still going strong as residential schools stay in the news for the saddest of reasons, followed by Indian in the Cabinet – Wilson-Raybould’s view on federal politics today (our only non-fiction title).
Giller Prize winner What Strange Paradise speaks of the plight of refugees, another reflection of current events.
A Town Called Solace is the return of Mary Lawson’s Northern Ontario world with another captivating family drama.”
Books in the Adult (French) category:
1. Un café avec Marie by Serge Bouchard
2. Tiohtiàke by Michel Jean
3. Le sablier : otage au Sahara pendant 450 jours by Édith Blais
4. La plus secrète mémoire des hommes by Mohamed Mbougar Sarr
5. Em by Kim Thúy
6. Le promeneur de chèvres by Francine Ruel
7. Les villages de Dieu by Emmelie Prophète
8. Fast food santé by Geneviève O’Gleman
9. La pharmacie Lamoureux by Louise Tremblay d’Essiambre
10. Leonard Cohen : sur un fil by Philippe Girard
What the OPL's librarians have to say about this list:
“The list of most requested French books for 2021 includes six books written by women, and the list includes mostly Canadian authors and/or subjects.
Sadly deceased this year but still a popular author, Serge Bouchard’s novel Un café avec Marie is number one on the list. Bouchard was a great storyteller who left many books to discover.
Michel Jean's Tiohtiàke is also one of the most requested titles this year, and so is his 2019 book, Kukum.
Édith Blais' non-fiction title, as well as Philippe Girard's comic book were very popular in the media this year.
There are also have a few award winners on the list, such as Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, the winner of the Goncourt 2021 prize, and Emmelie Prophète, a Haitian writer who won the Prix du rayonnement de la langue et de la littérature françaises from the Académie française.
Also on the list, La pharmacie Lamoureux, is the third book of the series Place des Érables by Louise Tremblay d'Essiambre, one of the most popular authors of historical fiction in Quebec and Canada.”
Books in the Teens (English) category:
1. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
2. Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
3. Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas
4. Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
5. Hunting by Stars by Cherie Dimaline
6. Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean
7. The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Barnes
8. The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
9. These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
10. Lore by Alexandra Bracken
What the OPL's librarians have to say about this list:
“The top teen titles sorted showed a preponderance of old titles, reflecting the strong impact that Netflix and Booktok (a book-focused subcommunity on the app TikTok) are having on what teens are reading. Older titles were eliminated with the purpose of focusing on 2021 titles.
Leigh Bardugo, the author of the number one title on this list, had several titles from a couple of different series in the top 20 titles.
Chinese-Canadian author Xiran Jay Zhao wrote Iron Widow, a science-fantasy novel.
Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley is a YA thriller about a Native teen who must root out the corruption in her community.
Concrete Rose is a prequel to Angie Thomas’s first novel The Hate U Give, which was adapted into a film. The Gilded Ones touches on topics such as racism, xenophobia, misogyny, inequality, abuse, and trauma in a positive and fantastical way, and will soon be adapted into a movie too.
Hunting by Stars is a sequel to the bestselling, award-winning novel The Marrow Thieves, about a dystopian world where the Indigenous people of North America are being hunted for their bone marrow and ability to dream.
Reminiscent of The Princess Diaries, the book Tokyo Ever After follows main character, Izumi, as she discovers her own identity and searches for her father—who turns out to be the crown prince of Japan.”
Books in the Teens and Children (French) category:
1. Journal d'un dégonflé – Tome 12: Sauve qui peut ! by Jeff Kinney
2. Le secret des dragons by Dominique Demers
3. Mystères à l'école by Various authors
4. Les méchants : No 12 – L'être élu?! by Aaron Blabey
5. J'avais tout prévu sauf les bélugas by Andrée Poulin
6. Bas aux genoux et coton ouaté by Catherine Bourgault
7. Lucie la mouffette qui pête et les achigans tannants by Shallow and Vannara
8. Fifi a mangé le facteur by Marilou Addison
9. Médaille d'or pour Geronimo by Geronimo Stilton
10. Nish : Le nord et le sud by Isabelle Picard
What the OPL's librarians have to say about this list:
“The most popular and requested French youth titles dip into OPL’s older collection, as well as some titles published in 2021.
The three novels: Mystères à l'école, J'avais tout prévu sauf les belugas, as well as Bas aux genoux et coton ouaté were popular among teens.”
