Lists & Rankings: Boston Public Library’s Top Borrowed Titles Of 2017, Library Adds Nearly 83,000 New Cardholders in 2017
From BPL:
Boston Public Library’s top borrowed adult titles of 2017 feature a range of acclaimed, prize-winning, and bestselling works by talented writers.
“Bostonians continue to value staying up to date with popular media and culture; three of our top ten books were recently adapted to film or television, while Hillbilly Elegy addresses current political and social issues,” said Jessica Tackett MacDonald, Collection Development Librarian. “Cardholders also love a good Pulitzer Prize winner: The Underground Railroad, All the Light We Cannot See, and The Goldfinch were all given this honor.”
- The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
- The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
- The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
- Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance
- A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman
- Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty
- The Girls by Emma Cline
- Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
- All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Additional top titles lists are available for children and teens.
In 2017, the BPL added 82,911 new library card holders, loaned more than 4.9 million items, and had 1.6 million downloads of e-books and audiobooks. Anyone who lives, works, or goes to school in Massachusetts may have a library card.

About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.