A librarian in Jackson is sharing what books have been the most popular this year. Many of them belonged to newer genres.
Carrie Wold manages a branch for the Jackson District Library. She says two new genres stuck out this year when it came to what readers kept checking out: romantasy and new adult.
Romantasy combines elements of romance novels and fantasy stories like the bestseller Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. The story follows a young woman who becomes a dragon rider.
"I feel like the fantasy space can be kind of dominated by this more masculine, high fantasy stereotype," Wold said. "But these authors are really bringing a lot more women and diversity into the fantasy space."
I've had displays in my library that we've curated that have had some really controversial titles on display and they get checked out, and people read them, and we haven't had a backlash on it.
Fourth Wing's sequel Iron Flame also came out this year.
Wold says new adult books capture life for those in their early to mid-20s likes the Crescent City series by Sarah J. Moss which also has fantasy elements.
"These books feature characters that aren't teens, but you know, they're also not 40-year-old adults that are trudging through life. They're still figuring things out. "
Memoirs were also popular this year, including new releases from Britney Spears and Prince Harry. Matthew Perry's Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing which came out last year gained a new audience after the actor's death in October.
Wold adds that banned books have been increasingly popular among Michigan readers this year. While the Jackson branch has not seen any challenges to books in its collection, the librarian is continuing to celebrate the freedom to read.
"I've had displays in my library that we've curated that have had some really controversial titles on display and they get checked out, and people read them, and we haven't had a backlash on it. "
Those books include the graphic novel Maus by Art Spiegelman, the graphic memoir Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe and the semi-biographical novel Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison.
It's really cool to have this place that you're familiar with that you've spent time there with your family, and then to see it on the pages of this big buzzy book and know exactly what they're talking about.
Some popular new releases among adult readers include Yellowface by R. F. Kuang, The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese, Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo and Our Share of Night by Mariana Enríquez.
For young adults, Wold recommends the Inheritance Games series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. The latest book, The Brothers Hawthorne, came out earlier this year.
The sequel to best-seller Firekeeper's Daughter by Michigan author Angeline Boulley was released in 2023. Warrior Girl Unearthed has a special significance to Wold because she has family in the Upper Peninsula where the story takes place.
"It's really cool to have this place that you're familiar with that you've spent time there with your family, and then to see it on the pages of this big buzzy book and know exactly what they're talking about."
Wold says younger readers should check out the graphic novel series Dog Man by Dav Pilkey and its latest installment Twenty Thousand Fleas Under the Sea.
For nonfiction, she recommends The Wager by David Grann who also wrote Killers of the Flower Moon. That book was adapted to film by director Martin Scorsese this year.
