Check out the most borrowed books, audiobooks and more at the Cedar Rapids library

As the year draws to a close, we’re looking back at some of the most popular items in our collection in 2021. We analyzed the data to put together lists of the most borrowed books and digital resources to see what Cedar Rapids residents were reading, listening to and watching this year.

Information for these lists was collected in mid-December. A midyear Information Library System transition means book circulation data is from the second half of 2021, while digital circulation data is from the full year.

Adult books

The most popular books in our adult collection were all fiction, and they focused on dramas.

1. “The Last Thing He Told Me,” by Laura Dave

2. “The President’s Daughter,” by Bill Clinton and James Patterson

3. “Finding Ashley,” by Danielle Steel

4. “The Four Winds,” by Kristin Hannah

5. “Sooley,” by John Grisham

Young adult books

Young adult readers favored older books over new ones, with fantasy dominating the category and Suzanne Collins coming in twice.

1. “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” by Suzanne Collins

2. “Shadow and Bone,” by Leigh Bardugo

3. “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” by Sherman Alexie

4. “Catching Fire,” by Suzanne Collins

5. “A Court of Thorns and Roses,” by Sarah Maas

Manga

Manga is popular enough we gave it its own category. Some have dozens of issues per title, so here were the five most borrowed series.

1. “One Piece,” by Eiichiro Oda

2. “My Hero Academia,” by Kohei Horikoshi

3. “Bleach,” by Tite Kubo

4. “Fullmetal Alchemist,” by Hiromu Arakawa

5. “Case Closed,” by Gosho Aoyama

Kids books

Kids in Cedar Rapids continue to love “The Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” with four books making the top five ranking.

1. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down,” by Jeff Kinney

2. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Deep End,” by Jeff Kinney

3. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth,” by Jeff Kinney

4. “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel,” by Jeff Kinney

5. “Splatoon,” by Sankichi Hinodeya

Ebooks

For digital resources, we looked at Overdrive. The top circulating ebooks from the last year were dominated by historical fiction.

1. “The Vanishing Half,” by Brit Bennett

2. “The Four Winds,” by Kristin Hannah

3. “The Midnight Library,” by Matt Haig

4. “Sold on a Monday,” by Kristina McMorris

5. “The Alice Network,” by Kate Quinn

Audiobooks

The top digital audiobooks borrowed from Overdrive included biographies, along with a bit of romance.

1. “The Four Winds,” by Kristin Hannah

2. “Bridgerton: The Duke and I,” by Julia Quinn

3. “Where the Crawdads Sing,” by Delia Owens

4. “A Promised Land,” by Barack Obama

5. “Greenlights,” by Matthew McConaughey