Here are DC’s most-borrowed books of 2023

It’s no secret that Washington, D.C. loves to read. In 2023, the city borrowed over seven million items, including books, movies and digital loans from the DC Public Library and broke a digital loan record.

Adult readers enjoyed memoirs like Prince Harry’s “Spare” and bestsellers-turned-TV-shows like “Lessons in Chemistry.” The two millionth digital book borrowed this year was Tiphanie Yanique’s historical fiction piece "Land of Love and Drowning," according to the library.

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Before you turn the page to a new year, check out the DC Public Library’s data on the most borrowed and downloaded books this past year.

Left: "Lessons in Chemistry" by Bonnie Garmus. Right: "Crying in H Mart" by Michelle Zauner.

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Most-borrowed adult fiction books:

"Lessons in Chemistry" by Bonnie Garmus
"Demon Copperhead" by Barbara Kingsolver
"Happy Place" by Emily Henry
"Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow" by Gabrielle Zevin
"Pineapple Street" by Jenny Jackson
"Romantic Comedy" by Curtis Sittenfeld
"I Have Some Questions for You" by Rebecca Makkai
"Book Lovers" by Emily Henry
"The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" by Taylor Jenkins Reid
"Carrie Soto Is Back" by Taylor Jenkins Reid

"Lessons in Chemistry," Bonnie Garmus's book about Elizabeth Zott, a self-assured chemist who finds herself starring in a 1960s cooking show, was the number one fiction book at the DC Public Library. This year, it became an Apple TV+ show led by Brie Larson.

Barbara Kingsolver's "Demon Copperhead" was ranked second in adult fiction. The book, about a poverty-stricken boy growing up in the mountains of Appalachia, was the winner of a 2023 Pulitzer Prize.

Ranked third was "Happy Place" by Emily Henry, a romantic comedy about a recently-broken-up couple who has to pretend they are still engaged for their friend group's annual beach trip.

Most-borrowed adult nonfiction books:

"Crying in H Mart" by Michelle Zauner
"Spare" by Prince Harry
"I'm Glad My Mom Died" by Jennette McCurdy
"Stay True " by Hua Hsu
"The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times" by Michelle Obama
"The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma" by Bessel van der Kolk
"All About Love: New Visions" by bell hooks
"An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us" by Ed Yong
"Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty" by Patrick Radden Keefe
"Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants" by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Coming in number one is Michelle Zauner's "Crying in H Mart," a memoir about growing up Korean American and losing her mother. Fans of D.C's 930 Club may have seen the author perform as leader of indie band Japanese Breakfast in 2018.

Unsurprisingly, Prince Harry's memoir was the second-most-borrowed adult nonfiction book. In January, D.C. readers just couldn't wait to hear his perspective on the Royal Family. At the time, the DC Public Library said there were nearly 400 holds on the book, nearly 4.5 times the number of books available at the library.

FYI 👀

DC Public Library has 30 physical copies, 30 eBook copies and 25 eAudiobook copies of #Spare by Prince Harry. As of Jan 10, all of physical copies have been reserved or checked out. There are 394 holds on the title. 268+ of those holds were placed over the last week. pic.twitter.com/7wQS7qmbJz
— DC Public Library (@dcpl) January 10, 2023

Jennette McCurdy's "I'm Glad My Mom Died" ranks third. McCurdy is known for her role as a teenager on Nickelodeon's “iCarly," and her memoir made waves when it came out in August.

The title is attention-grabbing, but she said she means every word. In her book, she wrote that her mother “emotionally, mentally and physically abused” her.

Most-borrowed fiction eBooks:

"Verity" by Colleen Hoover
"Lessons in Chemistry" by Bonnie Garmus
"The Last Thing He Told Me" by Laura Dave
"Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow" by Gabrielle Zevin
"It Starts with Us" by Colleen Hoover
"Demon Copperhead" by Barbara Kingsolver
"Romantic Comedy" by Curtis Sittenfeld
"Pineapple Street" by Jenny Jackson
"Remarkably Bright Creatures" by Shelby Van Pelt
"One Italian Summer" by Rebecca Serle

When D.C. checked out more than two million digital books from the library in November, the library said it was nearly double the amount checked out in 2022. The move to online check-outs skyrocketed in 2020 during the pandemic, with the help of the Libby app and OverDrive platform, library officials said.

"District residents are demonstrating an increasing reliance on our online offerings," Executive Director of the DC Public Library Richard Reyes-Gavilan said.

The psychological thriller "Verity" by Colleen Hoover ranked first, followed by "Lessons in Chemistry" and "The Last Thing He Told Me" by Laura Dave. Dave's mystery-thriller novel was also an Apple TV+ show -- perhaps proving that D.C. likes to both read a book and watch the show version.

Thrillers were popular with the digital loan readers, as was the romance genre, which includes "It Starts With Us," "Romantic Comedy" and "One Italian Summer."