It’s a brand new year! Before plunging into 2020, we at the Library are taking a moment to reflect back on 2019 the books our patrons most enjoyed. The following list will give you a peek at what your friends and neighbours are reading, and if you haven’t already checked them out, this is a great place to start off 2020.
The most in-demand book of adult fiction in 2019 was Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny (checked out 176 times), followed by In a House of Lies by Ian Rankin, and Past Tense by Lee Child. In adult non-fiction, Library lovers were big fans of Becoming by Michelle Obama, which was our most-checked out book of the year at 214 times. Next was Educated by Tara Westover, and Gold Diggers by Charlotte Gray. Teardown: Rebuilding Democracy from the Ground Up by Dave Meslin was also very popular, doubtless in part due to Dave’s visit to the County in June and his thought-provoking talk.
In DVD box sets the most in demand was Midsomer Murders, checked out 167 times. This was followed by Game of Thrones at 143; everyone must have been catching up on GOT series the series ended last Spring. The top three movies checked out were A Star is Born starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, The Wife starring Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce, and Green Book starring Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen.
Some of you may also have watched A Star Is Born at one of the monthly free movie nights put on by the Friends of the Wellington Library.
In children’s fiction the most popular books were Brawl of the Wild by Dav Pilkey, The Baby-Sitters Club: Dawn and the Impossible Three by Gale Galligan, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules by Jeff Kinney.
The Musical Instrument Lending Library had a busy year. The most checked out instruments were the 7″ J. Djembe Drum, the Soprano Ukulele, and the Frame Drum with tunable snares. If you’re wondering what to borrow I hope we’ve sparked your curiosity. We’re looking forward to seeing what interests Prince Edward County in the year to come!
Speaking of curiosity, you might have noticed that Ruth Abernathy’s statue of Sir John A. MacDonald has now been placed in its new home in front of the Picton Library.
We will be continuing the conversation exploring the broader historical context of Canada’ first minister, picking up from Dr. Niigaan Sinclair’s lecture in November. In the second part of the series, we now welcome Calvin Brook to the PEC Library. Calvin is an architect, urban designer and planner and co-founder of Brook McIlroy, an architecture, urban design, landscape architecture, and urban planning practice.
A key focus of his practice is through collaborations with the firm’s Indigenous architects and interns through the Indigenous Design Studio. Brook McIlroy’s work with Canada’s Indigenous communities has been recognized by The Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business and is the first architectural and planning practice in Canada certified under CCAB’s Progressive Aboriginal Relations (PAR) program.
The lecture will take place on Sat. Jan. 25th from 2-4 p.m. at the Picton Library.
Admission is free.
-Halliday Reynolds