Women authored most-borrowed books from NYC libraries in 2023

This year’s top checkouts at New York City’s public libraries tell vastly different stories — about a former actress who says she’s not sad about her mother’s death; a fictional chemist from the 1960s who teaches science to housewives through a cooking show; and a gutsy heroine who must learn to become a dragon warrior against all odds.

But the top adult titles at the city’s three library systems share a key similarity: They were all written by women.

“I’m Glad My Mom Died” by Jennette McCurdy was the Brooklyn Public Library’s top checkout, while “Fourth Wing” by Rebecca Yarros was the favorite of Queens Public Library patrons and “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus was the most popular book at the New York Public Library, which serves Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island.

The only male author to break into the uppermost ranks citywide was Prince Harry, who made waves — and sometimes overshared — in his 400-page memoir “Spare.”

Some of the books were featured on WNYC’s “Get Lit!” virtual book club, a partnership with NYPL started during the pandemic. “Yellowface” by R. F. Kuang (#6) and “The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store” by James McBride (#7) were top 10 checkouts at NYPL, according to the library system. (WNYC and Gothamist are both part of New York Public Radio.)

In a statement Tuesday, Queens Public Library Chief Librarian Nick Buron said the 2023 lists “reflect a changing of the guard.”

“In the past our readers leaned towards popular romance and suspense novelists, like Danielle Steel, John Grisham or Stephen King,” he said. “This year they were drawn to writers of color, like Gabrielle Zevin and Abraham Verghese, and authors whose popularity soared after they went viral on social media, like Rebecca Yarros, Colleen Hoover and Brianna Wiest. These choices signal a desire to explore new themes as well as changes in the way our customers discover and engage with books.”

Here is the complete rundown of the libraries’ top adult titles for 2023. (You can see the top children's and teens titles here.)

Brooklyn Public Library

1. “I’m Glad My Mom Died” by Jennette McCurdy
2. “Spare” by Prince Harry
3. “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin
4. “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus
5. “Book Lovers” by Emily Henry
6. “Happy Place” by Emily Henry
7. “The Paris Apartment” by Lucy Foley
8. “Pineapple Street” by Jenny Jackson
9. “It Ends with Us” by Colleen Hoover
10. “Fourth Wing” by Rebecca Yarros

New York Public Library

Systemwide:

1. “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus
2. “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin
3. “Spare” by Prince Harry
4. “Book Lovers” by Emily Henry
5. “Verity” by Colleen Hoover
6. “Yellowface” by R. F. Kuang
7. “The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store” by James McBride
8. “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jenkins Reid
9. “It Ends with Us” by Colleen Hoover
10. “Daisy Jones & the Six” by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Bronx:

1. “Spare” by Prince Harry
2. “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus
3. “It Starts with Us” by Colleen Hoover
4. “I’m Glad My Mom Died” by Jennette McCurdy
5. “Hello Beautiful” by Ann Napolitano
6. “Without a Trace” by Danielle Steel
7. “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jenkins Reid
8. “Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones” by James Clear
9. Tie “Triple Cross” by James Patterson
10. Tie “3 Days to Live” by James Patterson

Manhattan:

1. “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus
2. “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin
3. “Hello Beautiful” by Ann Napolitano
4. “I’m Glad My Mom Died” by Jennette McCurdy
5. “Spare” by Prince Harry
6. “Pineapple Street” by Jenny Jackson
7. “Crying in H Mart: A Memoir” by Michelle Zauner
8. “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jenkins Reid
9. “Mad Honey” by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan
10. “Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver

Staten Island:

1. “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus
2. “It Starts with Us” by Colleen Hoover
3. “Spare” by Prince Harry
4. “The Boys from Biloxi” by John Grisham
5. “Simply Lies” by David Baldacci
6. “Without a Trace” by Danielle Steel
7. “Hello Beautiful” by Ann Napolitano
8. “The 23rd Midnight” by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro
9. “Worthy Opponents” by Danielle Steel
10. “Loyalty” by Lisa Scottoline

Queens Public Library

1. “Fourth Wing” by Rebecca Yarros
2. “Spare” by Prince Harry
3. “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin
4. “I’m Glad My Mom Died” by Jennette McCurdy
5. “It Starts with Us” by Colleen Hoover
6. “It Ends with Us” by Colleen Hoover
7. “The Covenant of Water” by Abraham Verghese
8. “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus
9. “Verity” by Colleen Hoover
10. “101 Essays that Will Change the Way You Think” by Brianna Wiest

Check out the most popular NYC library checkouts in 2022, 2021, and 2020.