TORONTO -- Bookworms made former U.S. first lady Michelle Obama鈥檚 memoir 鈥淏ecoming鈥� the most-borrowed library book in some of Canada鈥檚 biggest cities last year.
At the Toronto Public Library, which boasts one of the 鈥�,鈥� Obama鈥檚 book nabbed the .
Last year, the physical book was checked out of Toronto libraries 5,860 times, while the digital copy was borrowed 6,632 times.
And, without providing in-depth figures, a Halifax Public Libraries spokesperson said 鈥淏ecoming鈥� topped their lists of most-borrowed books, which included physical books and audiobooks.
The librarians CTVNews.ca spoke to weren鈥檛 shocked that Obama鈥檚 uplifting memoir was the most-circulated book at public libraries in Halifax, Winnipeg, Vancouver and Toronto, and in the top 10 in Montreal and Calgary.
Citing Obama鈥檚 unique popularity in the U.S. and Canada, Wendy Banks, Toronto Public Library鈥檚 digital content lead of collection development, told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview: 鈥淚t鈥檚 really not that surprising.鈥�
According to market research firm YouGov鈥檚 , Michelle Obama was the year鈥檚 most admired woman in the world -- surpassing Taylor Swift and even the Queen.
She also expected the top spot going to Obama because her book had already led many top 10 lists at public libraries across the United States. And that popularity likely helped in sales as well.
have sold since the book was released in November and it鈥檚 set to become the best-selling memoir in history, according to the book鈥檚 publisher.
Nabbing the second-place spot on Toronto鈥檚 most popular library items was 2018 Scotiabank Giller Prize-winning novel 鈥淲ashington Black鈥� by Esi Edugyan, with Tara Westover鈥檚 memoir 鈥淓ducated鈥� coming in third. Lists in Toronto and other cities also included famed author Maragaret Atwood鈥檚 sequel to 鈥淭he Handmaid鈥檚 Tale鈥� (鈥淭he Testaments鈥�) and Louise Penny鈥檚 鈥淜ingdom of the Blind.鈥�
For the past three years, the Toronto Public Library has put out its list of top 10 books and Banks said if a book won the Giller Prize, it often landed on the list. 鈥淚t drives a lot of traffic, for sure,鈥� she said.
Banks added with a chuckle that various editions of 鈥淭he Official MTO (Ontario Ministry of Transportation) Driver鈥檚 Handbook鈥� have always been among their most-circulated books.
, it took the top spot 鈥� it was borrowed 4,665 times -- but in 2019, there were two editions that split the tally enough to bump it off the list. In 2017, Banks said staff didn鈥檛 include the driver鈥檚 handbook on the list because they felt it was too 鈥渨eird鈥� to be next to other titles. But they have since decided not to remove the manual from their top 10 lists anymore.
And , the most popular non-fiction book at the Toronto Public Library, which didn鈥檛 track the top 10 books overall, was 鈥淲hen Breath Becomes Air鈥� by Paul Kalnithi.
'BECOMING' NOT IN TOP 10 FOR CALGARY, MONTREAL
But two libraries CTVNews.ca looked at that bucked the trend of Obama being the number-one borrowed book were the Montreal Public Libraries Network and the Calgary Public Library.
Although Obama鈥檚 book was only the seventh-most borrowed physical book in Montreal, the digital copy was that library鈥檚 most signed out e-book, being signed out 1,498 times. Their most checked-out book was the thriller 鈥淭he Disappearance of Stephanie鈥� by Joël Dicker.
And in Calgary鈥檚 libraries, the most requested title in 2019 for adults and children was Dav Pilkey鈥檚 children鈥檚 book 鈥淒og Man: for Whom the Ball Rolls.鈥� A children鈥檚 book leading the pack is no surprise for Calgary librarians as 鈥淗arry Potter and the Sorcerer鈥檚 Stone鈥� has been their most checked-out book in the past 20 years.
But Obama鈥檚 鈥淏ecoming鈥� was still one of the library鈥檚 most requested books and e-books, library CEO Mark Asberg said in a phone interview with CTVNews.ca.
Like Banks, Asberg wasn鈥檛 surprised Obama topped so many library lists because 鈥渉er profile is so huge (and has) a great deal of positive connotation.鈥�
At the Vancouver Public Library, where staff are currently compiling a list of their most borrowed books of all time, a spokesperson said number one would 鈥渓ikely be a kids鈥� book, as those tend to remain popular over time whereas adult book popularity changes more frequently.鈥�
In Toronto, Banks had a similar hunch that if their most-borrowed book lists had included combined totals from books in a series, all of Jeff Kinney鈥檚 鈥淒iary of a Wimpy Kid鈥� books combined would land at the top of the list.
