Top Syndetics Unbound Titles of 2021

We've compiled the most searched-for and looked-at books in public and academic libraries around the world, drawing on the thousands of libraries that use Syndetics Unbound.

Check out this "bar chart race" of the top searched-for books in US public libraries! I hope you find it as mesmerizing as we do. View this visualisation on Flourish.

United States Public Libraries

Here are the top 50 books in US public libraries across all of 2021.

1. 1. The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
   2. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
   3. The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
   4. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
   5. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab
   6. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
   7. Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
   8. Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
   9. Golden Girl by Elin Hilderbrand
   10. The Guest List by Lucy Foley
   11. Sooley by John Grisham
   12. Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
   13. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
   14. The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller
   15. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling
   16. The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles
   17. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
   18. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
   19. The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
   20. People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
   21. The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
   22. The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict
   23. The Judge's List by John Grisham
   24. The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny
   25. Dune by Frank Herbert
   26. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
   27. Billy Summers by Stephen King
   28. A Gambling Man by David Baldacci
   29. A Time for Mercy by John Grisham
   30. The Wish by Nicholas Sparks
   31. The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
   32. Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
   33. Daylight by David Baldacci
   34. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
   35. The Duke and I by Julia Quinn
   36. Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
   37. The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse
   38. Ocean Prey by John Sandford
   39. It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
   40. Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
   41. The President's Daughter by Bill Clinton
   42. The Push by Ashley Audrain
   43. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
   44. Win by Harlan Coben
   45. American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
   46. Eternal by Lisa Scottoline
   47. Dark Sky by C. J. Box
   48. We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker
   49. Legacy by Nora Roberts
   50. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

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Australian Public Libraries

1. 1. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
   2. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
   3. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
   4. The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
   5. The Survivors by Jane Harper
   6. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
   7. The Dry by Jane Harper
   8. Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
   9. Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
   10. Honeybee by Craig Silvey
   11. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
   12. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling
   13. The Duke and I by Julia Quinn
   14. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
   15. The Barefoot Investor: The Only Money Guide You'll Ever Need by Scott Pape
   16. The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
   17. Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton
   18. Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
   19. The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku
   20. All Our Shimmering Skies by Trent Dalton

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Canadian Public Libraries

1. 1. The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
   2. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
   3. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
   4. The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
   5. The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
   6. The Push by Ashley Audrain
   7. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
   8. The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny
   9. Five Little Indians by Michelle Good
   10. The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles
   11. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab
   12. The Guest List by Lucy Foley
   13. Sooley by John Grisham
   14. Daylight by David Baldacci
   15. American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
   16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling
   17. All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny
   18. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
   19. A Gambling Man by David Baldacci
   20. Before She Disappeared by Lisa Gardner

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United Kingdom Public Libraries

The data for the UK is based on a smaller sample than other countries, so the ranking may not be as accurate.

1. 1. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
   2. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
   3. The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman
   4. Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
   5. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
   6. Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
   7. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
   8. Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
   9. Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith
   10. The Night Hawks by Elly Griffiths
   11. Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers
   12. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
   13. Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney
   14. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
   15. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
   16. The Salt Path by Raynor Winn
   17. Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
   18. The Heron's Cry by Ann Cleeves
   19. The Sentinel by Lee Child
   20. Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason

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World Academic Libraries

Here are the top books in academic libraries around the world. As you can see, they are dominated by textbooks and core reference titles.

1. 1. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association by American Psychological Association
   2. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition by American Psychological Association
   3. Research Methods for Business Students by Mark N.K. Saunders
   4. Principles of Marketing by Philip Kotler
   5. Social Research Methods by Alan Bryman
   6. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches by John W. Cresswell
   7. Brock Biology of Microorganisms by Michael T. Madigan
   8. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge by Project Management Institute Operations Management by Nigel Slack
   9. The Study Skills Handbook by Stella Cottrell
   10. Pharmacology by H. P. Rang
   11. Research Methods in Education by Louis Cohen
   12. Case Study Research: Design and Methods by Robert K. Yin
   13. Doing Your Research Project by Judith Bell
   14. Textbook of Medical Physiology by Arthur C. Guyton
   15. Digital Marketing: Strategy, Implementation and Practice by Dave Chaffey
   16. Marketing Management by Philip Kotler
   17. Leadership: Theory and Practice by Peter G. Northouse
   18. Business Research Methods by Alan Bryman
   19. Macroeconomics by Olivier Blanchard

How Do We Know?

This data was collected by Syndetics Unbound. The search data is fully anonymized the day it is collected. For more information about Syndetics Unbound, please visit Syndetics.com.