Library's Most Circulated Titles of 2025
Books are back! 2025 saw another surge in the interest of books—both physical and digital. Many credit social media, like booktok, or new genres (romantasy) for the rise in interest. But this trend is nothing new for Baltimore County Public Library, where our community of readers circulated nearly nine million items in 2025. Of course, a few rose to the top, including several books that held their spots from 2024, novels about complicated family ties and a half-dog, half-man police officer.
Children cannot get enough of Dav Pilkey’s "Dog Man." This crime-fighting police officer is half-dog, half-man after an experimental surgery combines a police officer and his police dog, Greg. While hilarious, the series also teaches about empathy and kindness. The top 12 circulated children’s books were from this series. The most popular were volumes 1,2,7,12,13—having circulated for a combined 8,942 times.
“Dog Man is obviously one of a kind, but graphic novels, especially for kids, are where the action is,” said Jamie Watson, Collection Development Manager for the system. “Children’s graphic novel circulation is up 19 percent over last year. And it’s not just Dog Man—author Raina Telgemeier’s work as well as the Wings of Fire series by Tui T. Sutherland are some examples.”
May the odds be ever in your favor, teens! The Hunger Games series is once again the most circulated titles for teenagers. "The Hunger Games," "Catching Fire," "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" and "Sunrise on the Reaping" took the top four spots. However, Jennifer Lynn Barnes’ 2020 release, "The Inheritance Games," slipped into the fifth spot for the first time in 2025.
Turning to the adults, several top books in 2024 hung out in the top five for 2025 as well, including our number one fiction book "The Women" by Kristin Hannah. In nonfiction, James Clear’s "Atomic Habits" and Erik Larson’s "The Demon of Unrest" remained in the top five for a second year.
Top Five Adult Fiction Books Circulated in 2025
- "The Women" by Kristin Hannah
- "We All Live Here: A Novel" by Jojo Moyes
- "Nobody’s Fool" by Harlan Coben
- "The Life Impossible" by Matt Haig
- "In Too Deep" by Lee Child
Top Five Adult Nonfiction Books Circulated in 2025
- "Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones" by James Clear
- "Be Ready When the Luck Happens: A Memoir" by Ida Garten
- "Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions" by John Grisham
- "The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War" by Erik Larson
- "The Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering" by Malcolm Gladwell
Top Circulated Books in Other Categories
- Adult Fiction on Libby—"The Women" by Kristin Hannah
- Adult Nonfiction on Libby—"The Let Them Theory" by Mel Robbins
- Adult Fiction on CloudLibrary—"Fourth Wing" by Rebecca Yarros
- Adult Nonfiction on CloudLibrary—"Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones" by James Clear
Don’t miss your chance to discover these top titles! Baltimore County Public Library encourages the community to head into any of its branches to grab a physical copy or sign up for an e-card to instantly start using its digital library. If customers are looking for something more obscure than the top five, visit the service desk to get staff recommendations or try the Be Surprised Bundles, where staff pick out books or other materials based on a customer’s interests and reading history.
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