Wednesday, July 5, 2023

The Top Circulating Books in Art, Music & Recreation Center, 2022-2023



I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy (Simon & Schuster, 2022).

Crying in H Mart: A Memoir by Michelle Zauner (Alfred A. Knopf, 2021).


We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story by Simu Liu (William Morrow, 2022).

Piano Masterworks for Teaching and Performance: A Comprehensive Anthology of Standard Literature, edited by E.L. Lancaster and Kenon D. Renfrow (Alfred Music, 2015).

Born A Crime: Stories from A South African Childhood by Trevor Noah (Spiegel & Grau, 2016).

The Story of Art by E.H. Gombrich (Phaidon, 2006).

The Interior Design Handbook: Furnish, Decorate, and Style Your Space by Frida Ramstedt, English translation by Peter Graves (Clarkson Potter/Publishers, 2020.

Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud (Paradox Press, 1999).

Wild: The Naturalistic Garden by Noel Kingsbury and Claire Takacs (Phaidon, 2022).

Live Beautiful by Athena Calderone (Abrams, 2020).

Alice Neel: The Art of Not Sitting Pretty by Phoebe Hoban (David Zwirner Books, 2021).

Maybe We'll Make It: A Memoir by Margo Price (University of Texas Press, 2022).

Chess for Dummies by James Eade (John Wiley & Sons, 2016).


Memoirs are often the most popular titles at the Library. This time our list includes titles by child actress Jeannette McCurdy, actor Simu Liu, songwriters Michelle Zauner and Margo Price, and comedian Trevor Noah. Interior decoration books like the Interior Design Handbook and Live Beautiful are ever popular. Books of practical instruction in chess, marathons, piano, and pottery glazes also made the list of most popular titles.

An Alice Neel retrospective at the DeYoung Museum probably led to an upsurge of interest in her art. Gombrich's The Story of Art, McCloud's Understanding Comics, McCardell's What Shall I Wear are all recognized introductions to their subjects. Wild: The Naturalistic Garden takes an ecological approach to garden design. 

Happy reading!