The Calgary Public Library’s top books of the year are out, and children, teens, and adults are likely to find something that will make them want to take these selections into the new year.

This year features more local authors from Calgary on the list as well, owing to a change in the way that the library has selected their top picks.

Gone for 2024 is the former method of listing the top checked out items for the past 12 months, instead a team of librarians has combed the hot lists, perused the shelves, and have selected some titles that are likely to entice readers—without having to make them wait for long hold times.

“For over a decade now what we had been doing every year was looking at the circulation numbers. So we were just reporting the books that had gone out the most… and people were interested, but the problem was there were always long wait times for all these books,” said Stephen Gibbs, Manager of Digital Resources at Calgary Public Library.

“People already knew about them for the most part. So we thought how can we do this a bit better?” Gibbs said.

Six members of the library’s selection team—the team that is involved in making purchasing selections for the library’s collection—came together to provide a list that reflected some of the best from the thousands of titles that the library looks at each year.

“They gave us a list of the books that really stood out to them. We went through the list, we looked for ones that had good reviews, and we looked for local authors. So we have a few books on the list that are written by Calgarians, and then ultimately their favourite books of the year that they saw from looking at all these,” Gibbs said.

One of those picks, If We Tell You by local Calgary author Nicola Dahlin, was a book that not only fit the criteria of being written by a local, but also has gotten a lot of buzz and interest from library readers, he said.

The book has been available as an electronic title, but is now just coming into libraries as physical copies just in time for the top list of the year reveal.

“I really wanted to highlight it because it’s an excellent book. It’s a very exciting, very interesting concept. So, some of the books on the list, yes, they are in high demand,” Gibbs said.

Another one that would be interesting for readers would be I Hope This Finds You Well from another Calgary author Natalie Sue, according to Gibbs.

“It just released. So it’s a mix of things that are very popular already, but also things we wanted to draw people’s attention to,” he said.

For Calgarians who can’t get enough of the library’s selections this year, they’ve also put together a companion read-alike list that expands on the selections.

“Typically, after we release the picks increase, and interest increases on these ones. So, we want to make sure that we had a few read-alikes to just to expand things a little bit. We’re looking at similar themes, similar formats. So if it’s a picture book, it’ll be a picture book read-alike,” Gibbs said.

The ultimate goal with the selections was to encourage more Calgarians to read, he said.

“Nothing gets us more excited than people asking us about books. My most favourite moment ever working at the library was when I was a community outreach librarian… a mother came in with a young child, and she said ‘he won’t read it. I can’t get him to read anything. He won’t sit down. He won’t look at a book,'” Gibbs said.

“We went into the picture book section, and we had Richard Scarry’s Cars, Trucks and Things That Go. Every page is like a whole bunch of different vehicles. The ending is like the ketchup truck collides with the mustard truck, which collides with huge accident. So I gave him this book.

“A few minutes later she came and asked to see me… and she said, ‘I can’t pry this book out of his hands. I can’t even do this all check out, because he will not let go of this book.’ For me, that was the most perfect moment as a librarian.”

For all of the Calgary Public Library reading and media recommendations, see www.calgarylibrary.ca/connect/book-media-recommendations.

Calgary Public Library’s Top Books of 2024

Adult Reads

• James by Percival Everett
• I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue
• Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
• Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey

Young Adult Reads

• If We Tell You by Nicola Dahlin
• Such Charming Liars by Karen McManus
• Where Wolves Don’t Die by Anton Treuer
• A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

Children Reads

• We are Definitely Human by X. Fang
• Uprooted by Ruth Chan
• Fluffle Bunnies: Buns Gone Bad by Anne Humphrey
• The First Week of School by Drew Beckmeyer