The New York Public Library has revealed the 10 most borrowed books. The first position is for The Snowy day Ezra Jack Keats, with 485,583 loans, an illustrated story dating from 1962 that tells the story of a boy who enjoys the pure magic that snow brings to his city, according to the list that the institution has announced on the occasion of its 125th anniversary. In second place is The Cat in the Hat, written in 1957 by Theodor Seuss, a children’s book that was considered very innovative after its publication.
On the other hand, 1984, by British writer George Orwell, is the most borrowed novel with 441,770 loans since its publication in 1949. The book has been a regular read in American high schools since it was published and has continually returned to popularity at times of sociopolitical change in the country. It has also been one of the most purchased on Amazon in recent years, another proof of its popularity.
Behind 1984,in fourth place, is another children’s book, Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak and published in 1963, which is also frequent on the school list and tells of Max’s “imaginative”adventures with some monsters. The second most borrowed novel, in fifth place,is the classic To Kill a Mockingbird, written in 1960 by Harper Lee and which won him a Pulitzer Prize. It is also a regular publication in U.S. educational institutions.
Sixth place is another children’s classic, E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web, a popular children’s story set on a magical farm with endearing characters that addresses such themes as friendship and the loss of innocence.
Next, Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, published in 1953, would be the third most widely read novel by Library users,with 316,404 loans, in seventh place. Like 1984, Bradbury’s book has enjoyed waves of popularity as sociopolitical events in the United States and upheavals in dystopian fiction have taken place.
In eighth place is How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie’s 1936 work that is often recommended for people seeking to advance in their lives or work. In ninth place is the only work in the entire list that dates back to after 1970: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the first book in the magic saga of the British author J. K Rowling, published in 1998. Closing the list is another children’s story, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle, written in 1969, which deals with the endearing tale of a caterpillar that is always hungry.
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