It was a big year for books and reading in the Comox Valley.

On Dec. 30, the Vancouver Island Regional Library released its list of the books Islanders borrowed the most in 2024. While Comox Valley readers were slightly different than those from around the Island, there were a few similarities.

In the adult print fiction realm, Comox Valley readers followed the Island-wide trends for the top two books, with The Women by Kristin Hannah and Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver in the top two spots. Local readers borrowed those 254 and 199 times respectively. However, the third-most borrowed book was The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese at 194. Number four was Resurrection Walk by Michael Connelly (180), five was Tom Lake by Ann Patchett (174). The next three spots were The Exchange: After the Firm by John Grisham (161), Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus (153), and The Raging Storm by Ann Cleaves (142). So far, these books matched their Island-wide counterparts, albeit in a slightly different order. The only two books to not be on both lists were number nine:, The Bittlemores by Jann Arden (139), and 10, The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman (132).

For adult print non-fiction, local readers bucked the trend a little bit more. While the top six books were also on the top list from the Island, the final four were different. At number one was Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast by John Vaillant with 119 readers. Second was The Myth of Normal by Gabor Maté (112), and third was Doppelganger: a Trip Into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein (79). Next up were Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor (69), Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by Peter Attia (66), and The Wager: a Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann (60). From here, the Valley went its own way, with Outsider: An Old Man, a Mountain and the Search for a Hidden Past by Brett Popplewell getting borrowed 60 times. Next was Run Towards the Danger: Confrontations with a Body of Memory by Sarah Polley (58), Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann (54), and rounding out the top 10 was a cookbook called 5 Ingredients Mediterranean by Jamie Oliver (53).

Also with a good year this year were eBooks, though the local branches only had one outlier when compared to the whole system. Don't Believe It by Charlie Donlea took the top spot, having 293 checkouts. Next was Murder in an Irish Village by Carlene O'Connor (192), The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese (181), The Women by Kristin Hannah (177), Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (161), Tom Lake by Ann Patchett (159), A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny (138), Payback in Death by J.D. Robb (134), Resurrection Walk by Michael Connelly (134) and None of This is True by Lisa Jewell took the 10th spot with 132 borrows. Connelly's book was the only one not on the Island-wide list.

Finally, for eAudio books, only one book differed from the Island-wide list, though the order had some slight differences. Digital Audiobooks were also the most popular way for people to borrow books at the library. At the top of the list was 101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think by Brianna West with 330 checkouts. Next was The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese woth 320, followed by Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer with 303. Next up was Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros with 295, followed closely by another Yarros book, The Things We Leave Unfinished with 292 readers. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas was next, with 259 borrowers. A third Rebecca Yarros book was next, Iron Flame with 248 readers. The next and final three books in this category were The Locked Door by Freida McFadden (221), Twisted Love by Ana Huang (199) and A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas (195).