Edmonton Gets Its Read On!

Despite the endless stream of free music, movies, articles, and stories online, Edmonton continues to keep librarians on their toes

BY EMIL TIEDEMANN

Kathryn Stockett's 2009 novel 'The Help' was turned into
a 2011 feature film starring Emma Stone, which went

on to make over $200 million at the box office. 
I SWEAR that every time I go to my local library (the Lois Hole branch, FYI) I struggle to find a parking stall. I either have to pounce on an idling vehicle who may or may not be about to forfeit his spot, or I circle the lot until someone clears a stall. I might even have to park in the adjacent lot for the YMCA, or even in the area earmarked for staff. Once, I even dared nestling in the supplied 'car pool' spot (which I think is a bullshit stall btw)! I know, right?!

It's just so damn busy there, and it doesn't matter the time of the day, or the day of the week. As it turns out, Edmonton likes to get its read on! Good for you, though. Especially because reading can almost be like pulling teeth for myself (I'm there exclusively for their extensive CD stock, in case you were wondering), even though I rely on just that (the reading, that is) from all y'all. Such a hypocrite, I know. But I'm steering off topic as usual, so....

According to a recent article in the Edmonton Journal, Edmontonians have checked out a ridiculous 13.5 million items, give or take, last year from local libraries (17 in all)! That's crazy, peeps! Not so good for your local book stores however.

Actually, those millions of freebies weren't just books. Nope. You also borrowed and renewed, and renewed again, shit loads of CDs, DVDs, and now video games from the EPL (Edmonton Public Library), and even thousands of online ebooks that were downloaded via smartphones, eReaders, or your old school computers.

Here, in case you're interested, were the most popular titles in Edmonton libraries for 2011 (as well as the number of check-outs):

Adult Fiction:
Jodi Picoult's 2010 novel is about a
boy with Asperger's Syndrome who is
accused of murder. 
1. The Help (1,387)
2. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (1,202)
3. House Rules (1,159)
4. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (1,099)
5. The Girl Who Played With Fire (1,073)
6. Room (862)
7. The Book of Negroes (744)
8. The Fifth Witness (739)
9. Smokin' Seventeen, A Stephanie Plum Novel (705)
10. The Lost Symbol (691)

Juvenile Fiction:
1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules (1,318)
2. 11 Birthdays (1,309)
3. Scat (1,217)
4. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (1,092)
5. Geronimo Sitlton, Singing Sensation (1,050)
6. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (1,008)
7. Jack Ransom and the Skull King's Shadow (994)
8. Happenstance Found (957)
9. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (943)
10. The Greenest Day (872)

DVDs:
1. Up (3,463)
2. Julie and Julia (2,742)
3. The Hurt Locker (2,471)
4. Duplicity (2,257)
5. The King's Speech (2,064)
6. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2,015)
7. Charlie and Lola (1,976)
8. Food, Inc. (1,974)
9. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (1,846)
10. My Sister's Keeper (1,716)

CDs:
1. Lady Gaga's The Fame Monster (1,301)
2. Glee soundtrack, Season One (922)
3. Michael Buble's Crazy Love (829)
4. Dan Gibson's Solitudes Environmental Sound Experiences (810)
5. Kesha's Animal (656)
6. Lady Gaga's The Fame (655)
7. Black Eyed Pea's The E.N.D. (640)
8. Lady Antebellum's Need You Now (587)
9. Glee soundtrack, Season Two (557)
10. Adele's 21 (538)

Video Games:
1. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (990)
2. Super Mario Galaxy (964)
3. Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (854)
4. How to Train Your Dragon (791)
5. Captain America: Super Soldier (754)
6. Family Party, 30 Great Games: Winter Fun (725)
7. Super Paper Mario (707)
8. Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters (633)
9. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (631)
10. Hot Wheels Battle Force 5 (613)

Below is the official trailer for 'Up,' the most popular movie at Edmonton libraries for 2011!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Ultimate Edmonton Donair Guide

Did You Know? (Boston Pizza)

A Few Minutes With...Colin Close