As we close out another year at the Champlain Library, one trend remained unchanged: our museum passes and Ontario Parks passes were once again the most checked-out items of the year. But books are still our bread and butter and it’s always fun to look at what our community was most eager to escape into in 2025.
This year’s fiction list shows a strong blend of mystery, suspense, and historical fiction, genres that reliably top our charts. What’s new is the growing dominance of “romantasy,” the romance-infused fantasy genre that has quickly become a breakout favourite.
Top 10 Fiction Checkouts
- The Grey Wolf, Louise Penny
- The Berry Pickers, Amanda Peters
- The Magic All Around, Jennifer Moorman
- Blood Moon, Sandra Brown
- Onyx Storm, Rebecca Yarros
- Nightshade, Michael Connelly
- The Love Hypothesis, Ali Hazelwood
- A Court of Thorns and Roses, Sarah J. Maas
- Paranoia, James Patterson & James O. Born
- Finding Flora, Elinor Florence
In non-fiction, readers leaned toward big-picture thinking – technology, health, lifestyle, and global change – mixed with practical favourites like travel guides and cookbooks.
Top 10 Non-Fiction Checkouts
- Nexus, Yuval Noah Harari
- The Let Them Theory, Mel Robbins
- The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt
- The Comfort of Crows, Margaret Renkl
- Frommer’s Spain, various
- Simply Jamie, Jamie Oliver
- Health for All, Jane Philpott
- A Call to Farms, Jennifer Grayson
- Freedom, Angela Merkel
- Best in Travel 2025, Lonely Planet Staff
Thank you for reading with us this year. Here’s to another year of great stories and discoveries!
