Popular books, movies at the Hudson Public Library this year | Opinion

Fun fact about librarians: we love data. With that in mind, we’ve whipped up some 2025 numbers about the Hudson Area Public Library.

Library patrons kept up with trends and crushed the bestsellers list. At the very top was Lies He Told Me (James Patterson), which was checked out 17 times. The checkout period for Hudson books is three weeks, meaning Patterson’s book was potentially checked out for 51 of the 52 weeks in 2025! Second place was a four-way tie with The Crash (Frieda McFadden), Night Road and On Mystic Lake (Kristin Hannah) and The Last Letter (Rebecca Yarros), following close behind at 16 checkouts.

It wasn’t all about fiction — patrons tackled personal development and memoirs, too. The Homestead Sourdough Cookbook (Georgia Varozza) tied with The House of My Mother: A Daughter’s Quest for Freedom (Shari Franke) at 13 checkouts. There were several titles with 11 checkouts, including The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness (Morgan Housel) and Talk: The Science of Conversation and the Art of Being Ourselves (Alison Wood Brooks).

Books in Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid series rocked the top three spots for children’s fiction, with 17 checkouts for No Brainer. Tweens and teens devoured Suzanne Collins’ newest Hunger Games title, Sunrise on the Reaping, garnering 11 checkouts. We often order more than one copy of a popular title, so individual statistics don’t always give the entire picture. For example, our second copy of Sunrise on the Reaping received 10 checkouts, contributing to the total of 21 for both physical “Sunrise on the Reaping” copies.

More interested in watching media rather than reading it? You’re not alone. Horror film The Substance took the lead among DVDs at 15 checkouts, while PAW Patrol matched that number and entertained young and young-at-heart audiences with Dino Rescue: Roar to the Rescue.

In 2025, the library invested in a new collection of Criterion titles, which are special editions, often director-approved and with bonus material, meant to bring the authentic viewing experience its creators intended. Within that collection, The Breakfast Club went out 13 times, with The Last Waltz clocking 11 checkouts.

The Library of Things, a collection of 230 items, continues to delight patrons. Children’s kits dominate the checkouts with the most popular kits being Rubble Crew, American Girl, and numerous LEGO options coming in at 38, 34, and 29 checkouts, respectively. Technology-based kits are also a hit, with our Roku streaming units and VR headsets in the lead. Since we carry multiple of each, Rokus had a whopping 133 checkouts and VR headsets had 69 checkouts. Did you know we have “Things” for adults, too? For example, try your hand at smoked cuisine by checking out our stovetop kettle smoker from Nordic Ware, a crochet kit or cordless drill.

Patrons can also receive tech help at the library with our Tech Specialist Matt Campana by bringing in their own device for assistance. We offer regular off-site help at senior living facilities for those residents who might have a hard time coming to the library. Matt completed 180 consultations in 2025.

Finally, in addition to our books, movies, and Library of Things collection, the Library was full of patrons in 2025. Almost 18,000 patrons used our meeting and study rooms, and we crashed through our program attendance record with 31,600 patrons attending 680 programs.

Whether it’s for a program, a personal study space, or a book recommendation, the staff at the Hudson Area Public Library looks forward to serving the community in 2026 and seeing what new things we can offer. 

Shelley Tougas is the director of the Hudson Area Public Library. People affiliated with area libraries, like Tougas, will now be running a column called “Open Book” in the Star-Observer each week.