2023 OPL Reading Challenge by the Numbers

Thank you to everyone who took on the 2023 Omaha Public Library Reading Challenge! In total, there were 264 entries with 3,168 books read. All prize winners have been notified, and all the details for the 2024 Reading Challenge are now available. We hope you enjoyed your reading journey in 2023, and we appreciate all of the wonderful picks you shared with us. This summary highlights the most-read titles and authors as well as popular choices from each challenge.

The top 10 titles read across all categories:

1. I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
2. Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen
3. The Wedding Crasher by Mia Sosa
4. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
5. The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb
6. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
7. Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
8. Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid 
9. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
10. Spare by Prince Harry

The top 10 authors read across all categories:

1. Taylor Jenkins Reid
2. Jennette McCurdy
3. Mia Sosa
4. Lev AC Rosen
5. Gabrielle Zevin
6. Brendan Slocumb
7. Madeline Miller
8. Bonnie Garmus
9. Prince Harry
10. S.A. Cosby

Top titles read in each category:

Read a book mentioned on The Book Drop

• Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life by Lulu Miller
• The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher
• The Maid by Nita Prose 
• Normal People by Sally Rooney
• The Witches Are Coming by Lindy West

Read a book about or featuring a real person

• The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman's Extraordinary Life in the Business of Death, Decay, and Disaster by Sarah Krasnostein 
• The Office BFFs:Tales of The Office From Two Best Friends Who Were There by Jenna Fischer & Angela Kinsey
• Friends, Lovers, and The Big Terrible Thing: A memoir by Matthew Perry
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot 
• See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt 

Read a book about or featuring LGBTQIA + History

• The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue
• The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
• Queer, There, and Everywhere: 23 People Who Changed the World by Sarah Prager
• Bad Gays: A Homosexual History by Huw Lemmey & Ben Miller
• Cantoras by Carolina De Robertis

Read a book about or featuring plants

• Wicked Plants: the Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities by Amy Stewart 
• Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer 
• Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
• The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh 
• The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert 

Read a book about or featuring a movie or TV show

• The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager
• How to Fake It in Hollywood by Ava Wilder
• All the Feels by Olivia Dade 
• The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict 
• I’ll Be There For You: the One About Friends  by Kelsey Miller 

Read a book by a Latine writer

• Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochit Gonzalez
• ¡Hola Papi!: How to Come Out in a Walmart Parking Lot and Other Life Lessons by John Paul Brammer
• What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez by Claire Jimenez
• River Woman, River Demon by Jennifer Givhan

Read a book about or featuring friendship

• Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby 
• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
• The Art of Showing Up: How to Be There for Yourself and Your People by Rachel Wilkerson Miller
• My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
• Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Read a book about or featuring mental health

• Chemistry by Weike Wang 
• Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of An American Family by Robert Kolker
• Hardcore Anxiety: a Graphic Guide to Punk Rock and Mental Health by Reid Chancellor
• Divergent Mind: Thriving in a World That Wasn't Designed for You by Jenara Nerenberg
• Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver 

Read a book about or featuring music

• This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You by Susan Rogers
• The Beautiful Ones by Prince
• The Villa by Rachel Hawkins
• The Ensemble by Aja Gabel
• Well Traveled by Jen DeLuca

Read a book from OPL's Top Shelf lists

• The Hollow Kind by Andy Davidson
• Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come: One Introvert's Year of Saying Yes by Jessica Pan
• All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers
• The World Record Book of Racist Stories by Amber Ruffin & Lacey Lamar
• Finding Me by Viola Davis

Read a book by a Black writer

• Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward 
• My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
• Seven Days in June by Tia Williams 
• Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid 
• Becoming by Michelle Obama 

Read a book about or featuring food

• Heartless by Marissa Meyer
• The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
• Taste: My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci
• The Cookbook Club: a Novel of Food and Friendship by Elizabeth M. Harbison
• Tender Is the Flesh by  Agustina María Bazterrica

We look forward to hearing from those who participate in this year’s challenge! Share what you’re reading with us on social media and tag @omahalibrary on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. If you have any questions about the Reading Challenge, contact readingchallenge@omahalibrary.org.