If you’ve ever wondered what the Bentley University community is reading, watching, and listening to, then we have the lists for you! Our 5th annual Bentley Library Top 10 details the library’s most popular books, audiobooks and DVDs based on the number of times they have been borrowed during the academic year (excluding any items placed on reserve for a class). There were many ties in the rankings this year, giving you even more to choose from.
This year G. R. R. Martin’s Song of Fire and Ice series (“Game of Thrones” series) dominated the book, audiobook and DVD lists. Books that saw movie releases this year were very popular, with The Book Thief, The Fault in Our Stars, Ender’s Game, The Wolf of Wall Street and Divergent all appearing in our Top 10 book lists. Remarkably, four books by Malcolm Gladwell appear on the lists, including a fifth consecutive appearance by The Outliers: The Story of Success.
Compiling the Top 10 lists is one of our favorite annual activities; we hope you enjoy them as much as we do! Browse the BENTLEY LIBRARY TOP 10 lists for academic year 2013-2014 in the categories of Popular Reading, Stacks (regular book collection), Audiobooks, Popular DVDs, OverDrive Downloadable eBooks and OverDrive Downloadable Audiobooks:
Top 10 Most Circulated Books from the Popular Reading Collection
- 1. A SONG OF FIRE AND ICE SERIES by George R. R. Martin (combined checkouts
- for the series) [check availability]
- 2. DIVERGENT TRILOGY by Veronica Roth (combined checkouts for the series)
- [check availability]
- 3. (tie) GONE GIRL by Gillian Flynn [check availability]
- 3. (tie) THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green [check availability]
- 3. (tie) DAVID AND GOLIATH: UNDERDOGS, MISFITS, AND THE ART OF BATTLING
- GIANTS by Malcom Gladwell [check availability]
- 6. THE GOLDFINCH by Donna Tartt [check availability]
- 7. (tie) AND THE MOUNTAINS ECHOED by Khaled Hosseini [check availability]
- 7. (tie) INFERNO by Dan Brown [check availability]
- 7. (tie) LIFE AFTER LIFE by Kate Atkinson [check availability]
- 8. (tie) IS EVERYONE HANGING OUT WITHOUT ME? (AND OTHER CONCERNS) by Mindy Kaling [check availability]
- 8. (tie) LONGBOURN by Jo Baker [check availability]
- 8. (tie) SYCAMORE ROW by John Grisham [check availability]
- 8. (tie) THE HUSBAND’S SECRET by Liane Moriarty [check availability]
- 8. (tie) THE LOWLAND by Jhumpa Lahiri [check availability]
- 8. (tie) THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE by Neil Gaiman [check availability]
- 8. (tie) THE RETURNED by Jason Mott [check availability]
- 8. (tie) WE ARE WATER by Wally Lamb [check availability]
Top 10 Most Circulated Books from the Stacks
- 1. (tie) SEEING THE ELEPHANT: UNDERSTANDING GLOBALIZATION FROM TRUNK
- TO TAIL by Peter Marber [check availability]
- 1. (tie) OUTLIERS: THE STORY OF SUCCESS by Malcolm Gladwell [check availability]
- 1. (tie) THE INTELLIGENT INVESTOR: THE CLASSIC TEXT ON VALUE INVESTING
- by Benjamin Graham [check availability]
- 4. LIAR’S POKER : RISING THROUGH THE WRECKAGE ON WALL STREET
- by Michael Lewis [check availability]
- 5. (tie) BIG DATA: A REVOLUTION THAT WILL TRANSFORM HOW WE LIVE, WORK,
- AND THINK by Viktor Mayer-Schönberger and Kenneth Cukier [check availability]
- 5. (tie) THE WOLF OF WALL STREET by Jordan Belfort [check availability]
- 7. (tie) ENDER’S GAME by Orson Scott Card [check availability]
- 7. (tie) LEAN IN: WOMEN, WORK, AND THE WILL TO LEAD by Sheryl Sandberg
- [check availability]
- 9. (tie) BOND MARKETS, ANALYSIS, AND STRATEGIES by Frank J. Fabozzi
- [check availability]
- 9. (tie) FREAKONOMICS: A ROGUE ECONOMIST EXPLORES THE HIDDEN
- SIDE OF EVERYTHING by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner [check availability]
- 9. (tie) MOCKINGJAY by Suzanne Collins[check availability]
- 9. (tie) PEOPLE SKILLS: HOW TO ASSERT YOURSELF, LISTEN TO OTHERS,
- AND RESOLVE CONFLICTS by Robert Bolton [check availability]
- 9. (tie) THE 48 LAWS OF POWER by Robert Greene [check availability]
- 9. (tie) THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak [check availability]
- 9. (tie) ZEN AND THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE by Robert M. Pirsig
- [check availability]
Top 10 Most Circulated Audiobooks [CD and Playaway]
- 1. (tie) AND THE MOUNTAINS ECHOED by Khaled Hosseini [check availability]
- 1. (tie) IDENTICAL by Scott Turow [check availability]
- 1. (tie) NUDGE: IMPROVING DECISIONS ABOUT HEALTH, WEALTH, AND HAPPINESS
- by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein [check availability]
- 4. (tie) DARK WITCH by Nora Roberts [check availability]
- 4. (tie) INFERNO by Dan Brown [check availability]
- 6. (tie) DAVID AND GOLIATH: UNDERDOGS, MISFITS, AND THE ART OF BATTLING
- GIANTS by Malcolm Gladwell [check availability]
- 6. (tie) GONE GIRL by Gillian Flynn [check availability]
- 6. (tie) HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN by Louise Penny [check availability]
- 6. (tie) LEAN IN: WOMEN, WORK, AND THE WILL TO LEAD by Sheryl Sandberg
- [check availability]
- 6. (tie) LIFE AFTER LIFE by Kate Atkinson [check availability]
- 6. (tie) NEVER GO BACK by Lee Child [check availability]
- 6. (tie) PROMOTE YOURSELF: THE NEW RULES FOR CAREER SUCCESS by
- Dan Schawbel [check availability]
- 6. (tie) SYCAMORE ROW by John Grisham [check availability]
- 6. (tie) THE APPLE ORCHARD by Susan Wiggs [check availability]
- 6. (tie) THE CASUAL VACANCY by J. K. Rowling [check availability]
- 6. (tie) THE HIT by David Baldacci [check availability]
- 6. (tie) THE LIGHT IN THE RUINS by Chris Bohjalian [check availability]
- 6. (tie) THE RACKETEER by John Grisham [check availability]
- 6. (tie) TO SELL IS HUMAN: THE SURPRISING TRUTH ABOUT MOVING OTHERS by
- Daniel Pink [check availability]
Top 10 Most Circulated DVDs from the Popular DVD Collection
- 1. GAME OF THRONES (seasons one & two combined checkouts) [check availability]
- 2. HOUSE OF CARDS: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON [check availability]
- 3. WORLD WAR Z [check availability]
- 4. (tie) DESPICABLE ME [check availability]
- 4. (tie) THIS IS THE END [check availability]
- 6. (tie) SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK [check availability]
- 6. (tie) THE BLING RING [check availability]
- 6. (tie) THE GREAT GATSBY [check availability]
- 6. (tie) THE INTERNSHIP [check availability]
- 10. (tie) IRON MAN 3 [check availability]
Top 10 Downloaded eBooks (OverDrive)
*check availability by logging-in at http://bentleydownload.lib.overdrive.com/
- 1. A SONG OF FIRE AND ICE SERIES (combined checkouts for the series) by
- George R. R. Martin
- 2. GONE GIRL by Gillian Flynn
- 3. DIVERGENT TRILOGY (combined checkouts for the series) by Veronica Roth
- 4. FIFTY SHADES OF GREY TRILOGY (combined checkouts for the series) by
- E. L. James
- 5. (tie) ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK: MY YEAR IN A WOMEN’S PRISON by
- Piper Kerman
- 5. (tie) THE DINNER by Herman Koch
- 5. (tie) THE CUCKOO’S CALLING by Robert Galbraith
- 5. (tie) INFERNO by Dan Brown
- 9. (tie) AMERICAN WIFE by Curtis Sittenfeld
- 9. (tie) THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak
Top 10 Downloaded Audiobooks (OverDrive)
*check availability by logging-in at http://bentleydownload.lib.overdrive.com/
- 1. THE HUNGER GAMES SERIES, (combined checkouts for the series) by
- Suzanne Collins
- 2. (tie) A SONG OF FIRE AND ICE SERIES (combined checkouts for the series) by
- George R. R. Martin
- 3. BOSSYPANTS by Tina Fey
- 4. (tie) THE LEAN STARTUP: HOW TODAY’S ENTREPRENEURS USE CONTINUOUS
- INNOVATION TO CREATE RADICALLY SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSES by Eric Ries
- 4. (tie) THINKING, FAST AND SLOW by Daniel Kahneman
- 5. (tie) THE BUY SIDE: A WALL STREET TRADER’S TALE OF SPECTACULAR EXCESS
- by Turney Duff
- 5. (tie) LEAN IN: WOMEN, WORK, AND THE WILL TO LEAD by Sheryl Sandberg
- 5. (tie) WE ARE WATER by Wally Lamb
- 8. (tie) ON THE ROAD by Jack Kerouac
- 8. (tie) DRIVE: THE SURPRISING TRUTH ABOUT WHAT MOTIVATES US by Daniel Pink
- 8. (tie) FALL OF GIANTS: THE CENTURY TRILOGY, BOOK 1 by Ken Follett
- 8. (tie) QUIET: THE POWER OF INTROVERTS IN A WORLD THAT CAN’T STOP
- TALKING by Susan Cain
- 8. (tie) SERIOUSLY — I’M KIDDING by Ellen DeGeneres
- 8. (tie) BLINK: THE POWER OF THINKING WITHOUT THINKING by Malcolm Gladwell
- 8. (tie) OUTLIERS: THE STORY OF SUCCESS by Malcolm Gladwell
- 8. (tie) THE TIPPING POINT : HOW LITTLE THINGS CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE by
- Malcolm Gladwell
- 8. (tie) HOW WILL YOU MEASURE YOUR LIFE? by Clayton M. Christensen,
- James Allworth, & Karen Dillon
- 8. (tie) ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK: MY YEAR IN A WOMEN’S PRISON by
- Piper Kerman
- 8. (tie) DAD IS FAT by Jim Gaffigan
- 8. (tie) THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE by Neil Gaiman
- 8. (tie) THE CUCKOO’S CALLING by Robert Galbraith
- 8. (tie) AFTER I’M GONE by Laura Lippman
Happy new year and welcome to the Bentley Library’s 5th annual best books display! This year we have consulted fifteen* best books lists to bring you the 
