Bentley Library Top 10 Most Popular Books, DVDs & Audiobooks of 2018/19

It’s time for the 10th annual Bentley Library Top 10! 

At the end of every academic year we tabulate the library’s most popular books, audiobooks, DVDs, and OverDrive downloadable ebooks and audiobooks based on the number of times they have been borrowed (excluding items placed on reserve for a class). These are our very own “Bentley Bestsellers” lists!

This year nonfiction scored big, claiming six spots in the Popular Reading ranking, a list typically dominated by fiction. Michelle Obama’s biography Becoming and Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover were especially popular. On the fiction side, new releases by perennially popular authors Liane Moriarty, Jodi Picoult, John Grisham, and Louise Penny made appearances.

This is your chance to see what Bentley students, faculty and staff have been reading, watching, and listening to. We hope you enjoy this annual tradition as much as we do and that you are inspired to pick up a new book or film. As always, there were many ties in the rankings, so you have quite a few options.

Browse the BENTLEY LIBRARY TOP 10 lists for academic year 2018-2019 in the categories of Popular Reading, Stacks (regular book collection), Audiobooks (compact disc), Popular DVDs, OverDrive Downloaded eBooks and OverDrive Downloaded Audiobooks.

Top 10 Most Circulated Books from the Popular Reading Collection

1. BECOMING by Michelle Obama [check availability]

2. EDUCATED: A MEMOIR by Tara Westover [check availability]

3. NINE PERFECT STRANGERS by Liane Moriarty [check availability]

4. (tie) THE GREAT ALONE by Kristin Hannah [check availability]

4. (tie) THE RECKONING by John Grisham [check availability]

4. (tie) WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING by Delia Owens [check availability]

7. (tie) 21 LESSONS FOR THE 21st CENTURY by Yuval Noah Harari [check availability]

7. (tie) A SPARK OF LIGHT by Jodi Picoult [check availability]

7. (tie) ASTROPHYSICS FOR PEOPLE IN A HURRY by Neil deGrasse Tyson [check availability]

7. (tie) FEAR: TRUMP IN THE WHITE HOUSE by Bob Woodward [check availability]

7. (tie) THE LIBRARY BOOK by Susan Orlean [check availability]

Top 10 Most Circulated Books from the Stacks

1.  HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE by Dale Carneige [check availability]

2. (tie) FREAKONOMICS by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner [check availability]

2. (tie) THINKING FAST AND SLOW by Daniel Kahneman [check availability]

4. LIAR’S POKER by Michael Lewis [check availability]

5. (tie) BAD BLOOD: SECRETS AND LIES IN A SILICON VALLEY STARTUP by John Carreyrou [check availability]

5. (tie) PRINCIPLES: LIFE AND WORK by Ray Dalio [check availability]

7. (tie) AN INTRODUCTION TO STATISTICAL LEARNING: WITH APPLICATIONS IN R by Gareth James, Daniela Witten, Trevor Hastie, and Robert Tibshirani [check availability]

7. (tie) MOSTLY HARMLESS ECONOMETRICS: AN EMPIRICIST’S COMPANION by Joshua D. Angrist and Jörn-Steffen Pischke [check availability]

7. (tie) MULTIVARIATE DATA ANALYSIS by Joseph F. Hair, Jr. [check availability]

7. (tie) RICH DAD, POOR DAD by by Robert T. Kiyosaki [check availability]

7. (tie) THINK AND GROW RICH by Napoleon Hill [check availability]

Top 10 Most Circulated Audiobooks [Compact Disc]

1. (tie) BECOMING by Michelle Obama [check availability]

1. (tie) EDUCATED: A MEMOIR by Tara Westover [check availability]

1. (tie) THE DEATH OF MRS. WESTAWAY by Ruth Ware [check availability]

4. (tie) THERE, THERE by Tommy Orange [check availability]

4. (tie) A SPARK OF LIGHT by Jodi Picoult [check availability]

4. (tie) COURT OF LIES by Gerry Spence [check availability]

4. (tie) IN PIECES by Sally Field [check availability]

4. (tie) KINGDOM OF THE BLIND by Louise Penny [check availability]

4. (tie) ROBERT B. PARKER’S COLORBLIND by Reed Farrel Coleman [check availability]

4. (tie) ROBIN by David Itzkoff [check availability]

4. (tie) THE CLOCKMAKER’S DAUGHTER by Kate Morton [check availability]

4. (tie) THE ENGLISH WIFE by Lauren Willig [check availability]

4. (tie) ORIGIN by Dan Brown [check availability]

4. (tie) THE FORBIDDEN DOOR by Dean Koontz [check availability]

4. (tie) THE RECKONING by John Grisham [check availability]

4. (tie) THE WOMAN LEFT BEHIND by Linda Howard [check availability]

4. (tie) UNSHELTERED by Barbara Kingsolver [check availability]

Top 10 Most Circulated DVDs from the Popular DVD Collection

1. OCEAN’S EIGHT [check availability]

2. TAG [check availability]

3. CRAZY RICH ASIANS [check availability]

4. BOOK CLUB [check availability]

5. (tie) AVENGERS, INFINITY WAR [check availability]

5. (tie) BLACKKKLANSMAN [check availability]

5. (tie) LEAVE NO TRACE [check availability]

5. (tie) WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? [check availability]

9. (tie) BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY [check availability]

9. (tie) JURASSIC WORLD, FALLEN KINGDOM [check availability]

Top 10 Downloaded eBooks [OverDrive]

1. BECOMING by Michelle Obama [check availability]

2. NINE PERFECT STRANGERS by Liane Moriarty [check availability]

3. A SIMPLE FAVOR by Darcey Bell [check availability]

4. ALL WE EVER WANTED by Emily Griffin [check availability]

5. CLOCK DANCE by Anne Tyler [check availability]

6. A SPARK OF LIGHT by Jodi Picoult [check availability]

7. THE RECKONING by John Grisham [check availability]

8. (tie) THE FIFTH RISK by Michael Lewis [check availability]

8. (tie) KINGDOM OF THE BLIND by Louise Penny [check availability]

8. (tie) UNSHELTERED by Barbara Kingsolver [check availability]

Top 10 Downloaded Audiobooks [OverDrive]

1. BECOMING by Michelle Obama [check availability]

2. WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING by Delia Owens [check availability]

3. (tie) NINE PERFECT STRANGERS by Liane Moriarty [check availability]

3. (tie) READY PLAYER ONE by Ernest Cline [check availability]

5. (tie) US AGAINST YOU by Fredrik Backman [check availability]

5. (tie) BRING ME BACK by B. A. Paris [check availability]

5. (tie) CLOCK DANCE by Anne Tyler [check availability]

5. (tie) THE WITCH ELM by Tana French [check availability]

9. ROBIN by David Itzkoff [check availability]

10. (tie) STILL LIFE by Louise Penny [check availability]

10. (tie) AN ABSOLUTELY REMARKABLE THING by Hank Green [check availability]

10. (tie) TIME’S CONVERT by Deborah Harkness [check availability]

View previous Bentley Library Top 10 lists:

Enjoy These New Books, Movies, TV Shows & Audiobooks!

Looking for something new to read, watch, or listen to? Our new acquisitions lists are a great place to start browsing!

We added 176 new books, DVDs, and audiobooks to the library’s collections in May. Go to the New Books & DVDs page to browse the new arrivals by subject or format. When you see something you want, click the “Request” button to place a hold on it.

Even if you aren’t near campus this summer you can still borrow books and audiobooks. Use the OverDrive app to download ebooks and digital audiobooks to your computer or mobile device. For help using OverDrive, view their Getting Started page or contact the Reference Desk for personal assistance.

Audie Award Winners and Finalists Available!

The Audies – the Oscars of the audiobook industry – are awarded annually by the Audio Publishers Association. Many of the 2019 award-winners and finalists are available at the library and the library staff have conveniently pulled together this content for you to checkout and enjoy over Spring Break and beyond.

On the display table in the library lobby, there is a collection of 2019 award-winners and finalists available on compact discs. The CD offerings will be highlighted until Thursday, March 7th, when they will be reintegrated with the Popular Audiobook collection on the main floor.

We’ve also created an online Audie Awards Display of OverDrive downloadable titles for you. As you pack up to go home for the break, remember the OverDrive collection is available for you to enjoy, anywhere, 24×7 on any device. Not familiar with OverDrive? Take a look our OverDrive page.

To view the complete list of the Audie Award winners and finalists, visit the Audio Publishers Association. Comment on this post to share your own recommendations.


Are we missing a title you think we should have in the collection? If so, just fill out the Suggest a Purchase form.

February's Acquisitions: Bestsellers, Award-Winning Films & More!

More than 100 new books and DVDs were added to our shelves in February! Go to the New Books & DVDs page to browse the new arrivals by subject or format. When you see something you want, click the “Request” button to place a hold on it.

If you’re off-campus you can use the OverDrive app to download ebooks and digital audiobooks to your computer or mobile device, or read/listen to books online in your browser via the library’s OverDrive site.  For help using OverDrive, view their Getting Started page or visit the Reference Desk for personal assistance.

OverDrive has Business Titles!

Our OverDrive downloadable collection contains lots of bestselling fiction & biographies, but did you know that we also have over 400 popular business titles? Past and current favorites include: This is Marketing by Seth Godin, The Creative Curve by Allen Gannett and When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel Pink. The collection includes both ebooks and audiobooks, and they display from most popular to least.


If you would like more information about OverDrive (or any of the library’s resources), please contact us for assistance.