![Open books rain down like confetti behind the question asked.](/sites/default/files/styles/parallax_small/public/2024-02/1.jpg.webp)
What is the best book you read in 2023?
![Titles appear on book spines noting the most frequent response. 11. Trust – Herman Diaz 10. Yellowface – R. F. Kuang 9. Hello Beautiful – Ann Napolitano 8. Remarkably Bright Creatures – Shelby Van Pelt 7. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow – Gabrielle Zevin 6. The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store – James McBride 5. Horse – Geraldine Brooks 4. Tom Lake – Ann Patchett 3. Demon Copperhead – Barbara Kingsolver 2. The Covenant of Water – Abraham Verghese 1. Lessons in Chemistry - Bonnie Garmus](/sites/default/files/styles/parallax_small/public/2024-02/2_3.jpg.webp)
![A stack of books blooms with flowers. The books are of different genres, including poetry.](/sites/default/files/styles/parallax_small/public/2024-02/3_1.jpg.webp)
What genre did you read most often in 2023?
![A book stack appears next to the results of this question. Essay <1% Poetr <1% Science Fiction 1% Memoir 3% Other 3% Romance 4% Fantasy 5% Nonfiction 9% Historical Fiction 13% Mystery 19% Literary Fiction 43%](/sites/default/files/styles/parallax_small/public/2024-02/4_2.jpg.webp)
![A person lounges on a comfortable chair with a cup of tea, wearing headphones and reading a book.](/sites/default/files/styles/parallax_small/public/2024-02/5.jpg.webp)
How do you prefer to read your books?
![A pie chart shows the results. Paper books 60% eBooks 16% A combination 15% Audiobooks 9%](/sites/default/files/styles/parallax_small/public/2024-02/6_2.jpg.webp)
![A diverse group of readers pose together each holding a book.](/sites/default/files/styles/parallax_small/public/2024-02/7_0.jpg.webp)
What is your primary motivation to read?
![A cat rests on top a pile of books beside the answers to this question. To immerse myself in another world 33% To be entertained 23% To relax 14% To learn something new 11% To expand my worldview 11% To understand a different perspective 8%](/sites/default/files/styles/parallax_small/public/2024-02/8_2.jpg.webp)
![A person is reading surrounded by the ideas and questions forming in their mind.](/sites/default/files/styles/parallax_small/public/2024-02/9.jpg.webp)
What lesson or idea did you take away from a book in 2023?
There is always something to learn, even about things we are experts in.
The world is undergoing rapid change and many things that I was taught were wrong.
History is filled with leaps forward and backward. And repeats itself.
Be kind.
![A bunch of arms are raised in the air, holding their favorite books.](/sites/default/files/styles/parallax_small/public/2024-02/10.jpg.webp)
How many books do you hope to read in 2024?
![A bookcase with various amounts of books on each shelf to represent a bar graph. 1-10 4% 11-20 15% 21-30 15% 31-40 13% 41-50 14% 51+ 39%](/sites/default/files/styles/parallax_small/public/2024-02/11_1.jpg.webp)
![Three readers open books. In one, butterflies fly out.](/sites/default/files/styles/parallax_small/public/2024-02/12.jpg.webp)
Where do you frequently discover your next read?
![Varying sized circles correspond with the results. Library displays 1% Review journals 7% Other 10% Online articles 12% Just browsing! 13% Personal recommendations 14% A combination 26%](/sites/default/files/styles/parallax_small/public/2024-02/13.jpg.webp)
![A shelf sits on the wall with various trinkets, books and plants.](/sites/default/files/styles/parallax_small/public/2024-02/14.jpg.webp)
Where do you pick up your books most often?
![A librarian shelves books beside a bar graph illustrating the results. At the library 74% Online purchase 14% Local bookstore 11% Friend or family 1%](/sites/default/files/styles/parallax_small/public/2024-02/15_0.jpg.webp)
![A person in a wheelchair selects a book at a library.](/sites/default/files/styles/parallax_small/public/2024-02/16_1.jpg.webp)
Do you have a memorable library experience you’d like to share?
The grand opening of Central Library, with employees clapping for the public as the doors opened … it was a remarkable testimony to the community for making the funding happen and the staff, who go above and beyond every day.
When I was out of a job, the library resources helped me search for a new one.
As a teenager it was a safe place to get books on subjects I had an interest in but would have not been accepted by my parents. You realize as an adult how important that is.
Every time I enter Hosmer I feel welcomed. I love that space and I believe my heart rate slows and my endorphin levels rise when I’m there.