Another year is over, and if 2024 was the same as 2023, more than 600,000 books have been borrowed from Qatar National Library, but which were the most popular and have you read them?
For adult readers of English-language books, the most borrowed book of 2024 was also the most borrowed book of 2023, Paulo Coelho’s international bestsellerThe Alchemist. Borrowed 74 times this year, the novel tells the mystical story of an Andalusian shepherd boy who journeys to Egypt after dreaming of finding treasure at the pyramids.
Last year’s second and third placed author is also the same as this year’s; Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini appears in second place with his 2013 novel, And the Mountains Echoed, which was borrowed 31 times by Library members, and in third place with 2007’s A Thousand Splendid Suns, which had 27 checkouts.
In fourth place, though, there’s a new entry into the English fiction book league with Frank Herbert’s 1965 science fiction epic Dune, which was borrowed 24 times. Although one of the world’s biggest selling science fiction novels, its popularity this year probably reflects its recent film adaptations. The first film was released in 2021 and was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, while the sequel was released in March of 2024 to global acclaim.
In Arabic literature, the ever-popular بساتين عربستان (Arabistan Orchards) series of books came in at number one with 27 checkouts, up from third in 2023. Osamah M. Al Muslim’s original 2015 novel is set on the Arabian Peninsula before the emergence of Islam and tells the story of a witch seeking revenge for her father’s murder.
Demonstrating its enduring popularity across nations, the Arabic translation of Paulo Coelho’s, The Alchemist (الخيميائي: رواية) is in second place having been borrowed 24 times, while the Arabic translation of The Brothers Karamazov (الإخوة كارامازوف), by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky is in third with 20 library members taking it out.
Nineteenth-century Russian literature is obviously popular in Doha, because Dostoevsky also appears in fourth place with The Adolescent, his 1875 comic coming-of-age novel, which was loaned out 15 times.
In the English non-fiction category, the English language itself proved to be the most popular topic, with Kaplan’s IELTS Prep Plus, 2019-2020 being borrowed 55 times. Second was Mike Zollo’s Spanish Verb Handbook with 23 checkouts, followed by Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind which was borrowed 22 times and was also in third place last year. Bringing up fourth was 2011’s Thinking Fast and Slow, by the psychologist Daniel Kahneman, which members took out 21 times.
In Arabic non-fiction, first on the list is the "Imam of Preachers, Muhammad Metwally Al Shaarawy", with 24 checkouts, followed by The Muqaddimah [The Introduction] by famed Arabic explorer Ibn Khaldun, which was borrowed 20 times. In third place came دائرة معارف القرن الحادي والعشرين للعلوم (21st Century Encyclopedia of Science), which was borrowed 18 times, and then السماح بالرحيل (Letting Go) by the psychiatrist and author Dr. David Hawkins, which Library members checked out 16 times.
Over in the Children’s and Young People’s Library, the Naruto graphic novels about a 12-year-old ninja by Masashi Kishimoto were again in the top spot, having being borrowed a massive 1,483 times. Second was the manga series Pokemon Adventures by Hidenori Kusaka (598 checkouts), followed by the Dandelion Launchers series for young readers, which was borrowed 287 times. Bringing up fourth place with 272 checkouts was another manga series of books, Demon Slayer, by Koyoharu Gotouge, which follows the teenager Tanjiro Kamado who strives to save his sister who has been turned into a demon.
In Arabic, the world’s most famous mouse was again in first place with the Disney cartoon book ميكي (Mickey) borrowed 118 times. This was followed by the سلسلة اقرأ بنفسي (Read by Myself series) by Alyazia Khalifa Al Neyadi in second with 99 checkouts and the Arabic classic collection of fables, Kalila and Dimna in third place, having been borrowed 66 times. Finally, in fourth with 61 checkouts, was قصص الفتاة المسلمة (Stories of a Muslim Girl), by Hamdi Selim.
So, how many of these have you read? Are you a fan of Russian literature, as many in Qatar seem to be, and have you read Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist, like everyone else appears to have? Let 2025 be a year of exploration; why not choose something outside your comfort zone and see where it leads?
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