Some books at the Toronto Public Library have thousands of holds. Here are the most in demand
In October, the Toronto Public Library saw more than 2,000 people place a hold on Bill Bryson’s Audiobook “A Short History of Nearly Everything.” The publisher has since made the audiobook available for purchase again, cutting down the wait time for those who put a hold on it, but what other books at Toronto Public Library have long waitlists?
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What books have the most holds at the Toronto Public Library? In October, the Toronto Public Library saw more than 2,000 people place a hold on Bill Bryson’s Audiobook “A Short History of Nearly Everything.” The publisher has since made the audiobook available for purchase again, cutting down the wait time for those who put a hold on it, but what other books at Toronto Public Library have long waitlists?
How wait times work at Toronto Public Library Matt Abbott, senior manager of Toronto Public Library’s collection development, explained it’s difficult to provide an estimated wait time for each title, but said when there is a high number of holds, they will buy up more copies so readers can get a copy sooner.
“There are, however, several variables that would impact a wait time such as when the previous borrow returns their copy,” Abbott said, pointing to whether it’s returned before or after the due date as examples.
Transferring items between TPL branches, customers cancelling their holds and when the public library can purchase more copies also has an impact on wait times—though OverDrive provides a live estimate of how long it’ll take to get their copy in hand.
How wait times are shortened Abbott says TPL regularly reviews the number of holds placed on all of their physical materials, from books to CDs, and order more copies to cut down on wait times. They also follow the same process with ebooks and audiobooks. For the more popular titles, the library says they put them on their Best Bets collection—which does not fill holds. There is also the Lucky Day Collection for high-demand titles, where they are loaned out for seven days.
What could impact wait times? When a book is out of print, Abbott says the library cannot re-order more copies of them to ease wait times. As for audiobooks and ebooks, there are some instances where TPL cannot license additional copies, which they have to do through authorized vendors.
So, what books have been the most in-demand at Toronto Public Library? Going in ascending order, these are the books who had a long list of holds as of Oct. 22, 2025.
“The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny” by Kiran Desai This love story, spanning across continents and years between India and the U.S., had 702 Toronto Public Library users placing holds for the novel as of Oct. 22.
“Ballerina” directed by Len Wiseman There was one DVD that piqued the interest of 702 Toronto Public Library users, and that was the 2025 film “Ballerina,” starring Ana de Armas and Keanu Reeves (in his role of John Wick).
“Mother Mary Comes to Me” by Arundhati Roy Roy’s memoir, delving into how she became the writer and person she is today, saw 736 people placing holds on a physical copy at the Toronto Public Library as of Oct. 22.
“My Friends” by Fredrik Backman The New York Times bestselling author’s latest book, a story about friendship among four teenagers and life, had 740 holds as of Oct. 22. There were double the amount of people waiting for the eBook, with 1,484 holds.
“The Impossible Fortune” by Richard Osman For the fifth installment of Osman’s “Thursday Murder Club” murder mystery series had 753 TPL users placing holds on a physical copy as of Oct. 22.
“The Let Them Theory: A Life-Changing Tool That Millions Of People Can’t Stop Talking About” by Mel Robbins Robbins’ self-help book, which aims to teach the reader to free themselves from “the opinions, drama and judgments of others,” had 839 holds on the physical copy as of Oct. 22. The eBook had more than quadruple the number of holds.
“What We Can Know” by Ian McEwan There were 900 holds for a physical copy of McEwan’s novel, which stems between two time periods from 2014 to over 100 years in the future.
“The Black Wolf” by Louise Penny As of Oct. 22, there were 950 holds placed on the physical version of Penny’s book, which follows Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his team as they stopped a domestic terrorist attack in Montreal.
“The Secret of Secrets” by Dan Brown Abbott says there were 1,250 holds as of Oct. 22 on the physical copy of Brown’s latest in his Robert Langdon series.
What eBooks and audiobooks have had the most holds? Mel Robbins’ self-help book “The Let Them Theory”, which had hundreds of people waiting for a physical copy of the book at TPL, had thousands of holds on the e-book as of Oct. 22, with 3,716 readers waiting for their turn. “The Secret of Secrets” by Dan Brown was second in demand for ebooks, with 1,973 holds.
“The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jenkins Reid Taylor Jenkins Reid’s historical drama was the most in-demand audiobook at Toronto Public Library as of Oct. 22, with 1,825 listeners waiting to hear the tale.
“The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness” by Jonathan Haidt Haidt’s work argues that smartphones, social media and overprotective parenting for what happens in the real world has caused a ‘great rewiring of childhood,’ and 1,238 Toronto Public Library users want to read his thesis.
“Broken Country” by Clare Leslie Hall The ebook of Hall’s novel, exploring themes of love and loss, had 1,218 waiting to read it as of Oct. 22.
“Atmosphere” by Taylor Jenkins Reid There are 1,205 Toronto Public Library users who want to listen to Reid’s latest novel, which delves into a story of one of the first women scientists to join NASA’s space shuttle program.
“The Wedding People” by Alison Espach This story, which follows one unexpected guest at an extravagant wedding at the Cornwall Inn, had 1,180 holds on the eBook as of Oct. 22.
“Great Big Beautiful Life” by Emily Henry This romance and historical fiction novel had 1,142 readers waiting for the e-book at Toronto Public Library as of Oct. 22.
“Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir With a film adaptation of this book slated to premiere with Ryan Gosling next year, there are 938 people waiting to read the sci-fi e-book (seemingly) before then.
Which high-demand books can Toronto Public Library no longer order copies of? There are three books with double-digit demand that Abbott says TPL can no longer order physical copies of: “Austerlitz” by W.G. Sebald (which has 69 holds), “Excellent Women” by Barbara Pym (which has 68 holds) and “Ultimatum” by Richard Rohmer (which has 49 holds).
What about eBooks and audiobooks? There are two audiobooks Abbott says it can no longer license copies of to meet the high demand: “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood (with 1,719 holds) and “The Blade Itself” by Joe Abercrombie (with 631 holds).
“Intermezzo” by Sally Rooney This fictional novel, revolving around the story of two brothers after the death of their father, saw 1,700 holds at Toronto Public Library in October 2024.
“A Promised Land” by Barack Obama The autobiography written by the 44th president of the United States, the first volume of Obama’s presidential memoirs, saw 2,250 holds for it in December 2020, weeks after it was published.
“Spare” by Prince Harry The Duke of Sussex’s memoir, which chronicles his struggles after his mother’s death and breaking away from the royal family, had 3,900 Toronto Public Library readers waiting for a copy in January 2023 (when the book first published).
