Greetings, salutations, and welcome back to another voter-approved, politically benign, proving-everyone-can-find-a-resource-that-validates-their-opinion edition of the High Demand Hold Digest - your source finding the longest hold lines in the Minerva system of libraries.
Happy election day everyone!
While I had pondered and drafted several thousand other thoughts to fill this blank space, I really have one message on this all-important day.  The foundation of democracy rests on the necessity of a well-informed public.  And while we are all living in the vibrant time after the information revolution has transformed every aspect of public, private, and spiritual life, we are also living in the age where we can no longer believe that ignorance is caused by a lack of access to information.  So, in this world where anything that is believed to be true is true, where can one turn for non-commercial information that doesn't seek to profit off questions?  Ask a librarian - they'll tell you.
And now a brief confession - the list you hold was transcribed last Thursday but the opening missive remained locked in my self-criticism until now.  For those seeking to prove my information is outdated and archaic, I confess.  Whenever the stocks are built, I'll gladly report for punishment.
For the uninitiated, what your eyes now behold is the Minerva High Demand Digest - and "monthly"...ish list of the most requested item in the Minerva consortium of libraries where there are at least twice as many holds as there are available items in the system.  So while The Myth of Normal has 26 holds, there are 18 item in the system - hence it is not "high demand" and not included in this list.
The list is distributed through various State of Maine library list-servs.  If, if by chance you've come across this list through some random trick of fate, coincidence, or divine intervention and want more (without having library related emails flowing through your in-box), please send me and email and you'll be happily added to a direct distribution list.
In the end, no one really knows what happens next.  Each of us have our fears, our hopes, our predictions, and our certainties about what the coming days and months will bring.  But no matter what happens, if you feel the terrors of darkness overwhelming your soul and your first reaction to someone disagreeing with you is to hate them, remember the best words written about America by a Canadian...
Sail on, sail on
O mighty ship of state
To the shores of need
Past the reefs of greed
Through the squalls of hate
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.
(Thanks Leonard)
Be well, keep the faith, and I'll see you next month.  At least that much is sure.
Josh
Fiction Books

  1.  Lucy By the Sea (Strout) -273 holds on 83 items
  2.  Mad Honey (Picoult & Boylan) - 194 holds on 50 items
  3.  Demon Copperhead (Kingsolver) - 187 holds on 41 items
  4.  Our Missing Hearts (Ng) - 159 holds on 54 items
  5.  Horse (Brooks) - 148 holds on 73 items
  6.  The Boys from Biloxi (Grisham) - 147 holds on 42 items
  7.  Lessons in Chemistry (Garmus) - 143 holds on 59 items
  8.  It Starts With Us (Hoover) - 125 holds on 39 items
  9.  No Plan B (Child & Child) - 106 holds on 36 items
  10. Going Rogue: Rise and Shine 29 (Evanovich) - 97 holds on 20 items
  11. The Last Chairlift (Irving) - 88 holds on 31 items
  12. The Passenger (McCarthy) - 72 holds on 28 items
  13. Triple Cross (Patterson) - 67 holds on 23 items
  14. Racing the Light (Crais) - 45 holds on 17 items
  15. Things We Never Got Over (Score) - 39 holds on 9 items
  16. The Years (Ernaux) - 37 holds on 4 items
  17. The Whalebone Theater (Quinn) - 37 holds on 13 items
  18. Lessons in Chemistry (Garmus) ((Barnes & Noble Exclusive Edition) - 35 holds on 1 item
  19. Hester (Albanese) - 32 holds on 13 items
  20. Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six (Unger) - 30 holds on 11 items
Non-Fiction Books

  1.  Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America (Haberman) - 99 holds on 32 items
  2.  I'm Glad My Mom Died (McCurdy) - 83 holds on 41 items
  3.  Dinners With Ruth: A Memoir of the Power of Friendships (Totenberg) - 65 holds on 25 items
  4.  The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017 - 2021 (Baker) - 58 holds on 21 items
  5.  Go-To Dinners (Garten) - 56 holds on 14 items
  6.  Dinner In One: Exceptional & Easy One-Pan Meals (Clark) - 55 holds on 21 items
  7.  Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir (Perry) - 51 holds on 7 items
  8.  The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man: A Memoir (Newman) - 46 holds on 20 items
  9.  The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture (Mate) - 32 holds on 15 items
  10. Good Inside: A Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want to Be (Kennedy) - 27 holds on 6 items
  11. Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story (Bono) - 22 holds on 9 items
  12. The Philosophy of Modern Song (Dylan) - 18 holds on 2 items
  13. Flour Power: The Practice and Pursuit of Baking Sourdough Bread (Jensen) - 17 holds on 3 items
  14. Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem  of Growing Up a Wizard (Felton) - 16 holds on 5 items
  15. American Midnight: The Great War, a Violent Peace, And Democracy's Forgotten Crisis ( Hochschild) - 14 holds on 5 items
  16. Down and Out in Paradise: The life of Anthony Bourdain (Leerhsen) - 12 holds on 4 items
  17. The Daughter of Auschwitz: My Story of Resilience, Survival, and Hope (Friedman) - 11 holds on 5 items
  18. Ways of Being: Animals, Plants, Machines: The Search for a Planetary Intelligence (Bridle) - 10 holds on 2 items
  19. Rapture and Melancholy: The Diaries of Enda St. Vincent Millay (Millay) - 10 holds on 4 items
  20. The Complete Guide to Memory: The Science of Strengthening Your Mind (Restak) - 10 holds on 4 items
Large Print

  1.  Horse (Brooks) - 44 holds on 14 items
  2.  Mand Honey (Picoult & Boylan) - 43 holds on 17 items
  3.  Long Shadows (Baldacci) - 43 holds on 13 items
  4.  Our Missing Hearts (Ng) -38 holds on 14 items
  5.  No Plan B (Child & Child) - 38 holds on 5 items
  6.  Desert Star (Connelly) - 36 holds on 4 items
  7.  Demon Copperhead (Kingsolver) - 32 holds on 5 items
  8.  The Winners (Backman) - 28 holds on 8 items
  9.  Lessons in Chemistry (Garmus) -27 holds on 13 items
  10. The Maze (DeMille) - 24 holds on 12 items
Pre-Orders

  1.  A World of Curiosities (Penny) - 328 holds
  2.  Desert Star (Connelly) - 106 holds
  3.  Lucy By the Sea (Strout) (Large Print) -81 holds
  4.  The Choice (Roberts) - 56 holds
  5.  It Starts With Us (Hoover) (Large Print) - 33 holds
  6.  A Twist of the Knife (Horowitz) - 29 holds
  7.  The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times (Obama) - 26 holds
  8.  Bleeding Heart Yard (Griffiths) - 26 holds
Audiobooks

  1.  The Ink Black Heart (Galbraith) - 20 holds on 6 items
  2.  Hatchet Island (Doiron) - 20 holds on 1 item
  3.  Demon Copperhead (Kingsolver) - 19 holds on 5 items
  4.  Lessons (McKay) - 7 holds on 1 item
  5.  Oath of Loyalty (Mills) - 4 holds on 2 items
  6.  Long Shadows (Baldacci) - 4 holds on 2 items
  7.  Yours Cruelly, Elvria: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark (Elvira) - 2 holds on 1 item
  8.  It Ends With Us (Hoover) - 2 holds on 1 item
  9.  And There was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle (Meachman) - 2 holds on 1 item
  10. The Sandman: Act II (Gaiman) ((MP-3) - 2 holds on 1 item
Graphic Novels

  1.  Little Monsters vol. 1 - 4 holds on 2 items
  2.  The Heartstopper Yearbook - 4 holds on 2 items
  3.  Snow Angels vol. 2 - 2 holds on 1 item
  4.  Shuna's Journey - 2 holds on 1 item
  5.  Robin & Batman - 2 holds on 1 item
  6.  Creepy Cat vol. 4 - 2 holds on 1 item
  7.  Chainsaw Man 11: Go Get 'Em Chainsaw Man - 2 holds on 1 item
  8.  Chainsaw Man 10: A Dog's Feelings - 2 holds on 1 item
  9.  Adventure Time Comics vol. 2 - 2 holds on 1 item
Movies & TV Series

  1.  Top Gun: Maverick (DVD) - 23 holds on 9 items
  2.  Bullet Train (Blu-Ray) - 14 holds on 5 items
  3.  Mack & Rita (DVD) - 11 holds on 4 items
  4.  Blue Bloods: Season 12 (DVD) - 9 holds on 3 items
  5.  Murdoch Mysteries: Season 15 (DVD) - 7 holds on 1 item
  6.  Hidden Assets: Season 1 (DVD) - 7 holds on 2 items
  7.  Top Gun: Maverick (4K) - 6 holds on 1 item
  8.  This is Going to Hurt: Season 1 (DVD) - 6 holds on 3 items
  9.  NCIS: Hawaii Season 1 (DVD) - 5 holds on 1 item
  10. Van Der Valk Mysteries Set 1 (DVD) - 4 holds on 1 item
  11. Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators Season 4 (DVD) - 4 holds on 2 items
  12. Heartland Season 14 (DVD) - 4 holds on 2 items
  13. Great Balls of Fire! (DVD) - 4 holds on 2 items
  14. Easter Sunday (DVD) - 4 holds on 1 item
  15. Fall (Blu-ray) - 4 holds on 1 item
  16. Law and Order Season 2 (DVD) - 3 holds on 1 item
  17. Ghosts: Season 3 (DVD) - 3 holds on 1 item
  18. City on a Hill: Season 2 (DVD) - 3 holds on 1 item
  19. Universal Classic Monsters: Icons of Horror Collection (4K) - 2 holds on 1 item
  20. Nope (4K) - 2 holds on 1 item
Music CDs

  1.  Midnights (Swift) - 5 holds on 1 item
  2.  The Time-Life Treasury of Christmas: Holiday Memories - 2 holds on 1 item
Video Games

  1.  Splatoon 3 (Switch) - 10 holds on 1 item
  2.  No Man's Sky (Switch) - 4 holds on 1 item
  3.  The Quarry (PS5) - 3 holds on 1 item

  1.  Pac-Man World Repac (Switch) - 2 holds on 1 item
  2.  Dragons: Legends of the Nine Realms (Switch) - 2 holds on 1 item
  3.  Digimon Survive (Switch) - 2 holds on 1 item

BLAST FROM THE PAST!  The High Demand Digest from November 1, 2016
Books

  1.  Commonwealth (Patchett) - 237 holds on 61 items
  2.  The Whistler (Grisham) - 158 holds on 38 items
  3.  Small Great Things (Picoult) - 143 holds on 47 items
  4.  Hillbilly Elegy (Vance) - 137 holds on 43 items
  5.  The Trespasser (French) - 129 holds on 38 items
  6.  The Wrong Side of Goodbye (Connelly) - 96 holds on 17 items
  7.  Killing the Rising Sun (O'Reilly) - 92 holdso n 28 items
  8.  Escape Clause (Sandford) - 79 holds on 38 items
  9.  Born to Run (Springsteen) - 72 holds on 34 items
  10. The Hidden Life of Trees (Wohlleben) - 65 holds on 25 items
DVD

  1.  Ghostbusters - 87 holds on 16 items
  2.  Captain America: Civil War - 58 holds on 27 items
  3.  The Legend of Tarzan - 50 holds on 14 items
  4.  Free State of Jones - 48 holds on 16 items
  5.  X-Men: Apocalypse - 48 holds on 16 items
  6.  Money Monster - 47 holds on 16 items
  7.  Now You See Me 2 - 47 holds on 15 items
  8.  Independence Day: Resurgence - 42 holds on 8 items
  9.  Love & Friendship - 35 holds on 17 items
  10. Alice Through the Looking Glass - 33 holds on 7 items



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