Summer reading is in full swing in the Queen City, and nothing beats visiting your local library for all your literary needs.
Cincinnati is great for bibliophiles, as Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library has 41 locations, and more than 395,000 residents have library cards.
So, what are they reading? Below is a list of the top five books Cincinnati residents read the most in July, according to the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library system.
But first…
Top 5 most checked-out books in 2025 so far
Here’s a list of the most checked-out books in the public library system this year.
Most popular e-books on Libby
The library’s data analysts provided The Enquirer with a list of the most popular e-books among Cincinnati residents on Libby, a free app that gives library cardholders access to e-books, audiobooks, magazines and more.
Top 5 books Cincinnati residents read in July
Here is a list of the most checked-out books in July.
1. ‘The Women’ by Kristin Hannah
GoodReads rating: 4.6/5 (over 1.3 million ratings).
GoodReads description: “Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances ‘Frankie’ McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.
As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over-whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets—and becomes one of—the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.
But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.
‘The Women’ is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, ‘The Women’ is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.”
2. ‘Strangers in Time’ by David Baldacci
GoodReads rating: 4.21/5 (over 26,300 ratings)
GoodReads description: “Fourteen-year-old Charlie Matters is up to no good, but for a very good reason. Without parents, peerage, or merit, ducking school but barred from actual work, he steals what he needs, living day-to-day until he’s old enough to enlist to fight the Germans. After barely surviving the Blitz, Charlie knows there’s no telling when a falling bomb might end his life.
Fifteen-year-old Molly Wakefield has just returned to a nearly unrecognizable London. One of millions of people to have been evacuated to the countryside via ‘Operation Pied Piper,’ Molly has been away from her parents—from her home—for nearly five years. Her return, however, is not the homecoming she’d hoped for as she’s confronted by a devastating reality: both her parents are gone.
Without guardians and stability, Charlie and Molly find an unexpected ally and protector in Ignatius Oliver, and solace at his book shop, The Book Keep, where a book a day keeps the bombs away. Mourning the recent loss of his wife, Ignatius forms a kinship with both children, and in each other—over the course of the greatest armed conflict the world had ever seen—they rediscover the spirit of family each has lost.
But Charlie’s escapades in the city have not gone unnoticed, and someone’s been following Molly since she returned to London. And Ignatius is still reeling from a secret Imogen long kept from him while she was alive—something so shocking it resulted in her death, and his life being turned upside down.
As bombs continue to bear down on the city, Charlie, Molly, and Ignatius learn that while the perils of war rage on, their coming together and trusting one another may be the only way for them to survive.”
3. ‘The First Gentleman’ by James Patterson and Bill Clinton
GoodReads rating: 4.2/5 (over 15,000 ratings)
GoodReads description: “America has a powerful new president… And her husband’s on trial for murder. Clinton and Patterson are back. And they’re better than ever.
The President of the United States is up for reelection.
Her husband is on trial for murder.
Is the First Gentleman a killer?
A pair of brilliant investigative journalists set out to answer that burning question about the NFL star-turned-political spouse.”
4. ‘2 Sisters Murder Investigations’ by James Patterson
GoodReads rating: 4.19/5 (over 6,600 ratings).
GoodReads description: “Rhonda and Barbara ‘Baby’ Bird are half-sisters—and full partners in their Los Angeles detective agency. They agree on nothing.
Rhonda, a former attorney, takes a by-the-book approach to solving crimes, while teenage Baby relies on her street smarts.
But when they take a controversial case of a loner whose popular wife has gone missing, they’re accused of being PIs who can’t tell a client from a killer.
The Bird sisters share a late father, but not much else…except their willingness to fight.
Fight the system. Fight for the underdog. Fight for the truth. If they can stop fighting each other long enough to work together.”
5. ‘The President’s Shadow’ by James Patterson and Richard DiLallo
GoodReads rating: 3.19/5 (over 850 ratings)
GoodReads description: “For over 150 years, Lamont Cranston, and his alter ego, The Shadow, has possessed an array of mental and physical scientific skills, shape-shifting ability, and mind control.
When a series of deadly natural disasters strike the planet, (he is) immediately set out to identify who’s responsible…
A disgruntled graduate student? The power-hungry president of the Americas? Or could it be Shiwan Khan, the Shadow’s fiercest enemy?
The Shadow’s latest adventure is also his, Maddy’s, and Margo’s most dangerous. Triumph or perish, they’ll rise or fall…together.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Top 5 books at Cincy libraries last month (No. 3 is a James Patterson/Bill Clinton collab)
Reporting by Kaycee Sloan, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
