Sometimes a book remains hot long after its publication date.  “The Hunger Games’’ (2008) by Suzanne Collins, “The Help’’ by Kathryn Stockett (2009) and “Cutting for Stone’’ (2009) by Abraham Verghese rarely remain on our library shelves, even though we have many copies. Other titles that also are hugely popular include “Room’’ by Emma Donoghue, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks’’ by Rebecca Skloot  and “Unbroken’’ by Laura Hillenbrand, which all came out in 2010.

Why does this happen? I can think of three reasons. First, they all are compelling, page-turning  stories. Second, rave reviews from library staff and recommendations from other readers keep their popularity spreading. And third, many of these books will be seen on the silver screen. “The Help’’ movie will be released in theaters on August 10, 2011. “The Hunger Games’’ movie will be out in March 2012. “Cutting for Stone’’ has been optioned for a movie deal, but no date has been announced.

If you are disappointed that you can’t get copies of these books, don’t despair. Eventually these titles will cool down and be more accessible. For example, books that used to be hard to get include “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’’ trilogy by Stieg Larsson, “Water for Elephants’’ by Sara Gruen, all the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling, and “The Book Thief’’ by Markus Zusak, just to name a few. Now there is little or no waiting time for these titles.

In the meantime, the best thing to do is to place a hold, which you can do at the reference desk or on our website. We’d love to give you recommendations for other equally wonderful books that are on our shelves!

--Jo Hansen, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.