Favorite Books and Movies Checked out at Comstock Park library

By Paula Wright, KDL Branch Librarian at the Comstock Park Branch

Reprinted with permission of the Comstock Park Communicator

Are you curious about what other people are reading in Comstock Park, MI? This year the Comstock Park Library has checked out over 40,500 items to area residents.

Breakout author Freida McFadden is one of the most read authors in Comstock Park with her book The Boyfriend topping the list of most checked out book. Known for writing twisty psychological thrillers, The Boyfriend tells the story of Sidney Shaw, unlucky in love, who believes she’s finally found the one with new boyfriend Tom. But after a dead neighbor is linked to other homicides in the area, Sidney begins to wonder if Tom is more then he seems. McFadden’s book The Crash also makes the list of most checked out books at number three.

Number two on the list is a reimagining of the classic Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Told from the point of view of Jim, Percival Everett’s James is also this year’s winner of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction and the change in perspective in the story from Huck to Jim provides a fresh new look on a classic tale, letting readers peek behind the mask Jim wears to survive in 1830s Mississippi.

Joining The Crash at number three is Liz Moore’s The God of the Woods. The God of the Woods brings us to the Adirondack mountains in the summer of 1975, where 13-year-old Barbara goes missing during summer camp, the same camp her brother went missing from 14 years earlier. Explorations of crime, class and family weave a complex story that readers won’t soon forget.

Top Reads checked out at Comstock Park Branch Library (so far) in 2025:

1. The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden
2. James by Percival Everett
3. The Crash by Freida McFadden
   The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
4. We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes
5. The Women by Kristin Hannah
6. The Wedding People by Alison Espach
   To Die For by David Baldacci
7. All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker
   Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney
8. The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

The people of Comstock Park aren't just reading books, they're also watching movies, with the musical Wicked being the most watched movie of the year so far. With the sequel coming out in November, this one is going to continue to be a popular choice for many who want to give it a re-watch or experience it for the first time before Wicked 2: For Good debuts.

Speaking of sequels, many of the other most checked out DVDs so far this year have been sequels or part of a franchise: Moana 2, Twisters, Gladiator II, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Mufasa, The Lion King and Venom: The Last Dance are all on our top movies list.

Top Movies checked out at Comstock Park Branch Library (so far) in 2025:

1. Wicked
2. Moana 2
3. Twisters
4. Gladiator II
5. Sonic the Hedgehog 3
6. Trap
   Wild Robot
7. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
   Mufasa, The Lion King
   Venom: Last Dance

Comstock Park by the Numbers:

For those who enjoy statistics and numbers, it’s been an excellent year for the Comstock Park Branch. In addition to having over 40,500 physical items checked out from the branch, we’ve seen over 37,000 eBook & e-audiobooks checked out from our digital library through the Libby app by Comstock Park residents.

If you were in the branch this summer, you may have noticed that we were the place to be in Comstock Park – many of our programs had record attendance, filling our program room to capacity. So far this year, we’ve had over 45,000 visitors with 4,600 people also attending a program.

The Comstock Park Branch has a lot of fun and exciting programs planned for the rest of 2025, including a new reading program for adults 18+ that has just started called Stampworthy.

Stampworthy

The Stampworthy Adult Reading Challenge encourages adults to check out at minimum of five items whenever they visit the library to receive a stamp. Once five stamps are collected, patrons are entered into a monthly drawing to win a gift certificate from one of our partners or to our KDL Shop.

Items checked out can be adult, teen or youth items. They can also be books, movies, video games and/or Beyond Books items – anything you’d check out from the library that is not part of our digital collection. 

The library is hoping that by encouraging patrons to check out a few extra items each visit, that it will help patrons discover new authors, new skills to learn and new genres of movies to watch. When you’re looking at an item and you’re not sure if it's for you, the library wants to encourage you to take a chance on the item – no worries if you take it home and don’t like it. That’s why we’re a library – we have easy returns. To help you on your journey, the library has several book and movie bundles ready and waiting.