What Canada's reading: 4 libraries report in

Canadians borrow hundreds of thousands of books from public libraries every week. Here is a snapshot of last week's most popular titles from four of the 22 urban library systems participating in the National Book Count. The book count results, which measure both sales and library loans during the week of Jan. 10-16, will be released Wednesday.

At the Halifax Public Libraries

Hardcover and paperback books borrowed in an average week: 50,000

Most popular titles last week (based on requests):

• Light Lifting by Alexander MacLeod
• The Sentimentalists by Johanna Skibsrud
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett
• Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy
• The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
• Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny
• The Confession by John Grisham
• This Body of Death by Elizabeth George
• Crime Machine by Giles Blunt
• Trespass by Rose Tremain

At the Toronto Public Library

Hardcover and paperback books borrowed in an average week: 340,000

Most popular titles last week (based on loans):

• Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
• The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
• Room by Emma Donoghue
• Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda
• The Confession by John Grisham
• The Bishop's Man by Linden MacIntyre
• Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King
• Real Estate Investing in Canada by Don R. Campbell
• Canadian Small Business Kit for Dummies by Margaret Kerr and JoAnn Kurtz
• The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill

At the Vancouver Public Library

Hardcover and paperback books borrowed in an average week: 130,000

Most popular titles last week (based on requests):

• Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
• Room by Emma Donoghue
• The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
• Fall of Giants by Ken Follett
• Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett
• The Sentimentalists by Johanna Skibsrud
• The Confession by John Grisham
• Life by Keith Richards
• The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell

At the Greater Victoria Public Library

Hardcover and paperback books borrowed in an average week: 70,000

Most popular titles last week (based on requests):

• Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
• Room by Emma Donoghue
• Fall of Giants by Ken Follett
• The Reversal by Michael Connelly
• The Sentimentalists by Johanna Skibsrud
• The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett
• Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy
• Started Early, Took my Dog by Kate Atkinson
• Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda