Which Canonical American Authors Are People Reading?

Abstract

Explore library checkout trends for 90+ authors from The Norton Anthology of American Literature (1945 to the Present).

Introduction

This interactive explorer invites you to dive into nearly two decades of Seattle Public Library checkout data for authors included in Volume E of The Norton Anthology of American Literature (1945 to the Present). The checkout covers 2005–2025 and lets you see which authors and works have circulated most heavily in Seattle during this period.

The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 10th Edition. Volumes C, D, E.

You can trace spikes of attention after major life events, like an author’s death, or explore how adaptations and cultural conversations bring older works back into circulation.

We encourage you to use the explorer to follow your own interests! You can also download and explore the data directly as a Google Sheet.

Explore Reading Trends from 2005-2025

import {viewof mode,
viewof selection,
plot,
viewof tableTopAuthors,
viewof tableTopTitles,
viewof num_titles,
viewof num_authors,
table,
author_plot,
title_plot,
headingBlock,
headingBlock2,
headingBlockTopTitles,
viewof selectionInput,
viewof suggestedOptions,
viewof mode2,
viewof tableTopTitlesMode,
viewof tableTopTitlesFiltered
} from "2bced81a9de1ac10"

Top Titles and Authors

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Search for Any Author or Title

You can explore checkout trends for any author from The Norton Anthology of American Literature (1945-) or any of their works (at least those that have been checked out by patrons of the Seattle Public Library).

Hover over the line plot to see more detailed information for each month.

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plot

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viewof selectionInput

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viewof tableTopTitlesFiltered