The Championship Round
This year’s Tournament of Books Champion is… The Women by Kristin Hannah…again!
For the second year in a row, Kristin Hannah’s bestselling story about a young nurse serving in the Vietnam War was voted the favorite book by readers. Despite a new field of popular and beloved titles debuting in 2025, The Women was still the 3rd most popular checkout at Russell Library last year, and proved its staying power again by climbing all the way atop the bracket once again.
In a 56% – 44% decision, The Women prevailed over Everything Is Tuberculosis by John Green, this year’s top Nonfiction title as decided by Middletown readers. It is the third year in a row that the winning book came from the “Fiction” side of the bracket. The tournament is set up such that the top Fiction and Nonfiction titles will face off in the Championship Round.
Please stay tuned for the results of the Bracket Contest in the coming days, as well as a blog post on The Library Vault breaking down the results round-by-round. The Russell Library would like to thank everyone who submitted a bracket and voted throughout the four rounds in March. Which books will make the Tournament next year?
The NFC (Non Fiction Conference)
1. The Let Them Theory – Mel Robbins2. The Anxious Generation – Jonathan Haidt3. Be Ready When the Luck Happens – Ina Garten4. The Third Gilmore Girl – Kelly Bishop5. From Here to the Great Unknown – Lisa Marie Presley6. Everything Is Tuberculosis – John Green7. **Framed – John Grisham and Jim McCloskey8. **Careless People – Sarah Wynn-Williams
**Librarians Picks
The AFC (Adult Fiction Conference)
1. The Wedding People – Alison Espach2. Onyx Storm – Rebecca Yarros3. The Women – Kristin Hannah4. All The Colors of the Dark – Chris Whitaker5. The God of the Woods – Liz Moore6. James – Percival Everett7. **Atmosphere – Taylor Jenkins Reid8. **My Friends – Fredrik Backman
**Librarians Picks
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