'The Help' and 'The Lovely Bones' Climb the Most Downloaded Books from the Library Lists

Dan Brown's 'The Lost Symbol' continues its run at the top of the eBook and audiobook charts

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Feb 01, 2010, 05:20 ET

CLEVELAND, Feb. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- OverDrive (www.overdrive.com), the leading global distributor of audiobooks, eBooks, and more to libraries, today announced the 'Most Downloaded Books from the Library' for January 2010. For complete lists, visit www.overdrive.com/mostdownloaded. After being included on countless "Best of 2009" lists, Kathryn Stockett's "The Help" rose to No. 2 on the most downloaded adult fiction audiobook list and No. 4 on the eBook chart. Alice Sebold's "The Lovely Bones" also saw a surge in downloads with the release of the motion picture adaptation, hitting No. 2 on the adult fiction eBook list and No. 5 on the audiobook list. Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol" topped the audiobook and eBook charts for the fifth consecutive month, while digital books by James Patterson, Sarah Palin, and Michael Crichton were also among the most downloaded books from the library in January.

The 'Most Downloaded Books from the Library' lists are organized by subject and format, and compiled based on activity at more than 10,000 libraries in the OverDrive global network. Complete lists for audiobooks and eBooks in adult fiction, adult nonfiction, juvenile fiction, and juvenile nonfiction are available at www.overdrive.com/mostdownloaded.

Most Downloaded Audiobooks from the Library - Adult Fiction (January 2010)
Rank	Title	Author	Publisher	Months on List
1	The Lost Symbol	Dan Brown	Books on Tape	5
2	The Help	Kathryn Stockett	Books on Tape	7
3	"U" is for Undertow	Sue Grafton	Books on Tape	2
4	I, Alex Cross	James Patterson	BBC Audiobooks America	3
5	The Lovely Bones	Alice Sebold	Hachette Audio	3
6	Bed of Roses	Nora Roberts	Brilliance Audio	4
7	The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo	Stieg Larsson	Books on Tape	16
8	Breathless	Dean Koontz	Brilliance Audio	3
9	13 1/2	Nevada Barr	Brilliance Audio	5
10	1st to Die	James Patterson	Hachette Audio	25

Most Downloaded eBooks from the Library - Adult Fiction (January 2010)
Rank	Title	Author	Publisher	Months on List
1	The Lost Symbol	Dan Brown	Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group	5
2	The Lovely Bones	Alice Sebold	Little, Brown and Company	6
3	I, Alex Cross	James Patterson	Little, Brown and Company	3
4	The Help	Kathryn Stockett	Penguin USA, Inc.	7
5	Alex Cross's Trial	James Patterson, Richard DiLallo	Little, Brown and Company	6
6	Pirate Latitudes	Michael Crichton	HarperCollins	3
7	Bed of Roses	Nora Roberts	Penguin USA, Inc.	4
8	The Last Song	Nicholas Sparks	Grand Central Publishing	5
9	"U" is for Undertow	Sue Grafton	Penguin, USA Inc.	2
10	Vision in White	Nora Roberts	Penguin USA, Inc.	9

OverDrive provides download services for more than 10,000 libraries, retailers, and schools worldwide with support for PC, Mac®, Sony® Reader™, nook™, and Android™, as well as the largest collection of iPod®-compatible audiobooks for libraries. To see if your public library is a member of the OverDrive network, visit http://search.overdrive.com. OverDrive also operates the Digital Bookmobile (www.digitalbookmobile.com), a high-tech 18-wheeler traveling North America on behalf of public libraries to raise awareness about free library downloads.

'Most Downloaded Books from the Library' lists are developed based on a formula that includes books checked out and on a waiting list at OverDrive-powered libraries.

About OverDrive

OverDrive is a leading full-service digital distributor of eBooks, audiobooks, music, and video. We deliver secure management, DRM protection, and download fulfillment services for hundreds of publishers and thousands of libraries, schools, and retailers, serving millions of end users. OverDrive has been named to the EContent 100 as a company that matters most in the digital content industry. Founded in 1986, OverDrive is based in Cleveland, OH. www.overdrive.com