In our occasional Media Picks blog posts, we share what community leaders, activists and celebrities are reading, watching and listening to.

But what is everybody else in Sarasota County reading?

We asked public library system director Renee DiPilato to tell us the top five e-books checked out in April while the 11 branch libraries were temporarily closed to the public.

(They still are, by the way, but there’s good news: Starting Monday May 4, library cardholders can once again reserve books, DVDs and other materials through the library website. You’ll be notified when it’s ready for pickup right at your library’s curb.)  

Top of the list was A Minute to Midnight, David Baldacci’s bestselling thriller about an FBI agent who returns home to Georgia to seek out her sister’s kidnapper.

No. 2 was Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. No surprise here, it’s been on The New York Times bestseller list for a whopping 85 weeks.

Following it were The Numbers Game by Danielle Steel; Golden in Death by J.D. Robb; and Michael Connelly’s latest Harry Bosch who-dun-it, The Night Fire. 

E-books have proven popular during our collective quarantine; more than 1,800 county residents have signed up for new digital library cards since the libraries closed their doors in mid-March.

Beyond the book, the Sarasota County public library system has a wide range of online classes and services to help us through this difficult time, including virtual story hours and Creativebug virtual classes.