WASHINGTON — With much of D.C. waiting with bated breath for a decision from Wednesday's historic impeachment vote, the "I" word dominated Twitter's trending topics. Everything from #ImpeachmentDay to #MerryImpeachmas popped up on the Twittersphere.
But sprinkled in for several hours in the afternoon was a seemingly benign tweet from the DC Public Library using #BrownBagDC.
The tweet asked readers to "tell us what you're reading now," which led to hundreds of people weighing in on their current literary choices. The distinction of "love it or hate it" meant not everyone was posting praise. But everything from apocalyptic future fiction to romance novels and YA historical fiction were discussed.
New novels from favorite authors, and whether they would live up to high expectations, seemed to be a popular topic. "The Testaments" from Margaret Atwood, author of "The Handmaid's Tale," "Royal Holiday" by Jasmine Guillory, of "The Wedding Date" and "Troubled Waters" by HJ Welch were all favorably received. But "Traveling Sprinkler" by Nicholson Baker was voted a rambler.
The discussion of ritual reads, or books that you return to year after year, found "A Christmas Carol," "Little Women," "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn," "Harry Potter," "The Harvest," "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" and "The Grinch" to be seasonal favorites.
Agatha Christie saw some love as both "And Then There Were None" and "Murder at the Vicarage" were being devoured by devout Christie fans, some of whom were introducing the classic novels to a younger generation.
One tweeter said her recent book choice left her homesick for D.C.
Many used the opportunity to solicit requests for books to consume over the holidays. "The Starless Sea" by Erin Morgenstern revived several nods thanks to its "beautiful language."
Several debated the merits of audiobooks versus physical books, with the consensus seeming to be both have their place as certain reads are better suited to one medium.
The DC Public Library also announced Wednesday that they had reached 1,000,000 digital checkouts for 2019, with the one millionth audiobook download listed as "Possibilities" by Herbie Hancock.
In the fall of 2012, the library started a lunchtime book club on Wednesdays called "Brown Bag Book Share," where readers could pack a lunch and head to the library on their break to discuss their monthly reading. The hashtag has pushed the conversation into the digital space.