'The Handmaid's Tale' Is In Serious Demand RN, According To Libraries

The days left before the Hulu adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale hits our screens are rapidly slipping away — and so is your time to read the book before you watch the TV version. But don't leave it until the last minute: library waitlists for The Handmaid's Tale are surging across the United States, according to The Huffington Post. If you want to get your hands on Margaret Atwood's classic dystopian novel any time this year, you're going to have to act fast.

According to a recent report from Patch, there are quite literally hundreds of readers waiting to get hold of a copy of the book in New York alone. Despite the New York Public Library adding 32 copies of The Handmaid's Tale to their collection, they still can't keep up with the phenomenal demand. On Monday, a representative of the NYPL told The Huffington Post that 546 holds have been placed on their 96 copies, and that no other dystopian novel is quite so highly requested.

Outside New York, the demand for The Handmaid's Tale is just as high. At the Chicago Public Library, there are currently 61 holds on their six paperback copies, and a whopping 320 holds on 81 available ebooks. At the San Francisco Public Library, there are currently 106 holds on 54 physical copies, and 281 holds on 65 available ebooks.

The Handmaid's Tale has also leapt to the top of the Amazon bestseller list, proving that this novel is every bit as relevant today as it was when Atwood first wrote it. This is a book that everyone in Trump's America needs to read — but maybe don't count on your local library having a copy to spare.