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The 60 Most Read Books of the 2022 Reading Challenge
As the final days of the year tick themselves off the calendar, the 2022 Goodreads Reading Challenge is coming to a close. Sincere congratulations to all who participated, and can we just say…wow. More than 6.5 million (!) readers took the challenge this year, pledging to read more than 320 million (!!) books. That’s a lot of page-turning. Maybe there’s an alternative energy source here?
If you’re curious about which books were the most read in this year’s challenge, well, so were we. We’ve listed below the Top 60 books marked as Read (as opposed to, say, Want to Read) by those who signed up for the challenge. These are the raw numbers from Goodreads regulars, reporting on the books they finished in 2022.
The big takeaway, which quickly becomes apparent, is that author Colleen Hoover is the undisputed queen of publishing this year. She’s claimed 4 of the top 10 slots on our list, and 5 of the top 12. Hoover’s story is pretty amazing, and her success speaks to the supernova power of online reviews, viral reaction videos, and BookTok.
Those same online dynamics powered a huge surge for romance novels generally, romantic comedies specifically, and several individual books that broke through to mainstream pop culture in 2022. You’ll also find plenty of the year’s most talked-about titles in science fiction, memoirs, fantasy, thrillers, historical fiction, and existential ennui.
Check out our list, add anything promising to your own Want to Read shelf, and feel free to continue the conversation in the comments section.
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What are some of your favorite reads so far this year from your 2022 Reading Challenge? Let us know in the comments!
And be sure to check out more recent articles.
And be sure to check out more recent articles.
Comments Showing 101-150 of 327 (327 new)
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Eliana
(new)
Dec 07, 2022 01:54PM
Read 33 out of 60 - and many more on my TBR!
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Read 6 out of 60. I have never read a Colleen Hoover book and don’t plan to. Can you do one of these with the Horror genre??
Barbara wrote: "Benjamin wrote: "Not to sound negative, but it's a shame these books are the most read. So many other great genres out there. They seemed a bit all the same type of book."I agree a disappointing ..."
Might be nice to have top 10 read in each catagory. I've read more historical fiction and non fiction this year than in the past.
Stephanie wrote: "I’ve read 13"Stephanie wrote: "I’ve read 13"
Benjamin wrote: "Not to sound negative, but it's a shame these books are the most read. So many other great genres out there. They seemed a bit all the same type of book."
I agree - many are quite mediocre too.
I have difficulty deciding which books i loved most this year --- not all "new" books but several are. Iam so very impressed with the issues covered without "yelling" in these three of my favorites Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng, Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Boylan, and Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. All three very enjoyable and thought provoking touching on extremely relevant subjects from personal family perspectives. I highly recommend all three. Historical Fiction authors have been a delight this year including Kim Michele Richardson's The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek & follow up with The Book Woman's Daughter, God Pretty in the Tobacco Field, and I also read her personal heart wrenching & uplifting story The Unbreakable Child.
Benjamin wrote: "Not to sound negative, but it's a shame these books are the most read. So many other great genres out there. They seemed a bit all the same type of book."I absolutely agree.
With so many books out there the list should be at least 100.Harry Potter was the only book I read that's on the list and for me the best novel of the year followed by The house with a clock in its walls
I've read 8, so far.All the Colleen Hoover books! WOW!
Luka wrote: "booktok was a mistake"I totally agree 👍
Not sure what's more surprising, HP being on this list or how many CoHo books on this list.....
of the 14 books of this lust I’ve read, I can recommend - Lessons in Chemistry, It Ends With Us and Where the Crawdads Sing. Lessons in Chemistry is one of the best I’ve read in a long time
I've read 18 of the 60. Of those, The Midnight Library stands out as a favorite.
Could you do a list of the top 100 translated into English titles? I would love to see that.
Read 3 of them. We're not all Americans, are we? That being said, there ARE some interesting books on that list. Ok, maybe not Colleen Hoover... ;-)
Benjamin wrote: "Not to sound negative, but it's a shame these books are the most read. So many other great genres out there. They seemed a bit all the same type of book."My thought too...
Jiji wrote: "Colleen Hoover... Loved a couple of her earlier books but I can't get past Verity.Surprised Harry Potter continues to be on most read books lists."
Don't be, I still haven't read Harry Potter yet lol
I’ve barely read any of these. This is a sad list tbh.
Marian wrote: "Benjamin wrote: "Not to sound negative, but it's a shame these books are the most read. So many other great genres out there. They seemed a bit all the same type of book."My thought too..."
I thought that was just me
I mean sure, lots of these books are good
but wow, they all seem similar
BookTok perhaps?
Why does booktock exist. Reading was better when it wasn’t the popular thing to do 😂
Yep. Cool. The same 60 books Goodreads has shown us all every single day for the last year.
30/60 not bad.. although not all were read this year
I've read 20 of the 60 on the list. Here's my 5 star list for the year so far.5 * books in 2022, out of 365 books so far.
All My Rage
Deluge
The Drift
All the Dangerous Things
Demon Copperhead
Mad Honey
Our Missing Hearts
The Winners
The BookWoman’s Daughter
Lucy By the Sea
Properties of Thirst
Together We Will Go
It All Comes Down to This
Skin and Bones
The Last Orphan
Lessons in Chemistry
Things We Do in the Dark
Under a White Sky
The Diamond Eye
Send Her Back and other stories
Four Treasures of the Sky
Memphis
The IT Girl
The Harbor
The Silent Sisters
Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre
The Violence
Mecca
The School for Good Mothers
A Flicker in the Dark
8 of 60, none by Colleen Hoover. My faves of this list are tied between The Maid, Anxious People, and Circe.
I've read 18/60, about 5 are on my TBR, and another 15 I've sworn I won't read. I hope next year has less romance...
I have read 11 out of the 60. I did not read all of the books in this past year. There are books on the list I will read for a 2023 reading challenge.
I've read 13 of those (DNF'd three of them), have a few on my TBR but most of the rest I'll likely never read.
@rachelreadsravenously I was thinking the same thing. This isn’t a post about the “best books of 2022” it’s just the most read. So all of these comments about how awful CoHo is and such is really sad because she is clearly reaching an audience that wants to read her work. Be encouraged that people are reading, even if it’s not for you.
