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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.
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Lynne
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Dec 16, 2022 12:00PM
I've only read 9 on the list. I agree with the Colleen Hoover comments...I don't rate her so much either. I really loved the Sally Rooney books especially Normal People. Where the crawdads sing was pretty good too.
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Hmph! I read only 6, a mere 10%! I'm an embarrassment to book club! :-P
I fail to understand the popularity of Colleen Hoovers books. They are the same predictable boy meets girl ……… overdone
23 out of 60 and that includes no CoHo. I have another 6 or so on my TBR.
I have read 15 of the 60 but many of these are on my wishlist to read.
Chad wrote: "Gee whiz, that's one depressing list of books."It would be interesting to see "who" we all are on Goodreads. Obvious to me, we are not the type to write down the classics, serious literature, biographies, etc. etc. I hardly ever record any nonfiction I read & I never read "literature" any more. I'm a 75 yr old retired librarian & I learned over the years that "Thank God, there millions of all kinds of books out there, so we can choose what we like" Libraries have books for everyone ,didn't mean I had to like every book in there. Don't fault Hoover for writing what her fans are willing to buy!! Some of you need to find other sources for lists of the books you like to read. I'd probably not read anything on those lists!
I hadn’t heard of Colleen Hoover until this list. Is she the chick lit equivalent of James Patterson? No plans to read anything she’s written!
Jon 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, but I think thi..."
Yes, I agree too. You had to sign up for this and not everyone signed up for this. I wonder what statistics would look like if they looked at everyone?
I have read six of the sixty.Not all this year.
The "Colleen Hoover and other authors who write cliche stories about spiteful people who witness/commit murder and fall in love" list.
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. Perhaps, we are literary snobs. :D
Nudibelle wrote: "15 for me . Colleen must be stopped"she will never be stopped. her books have to have some sort of drug in them because I just can't stop reading.
I've read five of these and have four more on my want to read list. I guess I just don't read the popular books because five out of two hundred in a year isn't too impressive.
I listened to the audio of the Andy Weir book which was great. I don't plan to read the other 59 books on the list.
I've read 8 and have 14 on the TBR list. I keep a notebook of books I want to read by year of publication and I'm only on 2018!! So most of my 60 books read this year are fro 2017 and 2018. Wonderful to see so many readers out there!!
My top reads for 2022 were Verity( and I'm not even a CoHo fan), The Family Upstairs, and The Girl Before.
I've read 5 overall of these but 4 just this year.
Read 9 - with 2 queued - looking forward to Lessons in Chemistry next. Love these lists. “Most read” is for a reason. 1 x CoHo was enough for me though. Love TJR and wouldn’t have found her or Lucy Foley without Goodreads . Best book for me this year was “Still Life “Sarah Winman
I’m disappointed in this list. But it makes sense that most would be romance-genre novels. That’s clearly the most read category. For what it’s worth, I read 37 books this year and I would say the best of them was “A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles. Demon Copperhead was a close second. I haven’t read Barbara Kingsolver in years. She hasn’t lost her touch.
isn't it funny that 8/12 of the top books are romance novels?
