The 60 Most Read Books of the 2022 Reading Challenge

Posted by Cybil on December 5, 2022



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.
   

Comments Showing 301-326 of 326 (326 new)

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message 301: by Conan (new)

Conan McCann Hmph! I read only 6, a mere 10%! I'm an embarrassment to book club! :-P


message 302: by Kathryn (new)

Kathryn I’ve read none of those and not sorry.


message 303: by Maureen (new)

Maureen Mahan I fail to understand the popularity of Colleen Hoovers books. They are the same predictable boy meets girl ……… overdone


message 304: by Rachel (new)

Rachel Stambaugh 23 out of 60 and that includes no CoHo. I have another 6 or so on my TBR.


message 305: by Laura Williamson (new)

Laura Williamson I have read 15 of the 60 but many of these are on my wishlist to read.


message 306: by Anu (new)

Anu I've read 12 out of 60.
Have 11 more on my TBR.


message 307: by Mary (new)

Mary 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!


message 308: by MJ (new)

MJ 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!


message 309: by Jane (new)

Jane 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?


message 310: by Jean (new)

Jean Showers I have read six of the sixty.Not all this year.


message 311: by David (new)

David Allott The "Colleen Hoover and other authors who write cliche stories about spiteful people who witness/commit murder and fall in love" list.


message 312: by L (new)

L 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


message 313: by Rylee (new)

Rylee 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.


message 314: by Carole (new)

Carole  Feldman 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.


message 315: by Loretta (new)

Loretta Nowak Too many Coleen Hoover. Very over rated


message 316: by JimC (new)

JimC 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.


message 317: by Mary (new)

Mary Lou 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!!


message 318: by Mrslee (new)

Mrslee My top reads for 2022 were Verity( and I'm not even a CoHo fan), The Family Upstairs, and The Girl Before.


message 319: by Robin (new)

Robin I've read 44 on this list!


message 320: by Tricia (new)

Tricia Sean I read 4 and own 2 others.


message 321: by Safae (new)

Safae I've read 5 overall of these but 4 just this year.


message 322: by Stella (new)

Stella 13 for me


message 323: by Julie (new)

Julie Davies 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


message 324: by John (new)

John Calia 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.


message 325: by Dorothy (new)

Dorothy I've read 20!


message 326: by Amy (new)

Amy isn't it funny that 8/12 of the top books are romance novels?


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