The 40 Most Read Books of the 2023 Goodreads Reading Challenge (So Far)

Posted by Cybil on June 12, 2023


Time once again, gentle readers, for our midyear check-in on the Goodreads Reading Challenge, in which readers push themselves by pledging to read a set number of books for the year. Lots of activity this time around! Six million participants and more than 250 million books pledged?! Crazy numbers!
 
We’ve collected below the most popular books completed so far in this year’s Reading Challenge. That is to say, the books that people are marking "read" as part of this year's Challenge.
 
There are a few clear takeaways here at the halfway point. As is typical, the list tends to favor a few Very Popular Authors, each of whom has multiple individual books clocking in. For instance, Colleen HooverTaylor Jenkins Reid, and Sarah J. Maas. Romance continues to be a popular genre in the Challenge, but you’ll find other specimens, too: domestic thrillers, inventive fantasy, giant octopi, this sort of thing. Not surprisingly, you’ll also find plenty of nominees and winners of past Goodreads Choice Awards.
 
Take a leisurely scroll through the images below, click through the cover images for more details, and feel free to add to your own Want to Read shelf.
 
 
 

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

#9

#10

#11

#12

#13

#14

#15

#16

#17

#18

#19

#20

#21

#22

#23

#24

#25

#26

#27

#28

#29

#30

#31

#32

#33

#34

#35

#36

#37

#38

#39

#40


What are some of your favorite reads so far this year from your own 2023 Reading Challenge? Let us know in the comments!
 

Comments Showing 1-50 of 688 (688 new)


message 1: by Jessica (new)

Jessica I DNF'ed Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow at about 75 pages in... Didn't know where it was going and there wasn't ANYTHING happening imo... 😅😬


message 2: by Deen (new)

Deen I've only read two books on here. I guess I've got a lot of catching up to do.


message 3: by Kayla (new)

Kayla Oberle I've read 11 of these books, currently reading 1, and have 19 on my want-to-read shelf. That is before I go through and add more to my tbr shelf. I think I have a small obsession with "popular" books...


Rhonda 🌒🌕🌘 🐈‍⬛ I’m 9/40 🤣🤣 I guess I need to pick up my pace


message 5: by Sara Beth (new)

Sara Beth Lyon I’ve read 17 of these books, currently reading another one, 10 are on my TBR, 4 are possible reads, and 8 are not ones I’m interested in reading.


message 6: by Lena (new)

Lena Montoya I’ve read 24 of these and have 7 on my TBR (possibly 9). 😆🙈


message 7: by Law (new)

Law None of those books are on my TBR yet, but they do sound interesting, especially The Song of Achilles.


Your local cryptid Y’all need to read some non fiction like damn. And step away from the Colleen Hoover.


message 9: by Nusrat (new)

Nusrat Rahman 5/40 🥲


message 10: by Julia (new)

Julia Amber wrote: "Y’all need to read some non fiction like damn. And step away from the Colleen Hoover."
100%


message 11: by Julia (new)

Julia I swear to god, if there are no haters of The Silent Patient left, I'm dead.


message 12: by Yess (new)

Yess That's a lot of Colleen Hoover, a little too much actually.


message 13: by Jouana Farlin (new)

Jouana Farlin Seva Read 12/40


christene_littlelibrary 12/40 and some are on my TBR


message 15: by Simon (new)

Simon 4/40 and some on my TBR but most of them I'm not interested in


message 16: by [deleted user] (new)

I've read 20 of these books the rest I don't plan on reading


message 17: by Dee (new)

Dee Garbo I've read 15 out of 40, and most of it are still on my tbr list. :)


message 18: by Nada Khalaf (new)

Nada Khalaf Rhonda (Rowan’s version) wrote: "I’m 9/40 🤣🤣 I guess I need to pick up my pace"
omg SAME !!!


message 19: by Dana (new)

Dana Salman I'm getting really tired of seeing these same titles everywhere, on booktok and bookstagram and displayed prominently in bookstores.


message 20: by ~Anna~ (new)

~Anna~ Amber wrote: "Y’all need to read some non fiction like damn. And step away from the Colleen Hoover."
I agree with the part about Colleen Hoover, but please don't judge people because they like to read fiction


message 21: by Bella off hiatus (new)

Bella off hiatus I’ve read 5 of these.


Angel 💜✨ wow i read 13/40 books. kinda proud of myself :3


message 23: by Katharina (new)

Katharina Schulze read 15 of those already :)


message 24: by [deleted user] (new)

9/40 not to bad I think. :)


message 25: by Bana AZ (new)

Bana AZ 7 read, 13 in TBR, 12 I'm not interested in. TJR is my new favorite author.


message 26: by D.L. (last edited Jun 19, 2023 01:43AM) (new)

D.L. I've read none of these and have only 3 of them on my TBR list. I've always marched to my own drummer and tended not to follow the "popular" crowd lol


message 27: by Sanne (new)

Sanne Fokkert 11/40, but all of them from last year


message 28: by Christy (new)

Christy a lot of people in here are super hung on what other people read. how weird.


message 29: by Monica (new)

Monica Amber


message 30: by Monica (new)

Monica Amber ~ exactly!


message 31: by Bana AZ (new)

Bana AZ Christy wrote: "a lot of people in here are super hung on what other people read. how weird."

IKR. These books are just marked "read". That can mean many things, like the readers really do just read a lot, or the marketing team for the books are really good, or the readers read the books because of a book club, or they were just curious about the hype, or they really just enjoy that author's work. So much judgment on just a little metric.


message 32: by Lucía (new)

Lucía 15/40 not bad


message 33: by Brooke (new)

Brooke 15/40, a few I won't read, and I DNF'd Spare, too whiny for me.


message 34: by #28 (new)

#28 I've read 8/40 but have like 10 or more on my tbr :)


message 35: by Jenny (new)

Jenny i have like 1 of these on my tbr and i keep passing over it at the book store for other things xD


message 36: by Virginia (new)

Virginia Julia wrote: "I swear to god, if there are no haters of The Silent Patient left, I'm dead."

Hated it too


Aashi(Taylor’s version) i've read 30/40 but most are from last year and didnt like a lot of them


message 38: by Rania (new)

Rania T I read some of those years ago. There are tones of better writers out there.


message 39: by Amy (new)

Amy Schmelzer One I read because I found it in a little fee library. Five are on my TBR but three of those are because of a book club. Never read a CoHo before but I found It Ends with Us in a LFL so I grabbed it to see what the fuss is about. That’s 34 popular books I have no intention on reading.


Niihariiikareads (warner's) I've read 29 of these and some are in my TBR but I'm never reading Icrebreaker, I feel it has cringe potential.


message 41: by ElmoVsBibo2.0 (new)

ElmoVsBibo2.0 I read 1 of these books and have 1 on my TBR :D


message 42: by Navid (new)

Navid Zaman I expected Tress of the Emerald Sea to be in this list.


message 43: by Sephir (new)

Sephir Pray 7/40 but most from last year. I’ll read anything- i’d like to read a collene hoover book just to see what the fuss is about. But I’m not that picky with my genres so. :)) Fav on this list was Remarkably bright creatures. It was so cute and sweet! :))


message 44: by Harley (new)

Harley Quinn 20/40 with 10 more on my TR list


message 45: by Alex (new)

Alex I’ve read 17 titles of this list was not expecting that 😄


message 46: by Jud (new)

Jud 10/40 of this list but I'm 38/50 of my own list


message 47: by vivienne (last edited Jun 19, 2023 05:15AM) (new)

vivienne h this list is abysmal? do ppl not get tired of reading the same shit over n over again? how are 90% of the most read books this horrible.


message 48: by Evan (new)

Evan I've read 2 of them. One I liked (Daisy Jones & the 6) and one I didn't (Midnight Library). I think my favorite so far this year has been The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida.


message 49: by Ben (new)

Ben M. Just finished All the Sinners Bleed (amazing!). Currently reading The Housemaid and Your Table is Ready. I have about a long line of books all lined up and set to go for the next few months including The Devil in the Blue Dress, Camp Zero, Wayward (800+ pages), The It Girl, The Revolutionary, Track Flick Can't Win, The Hopkins Manuscript, American Demon and several others. This should take me right through the summer!


message 50: by Sara (new)

Sara correct me if i'm wrong, but didn't we, as an internet society, agree that colleen hoover's books should generally be avoided? I haven't read any myself (besides DNF-ing Heart Bones) so I can't testify to that, but that seems to be the impression I was getting from Instagram and TikTok


« previous 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 13 14
back to top