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The 40 Most Read Books of the 2023 Goodreads Reading Challenge (So Far)
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 Hoover, Taylor 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.
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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 301-350 of 688 (688 new)
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Melisha
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Jun 20, 2023 04:28PM
I've read 19 of the books on this list. The others are a bit lower on my TBR pile than others that I'm catching up with maybe popular years ago vs today.
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Neil wrote: "I wonder if you did a list by gender of account holder, how the lists would differ? Also curious, of people who do a Reading Challenge, what is the % breakdown by gender. But I love seeing this typ..."while i would love to know what the enbies are reading i think another breakdown by age could be interesting as well
Amber wrote: "Y’all need to read some non fiction like damn. And step away from the Colleen Hoover."I agree. I don't understand the fascination with Hoover. I am about to start this book. I can't wait to get my hands on it.
Fourth Wing is my guilty pleasure read of the year
Colleen Hoover is an awful writer and we need to stop tricking people into reading her.
Julia wrote: "I swear to god, if there are no haters of The Silent Patient left, I'm dead."I hated The Silent Patient. Like, aggressively hated it. I've never heard anyone else say they didn't like it.
I’ve read 20 of them so far and loved them all
I have read 9, sure I will read most of them eventually.
I’m 70% done with lessons in chemistry. And for life of me can’t tell what the big fuss is with this book. Where is nightingale should be number one on everyone’s list
11/40 read ... not too bad . 4 more on my TBR the rest I have no interest in .
Amber wrote: "Y’all need to read some non fiction like damn. And step away from the Colleen Hoover."No need to be judgemental and superior.
40/75. Not a single one of these. I’m clearly not a “popular” book picker!
I’ve already read 117 of my goal of 125 books this year and none of them are from this list …LOL
I read The Saturday Night Ghost Club and loved it. Good for fans of M. Night Shamalan.
I just finished Properties of Thirst by Marianne Wiggins. Loved every word of this beautifully written novel. Sure to be an American history classic.
Only read 9/40 of the books. Most of them I've read are Colleen Hoover though lol. Anyone have other recommendations? I'm currently reading the Do-Over and Heart Bones.
I’ve read 3 and deeply regretted reading those. If it’s on the most popular Goodreads list, it’s basically a guarantee that I’m going to hate it.
Ick on the amount of Colleen Hoover on this list. Popular doesn’t necessary mean good or well written. Remarkably Bright Creatures was an incredible novel.
I'm at 29/40 and at around 5 on my to read list.
Jessica wrote: "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... 😅😬"Same. I might pick it up again later tho, so many people seem to love it
I have read 5 of them Did not finish Daisy Jones. Writing style seemed all about their drug usage.
Have a few of these in my piles.
Jessica wrote: "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... 😅😬"I did too, but at 73% in because I CAN'T STAND Sam's character, plus what they did to Marx.
Julia wrote: "I swear to god, if there are no haters of The Silent Patient left, I'm dead."hi bestie i am one
Summer On Sag Harbor is not on this list! Smh....
“Y’all need to read some non fiction like damn. And step away from the Colleen Hoover.” This 100%.
There's only two books on this entire list I have even a percentage of interest in. I've not heard good things about most of these either.
I've read 3 of these. My favourite reads of the year so far are Black Swan Green by David Mitchell, Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce and The curious incident of the dog in the night-time by Mark Haddon. But just finished Fool me once by Harlan Coben which was terrific.
Why are there are lot of Sarah J. Mass and Colleen Hoover books? We need to read books from other authors also...
Deen wrote: "I've only read two books on here. I guess I've got a lot of catching up to do."Same here
Amber wrote: "Y’all need to read some non fiction like damn. And step away from the Colleen Hoover."There is nothing wrong with reading fiction books.
It seems like there are a lot of people hating on this list, but I don't think there's anything wrong with it. Romance is the big genre right now, but there have been a lot of genres that go in and out of style. If you're really that worried about it I'm sure they'll be another big publishing trend coming up soon.Just because this list is not filled with classics or non-fiction doesn't mean that there isn't any merit in it or there's anything wrong with people reading these books. Any type of book or story can resonate with anyone for an innumerable amount of reasons; who are we to judge?
Some people enjoy the academic side of reading and taking apart books like you're in English class, but some people want to get away for a while and experience something they haven't before. I don't think one side has any more merit than the other. Not everyone has had the same education or has the time to devote to books that require a lot of analysis. Not everyone wants to! These types of books allow for people to experience that escape that gets so many people into reading, and do it in an easily accessible way.
Not to mention the fact that these books are all marketed so well! They are getting a lot of press, so it's no wonder people want to see what all the fuss is about!
Not everyone has the same taste in books or reads for the same reason, so I say let's just appreciate the fact that there are a lot of readers out there today!
How is 90% of the list cohoy'all are killing me
Cloud Cuckoo Land, Demon Copperhead and The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise are my 3 favorite books this year. Completely different from one another but fabulous characters in all 3
0 of 40! Alright! LOL I do have 7 on my TBR but none of those are going to get read in the near future, I would think.
Over 80% of the books are on my 'Want to Read' list - I have A LOT of work to do this year
