From No. 1 to No. 60, Readers' Top Books Published in the Past Five Years

Spend enough time on this planet and random questions will gradually surface in the brain. Who invented the window? Why are oranges orange? And what are the 60 most popular books on Goodreads over the past five years?
We’re here to tackle that last question with today’s collection of the 60 top books published in the last half-decade, according to Goodreads members. This particular list is strictly by the numbers. We counted up the number of times Goodreads members marked these books as Want to Read, Currently Reading, or already Read. Then we looked at the average ratings on each title, with all of these books earning at least a 3.5-average star rating from fellow readers.
The books are sequenced according to overall popularity, without regard to genre or categorization. As such, for now, Alex Michaelides’ 2019 psychological thriller The Silent Patient is the most popular book overall. It seems that Goodreads regulars are also enjoying mysteries, romance, and the relatively new hybrid designation known as romantasy.
Authorwise, you’ll notice the usual suspects list of Goodreads fan favorites here—perennially popular writers including Sarah J. Maas, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Kristin Hannah, and Emily Henry. But the discerning reader will find all manner of things to catch the eye. Hockey lust, say, or Dickensian updates, or octopi.
Click on the book cover images for more information about each title. If you spot anything promising, use the Want to Read button to add the book to your digital shelf.
How many of these books have you read? Let us know in the comments below!
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Hillary
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Sep 30, 2024 04:55PM

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“Remarkably bright creatures” is my favorite from the list. Not on the list but great is The Marriage Portrait. I don’t read romance.




I loved Remarkably Bright Creatures, The Maid, West with Giraffes, Carrying Albert Home, A Man Called Ove. I almost didn’t finish Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, got bored and skipped some pages to get to the end.

6 on my physical TBR and 14 on my general TBR
and now i'll be adding 4 more...
(i'm ok for more)


An additional 7 from this list are marked as “Want to Read” in my Goodreads account.


And in average I only read about 200 books per year."
Absolutely.
A lot of these are what I consider pop lit. The equivalent of a sit-com episode...or a Happy Meal. Fun, sure...but "the best of the last five years"? No.
Not all of them. I've read 24 of these and would consider 3 of those some of the best I've read in the last five years.

2 = Interested
3 = Maybe
8 = Read
27 = DO NOT READ (problematic books/authors)"
Can you tell me what those 27 books or authors are?

Only 8/60 are BIPOC...that's concerning. We need to do better about reading diversely (I know it's based on numbers before anyone comes at me)"
Eight books by authors of colour? I know six but other than Yellowface, Crying in H Mart, The Vanishing Half, Such a Fun Age, Twisted Games and Twisted Love, what are the other two?

annabelle wrote: "A wrote: "I haven't read a single one of these books. Some of these books are good or decent enough. But some of these choices make me despair for some of your souls. Especially the book, American ..."


And in average I only read about 200 books per year."
I would love to see your book list if you read 200 books a year and none of these are on it. I could use new material!

Recent books I've read by Kazuro Ishiguro, Ruth Ozeki and Richard Powers aren't even on this list. I agree with the opinion of many others as to the choices ...