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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.
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How many of these books have you read? Let us know in the comments below!
Comments Showing 351-400 of 631 (631 new)
message 351:
by
Marilyn
(new)
Sep 28, 2024 11:27AM
This list is a mish mash of different people's tastes. For example, I don't care for romances or gothic, but other people love them. It's not too useful for that reason. I've read 7 of the books and a couple more are on my "to read" list.
flag
Katharina wrote: "Idamus wrote: "Well, I dnf'ed 1 and the rest are not on my to be read list...And in average I only read about 200 books per year."
Only??? That means you read a bit over half a book a day.
So u..."
Probably some combination of not being able to afford most other forms of entertainment, not liking to watch the news and/or just using the TV as background noise while reading like I do.
And I notice there's absolutely ZERO nonfiction, cookbooks, SF&F from Indigenous writers and/or NONporn romances. There's abso-fricking-lutely NOTHING on this list that I am interested in reading...that I haven't already read and/or reread.
Aferandox wrote: "The mainstream is never a good guide. This list is yet another proof of that simple fact. Still, reading them is better than watching TV."Depends on what KIND of TV you like to watch. Reading IS indeed much better than watching politics... for example.
Law wrote: "I've read 13 books on this list and I plan to read many more. Can you recommend me a book to read from this list OTHER than American Dirt? I don't want to read that. Demon Copperhead, Lessons in Ch..."If you're looking for Nonfiction, may I recommend Yellow Dirt: An American Story of a Poisoned Land and a People Betrayed by Judy Pasternak ( https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8... )? Yes I know it was published more than five years ago, but IT is relevant if you're also interested in BIPOC rights (Black (and) Indigenous People of Color).
Astra wrote: "Leggeremale wrote: "варежка wrote: "Leggeremale wrote: "I feel like in the last 5 years much more interesting books have been published rather than most of this list tbh"Honestly, i fully agree, ..."
No kidding. I joined earlier than you did and I saw the same thing when I joined, too.
Hitesh wrote: "Looks like the list is full of lusty romance stories for women, as most users are women in here. Nothing bad in that, but Is there option to filter the books by male readers? I am curious what male..."Because you're a guy? Just kidding! I'm curious too!
NewNobodyAccount wrote: "Teddi wrote: "I've read 3 of them. I don't tend to read trendy books 😊"Yo, I read some of these, and you're not missing out. To be honest, you might actually get dumber reading most of what's on ..."
Good one! *ROFLMAO!*
Katy wrote: "What an incredibly white list. 5 whole BIPOC authors and 2 white authors who wrote BIPOC stories they had no business writing. Oof!"Other than Yellowface and Crying in H Mart, which were the other three BIPOC books?
Connor wrote: "This is genuinely so sad. Romantasy will be the death of literature"That's exactly what literary snobs in the Golden Age of Science Fiction said about authors like Isaac Asimov, Frederick Pohl, Arthur C. Clarke, Leigh Brackett (a woman credited for part of the screenplay to *STAR WARS V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK*) and the rest of the authors that came out of that era whether male or female....but guess what? Literature is STILL here.
That said, if I want to read Romance novel, I will read a Romance novel; if I want to read a Fantasy novel, I will read a Fantasy novel...but never (knowingly, at least) a hybrid.
Renee wrote: "I've read 7 but 6 are on my want to read list. Not a bad count in my opinion. Y'all gotta remember that Goodreads is owned by Amazon, of course they're going to push hyped/buzzed books at us any ..."
And let's NOT forget that Amazon supported former President Trumputin's policy of separating kids from parents indefinitely if they arrived at our southern border illegally or how horribly that Amazon STILL treats their warehouse workers... .
Kristin wrote: "I still dream that one day Goodreads will stop including TBR in their lists unless the list is "Top books on the TBR list" or "Books that have been on TBR the longest". Actually those lists would b..."You may have a very valid point...about those two lists being interesting reading, I mean.
Kristi wrote: "3. Where is your list of nonfiction books? I tend to read those more."
Ditto.
Henri wrote: "I am assuming this is Fiction-only by design, because if Top 60 in the last 5 years doesn't include a single non-fiction book then this society is well and truly screwed. I'm not even talking about..."What do you mean "this society is well and truly screwed"?! I think all of HUMANITY is well and truly screwed if people stop reading Nonfiction!
Aroob wrote: "варежка wrote: "What a disappointing list with a bunch of pornographic "romances" taking the lead of today's teens and young adults' interests. Shame." tbh its not about the "porn" as yo call it i..."
I'm one of the people who skips the "porn" scenes. I even skip it in Jean M. Auel's speculative fiction Earth's Children series that she began when she wrote and published The Clan of the Cave Bear back in the 1980s ( https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4... ). I also skip the scenes that I refer to as "repetitive infodump to advance the word count" scenes.
You DON'T need to copy & paste five identical physical descriptions of wooly mammoths per book, for example!
Confrog wrote: "Oof, a lot of really not good books in here - though sadly unsurprising. Mostly of this is just booktok or airport fiction.The YA-ification of like every big book is also super depressing."
What the heck is "airport fiction"?
Sally wrote: "Jerome wrote: "romance, romance and romance... First trash reggaeton music everywere...now romance trash in books everywere"What's wrong with reggaeton?"
I think he means that there's nothing wrong with well made reggaeton music...whatever the heck reggaeton music even is because I sure as heck haven't heard of that musical genre until today!
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 Dirt."I'm curious. What was it about American Dirt you didn't like?
I myself am surprised that I read all the top 13 books in this list. Total read of 27 books. But it does not mean that I liked them all. They might be popular but that does not mean they are good.
Amber wrote: "Katy wrote: "What an incredibly white list. 5 whole BIPOC authors and 2 white authors who wrote BIPOC stories they had no business writing. Oof!"Other than Yellowface and Crying in H Mart, which ..."
The other three books written by authors of colour were Twisted Games by Ana Huang, an Asian author, Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid and The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. Both Reid and Bennett are Black authors.
I presume the two books about POC that white authors wrote are American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins and Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
List just shows that people don't have the best taste...
I have read 8 and 10 more are on my tbr. However, multiple were disappointing maybe because of the hype. Twisted games had almost no spice and things we never got over was incredibly boring.
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 Dirt." If you've not read American Dirt, how can you make such sweeping and pointed statement?
I've already read 10 books in this list. There's some others that are in my wish list
Diverse list of 60! I've read 19, had 7 on my To Read list anD just added 2 more, and have no interest in the remaining 32.Perfect!
There are some seriously bad books in there. If this is what is popular then this civilization has no future.
REALLY ?!it looks like it was issued by a mid-puberty kid
7 / 60 ... y todavia hay algunos que me faltan por leer, que tengo en la lista.
I've read 13. Some excellent choices but quite a lot of absolute lightweight fluff. Multiple entries by Lucy Foley, Taylor Jenkins Reid and Emily Henry suggests it's a list that I'll probably ignore for the most part.
I have read 30 of them.. yeah..tho I have dnf a few
Kat wrote: "There are some seriously bad books in there. If this is what is popular then this civilization has no future."And those books include...?
10 read and 1 currently reading. Several more on the to-read list.
Katharina wrote: "Idamus wrote: "Well, I dnf'ed 1 and the rest are not on my to be read list...And in average I only read about 200 books per year."
Only??? That means you read a bit over half a book a day.
So u..."
Found this funny - 200 books a year is a lot, I am on 122 and its basically October. I am shooting for an average of 100 books a year, but am making up for only doing 64 last year. Here is how I read if these ideas might help you at all. To pace myself I try to finish bigger books (~450+ pages, 15+ audio hours) in 3 days, and some (<400pages, 3-9 hours) I can do in a day. I listen to (almost) all audiobooks on 3x speed (BUT for people who think that is crazy, I didn't start off on 3x, I worked up to it. I know this isn't for everyone, but some books are read insultingly slow and others even I can't do on 3x, but never before 2x.)
I do a mixture of hard copies, ebooks and audiobooks, but a majority are audiobooks. I listen while I do chores, drive, walk, workout, do my hobbies, trying to fall asleep at night (or on tether hooks trying to finish a book before falling asleep). I read physical books on the treadmill too (not before bed usually) so I can go longer and not just be sitting.
I also am never just reading 1 or 2 books at a time. Right now for example, I finished Hart and Mercy this morning and immediately started Prison Healer as audiobooks, but I have Priory of the Orange Tree and House of Leaves in physical copies I am doing 1 chapter of each a night before bed. This helps keep me motivated to read if I have something I want to get back to versus a slower book I am not as interested in. Due dates to return books to the library also motivates me to finish them.
I was worried about challenging myself to do 500 books in 5 years but have really broadened my horizons and tried books I wouldn't have otherwise read and it has been an enriching experience. I also do this with a friend and we fuel the fire in one another. "Oooooh did you get to this part?? Go read it!" or sometimes I read to finish before she spoils something. ^_^ Maybe a goal, challenge, or contest would help making time in the day to read. I know this doesn't always seem possible depending on home situation, but there may be some ways to slowly incorporate more books. While cooking dinner, while doing dishes, while taking the trash out, while in the shower or bath.. etc.
If none of this inspires you on how you might incorporate more books in to your days, you may have to give up sleeping. ;-) (This is a joke, take care of yourself and read because you enjoy the story, not as a number to complete.)
Olga wrote: "20 read and many of the above I am never planning to read, ever"SAAAAME. I've read 14, liked 7, want to read like 2 or 3 on this list. Most aren't the type of book I enjoy or would recommend. :)
This list is a "Meh" list of what was popular at the time, but sadly, popular does not mean "Top Books." In 2018, PBS sought readers' and authors' opinions of the 100 Best-loved, American novels, and published an eight-part series about The Great American Read. That is a truly cultivated list of "Top Books." This is just a popularity contest. I've read three from this list--one was thought-provoking and poignant, one was good, one was okay.
I have read 33; have 6 on my TBR and 21 not on my radar.
I've read three on the list, and I have three others on my to read list. Not too bad.
It is much more a survey of the users of Goodread than a list of books that you have to read.The majority of the books are written by female writers and tend to be somewhat romance oriented (I haven't done my homework on this one, it is more a feeling than a hard fact, I am that lazy) and for an audience of 30 years old tops.
22 down and only one regret: Haunting Adeline 🙃
Read 5, currently reading 2, with 11 on my to-read list.
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 ..." I really liked American Dirt, the beginning either grabs you or it does not. It grabbed me and did not let go!
