Here at Goodreads World Headquarters, we spend a lot of time stacking and sorting and thinking of interesting new ways to encourage the vital act of reading books. It’s nice work. Lower back problems are the only real issue.
 
Today’s collection takes a tricky chronological approach to the challenge. The books below represent the most popular contemporary and historical fiction of the past decade, according to the Goodreads community at large. It’s a curated list based on average reader ratings and shelvings—the books that end up most often on members’ Read, Currently Reading, and Want to Read shelves.
 
From there, we have sorted the books by publication year. In other words, these are the past decade’s most popular books according to Goodreads regulars as of now, with each book sorted into the year in which it hit shelves. It’s an interesting way to see which books continue to resonate with your fellow readers, and when they came out.
 
You’ll find some familiar author names, quite a few amazing debut novels, and several Pulitzer Prize winners. In addition to familiar authors, watch the book titles for some characters you may recall: Evelyn Hugo, Eleanor Oliphant, the Nickel Boys, Hamnet, James, Demon Copperhead, or that one Gentleman in Moscow.
 
Click on the book cover images for more information about each title. You can also use the Want to Read button to go back in time and gather up those books you meant to read first time around.