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Have You Read the "It" Books of Spring?
Not every year has a clear "It" book—the book we all can't stop talking about, the book that's passed around, devoured quickly, and debated gleefully. For 2015, there's a surprisingly clear winner...so far! Debut novelist Paula Hawkins is living every first-time writer's dream. Her twisty, creepy mystery, The Girl on the Train, published in January 2015, might be "the fastest selling hardcover adult novel ever."
Goodreads members have boarded the train!
In just three months, The Girl on the Train has been rated on Goodreads a whopping 122,470 times. Compare that to last year's "It" books, We Were Liars and All the Light We Cannot See, which have 114,099 ratings and 111,127 ratings respectively.
And momentum is still building:
What are this year's other "It" book contenders? In search of the magic formula, we looked at the most popular 2015 books of spring in several genres. Below, check out some books that are already trending as well as soon-to-be published books that are just beginning to sizzle.
Which books are you most excited to read?
FICTION
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NONFICTION
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YOUNG ADULT FICTION
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MYSTERY & THRILLER
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FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION
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HISTORICAL FICTION
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ROMANCE
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In just three months, The Girl on the Train has been rated on Goodreads a whopping 122,470 times. Compare that to last year's "It" books, We Were Liars and All the Light We Cannot See, which have 114,099 ratings and 111,127 ratings respectively.
And momentum is still building:
- Total readers who have added The Girl on the Train to their want-to-read shelf: 133,692
- Average number of people rating or adding the book every day: 3,300
- And it's the number 1 most-searched-for book on Goodreads since January!
What are this year's other "It" book contenders? In search of the magic formula, we looked at the most popular 2015 books of spring in several genres. Below, check out some books that are already trending as well as soon-to-be published books that are just beginning to sizzle.
Which books are you most excited to read?
FICTION
Already HotStarting to Sizzle
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Comments Showing 1-50 of 51 (51 new)
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Janet
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Apr 21, 2015 05:36AM
The girl on the train was fascinating, but very dark. I had to read a romance after that to "cleanse my mind palate".
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Ok so from this list I have only read Red Queen which was fun and I am reading The Deal right now (omg it's so hot and beautiful romance).Thanks for putting all the popular books in one place for those like me who are lazy to explore. I might read some more, to be prepared for Goodreads choice awards this year. :)
The stranger was a page turner.and a very original story.I LIKED the way the author describes suburban life.
HATED The Girl on the Train, our March book club selection. Alcoholic, unstable woman, and the other troubled people in her life that had not redemption or insight for the protagonist. Complete manipulation. I agree with the other review, need to cleanse your brain afterwards.
The Girl on the Train was a waste of the time it took me to pick it up at the library. I knew who did it halfway through. Almost as awful as Gone Girl.
Yolanda wrote: "HATED The Girl on the Train, our March book club selection. Alcoholic, unstable woman, and the other troubled people in her life that had not redemption or insight for the protagonist. Complete man..."I could not agree more.
The Girl on the Train was excellent!! By far the best book I've read this year, and very probably will read this year. Also an outstanding psychological thriller.
Yolanda wrote: "HATED The Girl on the Train, our March book club selection. Alcoholic, unstable woman, and the other troubled people in her life that had not redemption or insight for the protagonist. Complete man..."I am reading it right now and not seeing what all the hype is about. I'm only 60% of the way through so hopefully it will get better.
I read The Girl on the Train and loved it! It definitely satisfied my THRILLER need and I devoured that book as soon as I got it. I also LOVED The Nightingale. That book made me fall in love with the characters and I now love Kristin Hannah as an author.
Virginia wrote: "The Girl on the Train was a waste of the time it took me to pick it up at the library. I knew who did it halfway through. Almost as awful as Gone Girl."I liked 'Girl on a Train' better than 'Gone Girl' but have to agree with you - and here I thought I was the only one who didn't like 'Gone Girl'... Thx
I just finished The Girl on the Train, and I wasn't all that taken with it. The ending was less surprising than I'd been led to believe, and on the whole I found it rather depressing.
There is some dark subject matter in The Girl on the Train but it does make you think beyond the obvious all things are connected reality and reminds you that there are usually several layers of connection. I liked the twist in the plot at the end of the book. I was able to guess the ending but I only had a few chapters left and I wasn't totally correct. I have to admit that the alcoholic story line almost made me put it down but we do need to understand that everyone has their issues. Would recommend overall.
Virginia wrote: "The Girl on the Train was a waste of the time it took me to pick it up at the library. I knew who did it halfway through. Almost as awful as Gone Girl."Whew! I thought I was the only person in the world that didn't like Gone Girl. Now I know to avoid this one too.
A Little Life was one of the worst reading experiences I've ever endured. I mean endured. Don't do it. For some reason books that have just god awful human suffering are thought to be some how "art". Not so - it is not required that there be human debasement and suffering for a book to be high art. This book was so far over the top that it was in my opinion not worth "enduring".
Virginia wrote: "The Girl on the Train was a waste of the time it took me to pick it up at the library. I knew who did it halfway through. Almost as awful as Gone Girl."Oh, dear. It's on my to-read, but if it's like Gone Girl...perhaps I should rethink it. I HATED Gone Girl. What an awful book!
Virginia wrote: "Yolanda wrote: "HATED The Girl on the Train, our March book club selection. Alcoholic, unstable woman, and the other troubled people in her life that had not redemption or insight for the protagoni..."Yolanda wrote: "HATED The Girl on the Train, our March book club selection. Alcoholic, unstable woman, and the other troubled people in her life that had not redemption or insight for the protagonist. Complete man..."
There is so much buzz, but so far I've resisted the urge to pick up The Girl on the Train. I too hated Gone Girl - I disliked all the characters, and though fairly well written, just couldn't bring myself to care in the least what happened to any of the dysfunctional people who brought such misery upon themselves.
One of the worst things I've ever read...totally unredeeming..I abandoned it, gleefully. Don't know why these sorts of books get so much attention....
Jasmine wrote: "I read The Girl on the Train and loved it! It definitely satisfied my THRILLER need and I devoured that book as soon as I got it. I also LOVED The Nightingale. That ..."The Nightingale is my favourite book so far this year.
I liked the girl on the train, however I don't read a lot of mysteries, so if there were a lot of cliches involved I missed them.
I did not like Gone Girl, so will not be reading Girl on the Train.
Best book I've read in 2015 is All the Light You Cannot See. I'm disappointed that it is not an "it" book.
Mary wrote: "Best book I've read in 2015 is All the Light You Cannot See. I'm disappointed that it is not an "it" book."Is mentioned above as a 2014 it book.
For historical fiction I'm looking forward to Bruce Holsinger's second book The Invention of Fire. You don't want to miss it for a taste of medieval London and a thriller to boot.
I was glad to hear I'm not the only one who was not enamored with Gone Girl. I actually thought the movie was better. Now I'm not sure if I want to read The girl on the Train.
'All the Bright Places' by Jennifer Niven is OUTSTANDING!
I'm a person who usually finishes a book even if it means starting another one while I take a break. However, The Girl On the Train is one of the very few that I haven't finished and I don't think I ever will purely because of how much I disliked it.
To be honest, I don't understand why readers who dislike dark, thriller stories pick up books like Gone Girl or The Girl on the Train. Just by reading the summary or a review, it's usually obvious that it isn't a happy story. Being popular won't change that, so don't read it if you know it's not your type of book.
Best news I've read!! This is my winner of a lifetime book. Others on that list, but this just made my night.
Katty wrote: "To be honest, I don't understand why readers who dislike dark, thriller stories pick up books like Gone Girl or The Girl on the Train. Just by reading the summary or a review, it's usually obvious ..."Eh. I can guess: To see what all the buzz is about.
I mean, I don't like trash books but I did read the first Fifty Shades of Grey. So I can relate.
Some people though, they love to suffer.
Weird. The only one I've even heard of on this list is "The Girl on the Train". Where are people hearing about these supposedly popular books? (And more importantly, where have I been that I haven't heard of them?)
Quite a few of these are on my TR list. I have only read The Nightingale so far which is an incredible book.
Never Never was facinating but I don't think I would have read it if I had known just how short it was. I would have waited for part two to be released first. That cliff hanger just isn't fair.
i have only read
which i really likedand currently reading
i am waiting
,
and
to be published ^^
so far I have read "The Secret Wisdom of the Earth" great book. I actually won an advanced readers copy last summer on goodreads.
I too read "The Girl on the Train" and was very disappointed. I hate leaving books unfinished and had to force myself to get to the end of this one. Eventually I just started skimming through pages to get to the end. Definitely can't see what all the hype is about this one and wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
i did not like "Gone Girl" and cannot understand why it was such a large hit. I finally quit reading it and read " The Book Thief".
Wow. It amazes how so many readers are not liking The Girl on the Train yet it is the number one book listed on the bestselling ebook list. I definitely will save my time. I recently read En Route to Emery and it was pretty good. It flowed well and took some twists and turns that weren't predictable so I would suggest that. The next book on my to read list is The Nightingale and Shaman The Awakening. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
http://www.amazon.com/Shaman-Awakenin...
http://www.amazon.com/Nightingale-Kri...
This one seriously should be added.
The Girl on the Train was a good book, but, be prepared for a) a very predictable ending and b) the main character to be a horrible person who has basically thrown her life away to alcohol. You end up having a reason to feel sorry for her ... but she's still kind of a psycho.
Some really good choices, on this list, I found a few to put on my "want to read" list, so I hope I can find them sometime soon. :)
almost forgot, I also read "The Book Thief" so two books on the "it" list. have to check out what else I would like to try.
"Girl on a train" was too dark but a book that is just the right amount of dark is Periphery by Kelly Lindner Periphery
In my opinion…"The Girl on the Train" was meh. Easy to figure out. I didn't like the characters in" Gone Girl", but thought the story was interesting and twisted. Loved "The Nightingale" and truly recommend if you can deal with the reality and horrors of war. "All the Light We Cannot See"…fabulous. "Dead Wake" is dry reading but an interesting look at history.
So my husband and I have certain knock out topics as in if you didn't understand "The Usual Suspects" or "Memento" we are not going to like you. I have now determined, after reviewing the favorites bookshelves of the majority of the people who have commented on this thread about how much they hated Gone Girl and now The Girl on the Train, that these are the same people who would be knocked out in our above-mentioned movie test. If you list a James Patterson or Nora Roberts book on your favorite shelf, of course you weren't going to like Gone Girl or The Girl on the Train! Stay in your low-brow, spoon-fed sort of book lane and leave the more nuanced reading to those of us who can handle it. Cheers!
