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The Most Read Books on Goodreads This Week

Danika Ellis Aug 23, 2024

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Danika Ellis

Associate Editor

Danika spends most of her time talking about queer women books at the Lesbrary. Blog: The Lesbrary Twitter: @DanikaEllis

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This week’s most read books on Goodreads have some familiar author names — in fact, they’re all titles that have been on the most read list many times before. The order is shuffled a bit from last week, but to add a more variety, I’ve included the top five most read books on Goodreads last week in three countries around the world. This time: Denmark, Malaysia, and Portugal. Denmark’s and Portugal’s most read titles this week are both not (yet?) available in English.

Shout out to Malaysia for having both Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum and Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa in their top five. One is a heartwarming Korean slice-of-life story set at a bookstore, and the other is a heartwarming Japanese slice-of-life story set at a bookstore.

Unlike Malaysia’s, the Worldwide list of the most read books on Goodreads this week tends to be very white: about 95% of the books in the top 50 are by white authors. So, I’ve also included some new books by authors of color out this week that deserve a wider readership.

#5:

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Fourth Wing has been in the top ten most read for many weeks, but this time it’s squeezed its way onto the top five. It is closing in on two million total ratings! It was read by 16,000 Goodreads users this week, and it has a 4.6 average rating.

Denmark: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Malaysia: Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum

Portugal: The Housemaid Is Watching by Freida McFadden

#4:

Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

Summer might be winding down, but this summer romance is still going strong! In fact, it’s risen up the ranks since last week, from #5 to #3. This was read by almost 17,000 readers this week and has a 4.4 rating.

Denmark: It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

Malaysia: It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

Portugal: The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

#3:

Funny Story by Emily Henry

Sliding from the second most read spot last week to the third spot this week is Emily Henry’s newest romance. It was read by almost 17,000 Goodreads users and has a 4.3 average rating.

Denmark: Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

Malaysia: Funny Story by Emily Henry

Portugal: Funny Story by Emily Henry

#2:

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

The third book in this series went from #3 last week to #6 this week, but the first volume is only getting more popular. It was read by almost 17,000 users and has a 4.3 average rating. Overall, this has close to 1.5 million ratings!

Denmark: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Malaysia: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

Portugal: It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

#1:

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

Colleen Hoover has resumed her spot at the top of the most read list following the movie adaptation of It Ends With Us. More than 32,000 Goodreads users marked it as read this week, and it has a 4.2 average rating.

Denmark: Kun til navlen by Linea Maja Ernst

Malaysia: Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

Portugal: A Cicatriz by Maria Francisca Gama

Two New Books Out This Week You Should Know About

Unfortunately, the most read books on Goodreads tend not to be diverse by any definition of the word. So, here are a couple of new books out this week that deserve wider readership. These are both Erica Ezeifedi’s recommendations, and you can find more at her roundup of The Best New Book Releases Out August 21, 2024.

There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak

In There Are Rivers in the Sky, Booker Prize finalist Shafak tells the story of three characters spread through time. It begins with the ancient city of Nineveh, which produced one of the most enduring pieces of literature: The Epic of Gilgamesh. It’s this poem that affects the lives of Arthur in 1840s London, Narin in 2014 Turkey, and Zaleekah in 2018 London. Each of them fight to make it out of their predicaments—even as struggles with mental health threaten to pull them back down—and each is tied to the other through a single drop of water.

Becoming Little Shell: A Landless Indian’s Journey Home by Chris La Tray

La Tray always knew he was Indian, even though his father denied it. And when he goes to his grandfather’s funeral and sees so many obviously Indigenous relatives, his heritage becomes that much more undeniable. So, he sets out to learn more about his people, thereby learning more about himself. He does research, speaks to elders, and joins the more than 150-year-long struggle the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians have endured to become federally recognized.

If you’re looking for more buzzy books, check out The Bestselling Books of the Week, According to All the Lists.

Find more news and stories of interest from the book world in Breaking in Books.