The 10 Most Popular Books on Book Riot in August 2024
Every month on Book Riot, we recommend a truly staggering number of books across our articles, podcasts, and dozens of newsletters. It’s hard to know which of these recommendations are successful, though. Which of them have you adding titles to your TBR, library holds list, or shopping cart? We can’t know for sure, but we do know which titles are clicked on the most!
Before we get into the most popular books of the month on Book Riot, a quick aside for our most-viewed articles of August. Many of the most clicked titles come from these, but not all of them.
The Most-Viewed Articles on Book Riot in August
The Most Clicked Books on Book Riot in August
#10:
The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a favorite author on Book Riot, so it’s no surprise her newest book was recommended multiple times. In fact, I would have expected it to be higher on this list! The Seventh Veil of Salome appeared on: The Most Anticipated Historical Fiction Books of Fall 2024, August 2024 Book Club Picks, and The Best New Book Releases Out August 6, 2024, as well as being mentioned in the New Books newsletter, Past Tense newsletter, In the Club newsletter, Book Radar newsletter, Check Your Shelf newsletter, and the All the Books podcast.
#9:
Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur
This is an older title, but it got new attention because it’s recently been banned from school libraries in the entire state of Utah. Perhaps you, too, were clicking to check that this book hadn’t transformed into something entirely different since you read it last. You can read more about the list of banned books in Kelly Jensen’s article Utah Bans 13 Books From Public Schools Statewide.
#8:
Season of the Swamp by Yuri Herrera
Season of the Swamp isn’t out until October, but that means it’s the perfect time to preorder! This historical fiction title set in 1853 New Orleans was included in the list of The Most Anticipated Historical Fiction Books of Fall 2024, According to Goodreads.
#7:
Forever… by Judy Blume
Here’s another older title that was also included in the article Utah Bans 13 Books From Public Schools Statewide. Yes, that Judy Blume! Apparently, this 1975 novel, which was listed as one of the Best YA Books of All Time by Time, is still considered risqué…
#6:
It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
The adaptation has brought this book back into the popular consciousness, and most of our coverage of it in August had to do with movie news, including We Saw It Ends With Us So You Don’t Have To, The It Ends With Us Drama Never Ends, Everything You Need to Know about Colleen Hoover Adaptations and More Book News!, and Your Favorites On Screen: The August Adaptation Roundup. It also showed up on several editions of The Most Read Books on Goodreads This Week and The Bestselling Books of the Week.
#5:
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
To get a little meta, this was the #1 book on The 10 Most Popular Books on Book Riot in July 2024, which got it some clicks, but its popularity in August also came from being included in the articles Barack Obama Releases His Summer Reading List for 2024, The Biggest Bookish News of the Week, and The Bestselling Books of the Week as well as being recommended on the Book Riot podcast.
#4:
There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak
This novel set in 1840 London, 2014 Turkey, and 2018 London was mentioned in many articles this month, including The Most Anticipated Historical Fiction Books of Fall 2024; The Best New Books Out in September, According to Indie Booksellers; The Best BIPOC Books Out in August; and The Best New Book Releases Out August 21, 2024. It was also included in the All the Books Podcast, Past Tense newsletter, and the New Books newsletter.
#3:
By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult
Historical fiction has been such a popular genre for us recently! This one, set in 1581 England and the present, was included in the articles The Most Anticipated Historical Fiction Books of Fall 2024 and The Best New Books Out in September, According to Indie Booksellers as well as being recommended on the All the Books podcast and included in the Check Your Shelf newsletter.
#2:
Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh
This sci-fi book got some added attention this month for winning a Hugo Award! It was also on sale, so the ebook was included in a few editions of Book Deals. The articles that mentioned it were These are the Winners of the 2024 Hugo Awards, 10 Sapphic Sci-Fi Books You’ll Fall in Love With, and Queer Books That Won 2024 Hugo, Lodestar & Astounding Awards.
#1:
The Stone Witch of Florence by Anna Rasche
Finally, the most clicked title of the month isn’t out until October, and it was only mentioned in one place: The Most Anticipated Historical Fiction Books of Fall 2024. It was the first book listed, since it was arranged by time period, and The Stone Witch of Florence is set in 1348 Italy.
Those were the most clicked books on Book Riot in August. Do any of these surprise you?
