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The Most Read Books on Goodreads This Week

Here are the five most read books on Goodreads this week! These are the buzziest books of the moment, from historical fiction to thrillers.

Community Jul 19, 2024

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This week’s list of the most read books on Goodreads has shifted dramatically from last week! Get ready for a whole new batch of titles you’ve never heard of! I’m kidding. It’s identical, except two books have swapped spots. But which two?? You’ll have to read on to find out!

To keep things interesting, I’ve also featured some of the most read books on Goodreads from different countries. This time: Belgium, Italy, and South Africa. Most of these are familiar titles, including The Empyrean series by Rebecca Yarros and Yellowface by R.F. Kuang. Others were new to me, though, like L’età fragile by Donatella Di Pietrantonio, which looks to be literary fiction about a mother and daughter that’s only available in Italian. One of the most read books in South Africa was Play Along (Windy City #4) by Liz Tomforde, which on second glance is #7 worldwide and is the #1 most popular book on the StoryGraph this week. It’s a baseball romance that is the fourth in a popular series. Now, onto the five most read books on Goodreads this week!

#5:

The Women by Kristin Hannah

I thought that The Women was about to fall off this list, but it’s still holding onto the fifth spot! It was read by 17,000 Goodreads users this week and has a 4.7 average rating.

Belgium: Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

Italy: Reckless (The Powerless Trilogy #2) by Lauren Roberts

South Africa: Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2) by Rebecca Yarros

#4:

Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

This summer romance is still in the fourth slot. You can read series from the beginning by picking up Part of Your World. Just for the Summer was marked as read by 19,000 readers this week and has a 4.4 rating.

Belgium: Fourth Wing (The Empyrean #1) by Rebecca Yarros

Italy: A Soul of Ash and Blood (Blood and Ash #5) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

South Africa: Fourth Wing (The Empyrean #1) by Rebecca Yarros

#3:

Funny Story by Emily Henry

Speaking of romance, Emily Henry’s newest is in third place again this week, with this story about accidentally falling for your ex-fiancé new partner’s ex-boyfriend. It was read by almost 23,000 Goodreads users and has a 4.3 average rating.

Belgium: Powerless (The Powerless Trilogy #1) by Lauren Roberts

Italy: Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

South Africa: Play Along (Windy City #4) by Liz Tomforde

#2:

The Housemaid Is Watching by Freida McFadden

And now, for the exciting shake up of the week! The third book in the Housemaid series has dropped from first to second this week. It was read by more than 26,000 users and has an average rating of 3.9.

Belgium: Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2) by Rebecca Yarros

Italy: Powerless (The Powerless Trilogy #1) by Lauren Roberts

South Africa: The Housemaid (The Housemaid #1) by Freida McFadden

#1:

Reckless (The Powerless Trilogy #2) by Lauren Roberts

Taking the #1 spot is the sequel to the popular romantasy novel Powerless, which just came out two weeks ago. It was marked as read by 28,000 users and has an average rating of 4.2.

Belgium: Reckless (The Powerless Trilogy #2) by Lauren Roberts

Italy: L’età fragile by Donatella Di Pietrantonio

South Africa: Reckless (The Powerless Trilogy #2) by Lauren Roberts

Two of the Most Popular Books on the StoryGraph This Week

The StoryGraph doesn’t have quite as many users as Goodreads, but it’s still worth taking a look at — not least of all because the most popular this week list seems to have a little more diversity than the Goodreads most read this week list. So, here a couple a couple of books on the StoryGraph’s most popular this week page. It doesn’t specify how it determines this page — is it most read, the books most added to the “to read” shelf, or a combination? Regardless, it says something about the books their users are paying attention to now.

A graphic of the cover of r Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

This Nobel Prize-winning work of speculative fiction was published almost 20 years ago, but it’s gotten a bump in popularity recently by being listed as book #9 in the New York Times list of The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century. The StoryGraph readers describe this as emotional, reflective, and sad.

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

This critically acclaimed novel was picked as one of the top 25 books to read in 2024 by Emily Martin on Book Riot: “Make this debut novel from poet Kaveh Akbar one of the first books you read in 2024.” The StoryGraph readers describe it as dark, emotional, and reflective.

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.