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The Most Read Books on Goodreads This Week

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The problem with regularly sharing the most read books on Goodreads by week is that trends can shift pretty slowly. In fact, this top five list is identical, including the order, as it was last week. It looks a lot like the bestselling books of the week, too: The Women by Kristin Hannah, Funny Story by Emily Henry, and A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas are also the only three titles to make all five of the biggest bestseller lists this week.

In case you missed last week’s list, I do want to share the top five most read books on Goodreads this week, but I also wanted to give you something different this time. There are a few different ways to view the most read books on Goodreads: by week, month, or year and then worldwide or within your country. (These are also the top five most read books of May, by the way!) Interestingly, “my country” allows you to select any country in the world, so we can explore the popular books in countries around the world. To keep things fresh, I’ve included the most read books in a random selection of countries as well as the worldwide most read.

#5:

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros Book Cover

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

The winner of the 2023 Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Romantasy takes our #5 spot worldwide. It has 1.7 million ratings with a 4.6 average rating.

#5 in India: The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

#5 in Indonesia: Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

#5 in Phillipines: The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

#5 in Japan: Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

#4:

Book cover of A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses #1) by Sarah J. Maas

This title was published four years ago, but Maas’s fantasy series continue to be so popular that this is still one of the most read and bestselling books of the moment. It has 2.6 million ratings with a 4.2 average rating.

#4 in India: The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

#4 in Indonesia: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

#4 in Phillipines: Bride by Ali Hazelwood

#4 in Japan: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

#3:

Just For the Summer Cover

Just for the Summer (Part of Your World #3) by Abby Jimenez

This summer romance was a #1 New York Times bestseller and a Good Morning America Book Club Pick! The series starts with Part of Your World, but they can also be read as standalones. It has 152,000 ratings with a 4.5 average.

#3 in India: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

#3 in Indonesia: King of Sloth by Ana Huang

#3 in Phillipines: King of Sloth by Ana Huang

#3 in Japan: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

#2:

The Women Cover

The Women by Kristin Hannah

This popular book club book from the author of The Nightingale was a #1 bestseller on The New York Times, USA Today, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times — and it’s currently the #1 bestselling book on Amazon. It has 384,000 ratings with an impressive 4.7 average.

#2 in India: Funny Story by Emily Henry

#2 in Indonesia: Teka-Teki Rumah Aneh by Uketsu

#2 in Phillipines: Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

#2 in Japan: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

#1:

cover of Funny Story by Emily Henry

Funny Story by Emily Henry

This was a #1 New York Times bestseller when it came out in April. With 190,000 readers last week alone, Funny Story takes the #1 spot! It has 230,000 ratings and a 4.4 average.

#1 in India: King of Sloth by Ana Huang

#1 in Indonesia: Funny Story by Emily Henry

#1 in Phillipines: Funny Story by Emily Henry

#1 in Japan: Funny Story by Emily Henry

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.

cover of The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

This genre-blending novel is about a government project that pulls a confused Victorian polar explorer into the 2020 London home of a woman who tries to patiently explain everything he’s missed in the last several hundred years. It’s part sci-fi, part comedy, part love story. The StoryGraph users describe it as adventurous, emotional, and mysterious.

cover of Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang

Babel by R.F. Kuang

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang popped up several times when looking at different countries’ most read books on Goodreads. Alongside that one, Babel is also on the Popular This Week page on the StoryGraph. This fantasy book about translation and colonialism came out in 2022, but it’s still finding plenty of new readers. The StoryGraph users describe it at literary, challenging, dark, and emotional.

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.