The Most Popular Book Club Books of August, According to Goodreads
My colleague Danika Ellis is That One when it comes to number crunching and idea generation, and when I took some time off in June, they had the brilliant idea of looking at book club stats on Goodreads. With its more than 100 million members, it can be such a wealth of information when it comes to getting actual reader behavior straight from the source.
For today, I’ve revisited the list to see what book clubs were reading this month. There are a lot of repeats—which include the biggest books of the last year and a half or so—but there is also some shifting around.
In August, book clubs read historical fiction set during the Vietnam War, historical mysteries based in Black and Jewish American neighborhoods, dragon-filled romantasies, time traveling romance, and more.
The Women by Kristin Hannah
The first three most popular book club books from around the world are the same as last month. Kristin Hannah’s historical fiction is the most popular, while Emily Henry’s joyful romance Funny Story is second, and Shelby Van Pelt’s octopus-centered Remarkably Bright Creatures is third most popular.
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
At #4, June’s First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston is swapped with McBride’s historical mystery The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, which has had such a good run since it was released this time last year.
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Skipping around a bit, we see that Fourth Wing is still a reigning romantasy, and comes in at 7th most popular book club book this month.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
At #10 is this 2022 release, which grounds itself in the world of video games.
This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune
This Summer Will Be Different has been making the rounds this summer, and is at #17 this month. Abby Jimenez’s Just for the Summer—at #18— is another summer-time banger, if you’re looking for more options.
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
Diversity is lacking, as per usual with these kinds of lists, so we’re moving ahead a little to the 21st spot with this time travel romance.
Yellowface by R. F. Kuang
I love R. F. Kuang, and even I’m pleasantly surprised with how popular this book still is. I say this only because it really goes in on race and creative theft, which I am very much here for.
James by Percival Everett
Honestly, I thought this book would be a little higher on this list this year, but I forget how the most popular books tend to be the same few ones outside of people more entrenched in the book world. In any case, this Huckleberry Finn revisit sits at #38.
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