Do you feel that chill in the air? The seasons are changing. Halloween is in the rear view window, and winter is fast approaching. If you couldn’t tell by the weather, you can see it in this week’s most read books on Goodreads. The Pumpkin Spice Café is still holding onto its spot in the top five, but it’s sliding down the list, and the winter romance story Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood has overtaken it.
Other than that seasonal shift, we’ve got familiar titles in the top five most read books this week. The long list of the top 50 most read books on Goodreads includes several new Christmas romances, so it’s not just Ali Hazelwood’s newest that has readers in the holiday mood.
Unfortunately, this list continues to be very white: even the top 50 books are consistently almost all by white authors. I’ve included a couple of very exciting new releases by author of color at the end of this post that deserve a wider readership.
To keep this from having too much overlap from last week’s roundup, I’ve included the top five most read books from three countries across the globe. This time around, I’m spotlighting Colombia, Spain, and New Zealand.
#5:
The Pumpkin Spice Café by Laurie Gilmore
As I mentioned earlier, this is starting to slip down the most read list, likely because we’re moving out of peak fall reading. Book two in this series, The Cinnamon Bun Bookstore, is also on the long list, at #25. Almost 13,000 Goodreads users read it this week, and it has a 3.4 average rating.
Colombia: Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo
Spain: Flawless by Elsie Silver
New Zealand: Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood
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#4:
The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
Freida McFadden continues to claim two of the top five most read books. The first book in the Housemaid series was read by 13,000 Goodreads users this week, with a 4.3 average rating.
Colombia: Bride by Ali Hazelwood
Spain: El dique (Blackwater #2) by Michael McDowell
New Zealand: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
#3:
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Book two in the Empyrean series was pushed out of the top five this week by the new Ali Hazelwood, but book one has held onto its position. It was read by almost 14,000 users last week and it has a 4.6 average rating with two million total ratings.
Colombia: The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
Spain: Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood
New Zealand: The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
#2:
Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood
This new Ali Hazelwood title came out November 12th is an Amazon Original Story. It’s just 73 pages and is part of the Under the Mistletoe collection. Several others in this series made the long list as well: Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey at #12 and All by My Elf by Olivia Dade at #41. This one had almost 16,000 readers this week, with a 3.9 average rating.
Colombia: Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood
Spain: La riada (Blackwater #1) by Michael McDowell
New Zealand: Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
#1:
The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden
McFadden’s newest thriller seems like it cannot be shaken out of the #1 spot! It had 26,000 readers on Goodreads this week and it has a 4.0 average rating.
Colombia: The Vegetarian by Han Kang
Spain: The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
New Zealand: The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden
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 recommendations are both from Erica Ezeifedi in this week’s roundup of the best new book releases.
The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami, translated by Philip Gabriel
A new Murakami is always going to make waves, and this is his first in six years. Fans of the author will find the Town here familiar. It’s where a Dream Reader reviews dreams and where shadows go on their own way. There’s love, noir, pop culture, jazz, libraries, and the intriguing otherworldliness that we’ve come to expect from Murakami.
The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer, illustrated by John Burgoyne
I haven’t come across anyone who’s read Braiding Sweetgrass by Kimmerer who doesn’t recommend it emphatically. Here, the Indigenous scientist considers the gift economy and how we can better position ourselves when it comes to reciprocity and community, based on lessons from nature. Which is, of course, in direct contrast to the capitalist-driven culture of scarcity we currently live in.
If you’re looking for more buzzy books, check out The Bestselling Books of the Week, According to All the Lists.
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