Goodreads has announced its most-read books of 2026 so far, and the list includes a diverse range of titles, from literary fiction to sci-fi and classics. As the year draws to a close with less than two months of reading left, the platform has revealed which books have captured readers' attention during its 2026 Reading Challenge.
The list includes a mix of genres, featuring a Taylor Jenkins Reid book, a spicy romance, and several classics. Book content creator Sadie, who shared her progress, has completed seven of the 12 books so far this year.
The Full Top 12 List
Here are the books that have made the cut, along with their official Goodreads blurbs:
- 12. Theo of Golden by Allen Levi – A stranger named Theo arrives in the small southern city of Golden, where he begins purchasing pencil portraits from a local coffeehouse and returning them to their rightful owners, sparking stories and friendships.
- 11. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë – The classic tale of Heathcliff, an orphan raised by Mr Earnshaw, whose love for Cathy and subsequent vengeance ruins them all.
- 10. Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy – Dominic Salt and his children are the final caretakers of Shearwater, a remote island near Antarctica home to the world's largest seed bank, until a mysterious woman washes ashore during a storm.
- 9. The Wedding People by Alison Espach – Phoebe Stone arrives alone at the Cornwall Inn in Newport, Rhode Island, and is mistaken for a wedding guest, but she's there for a different reason entirely.
- 8. Heart the Lover by Lily King – A successful writer confronts the decisions and deceptions of her youth when a surprise visit brings the past crashing into her present.
- 7. The People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry – Poppy and Alex, best friends with nothing in common, take one glorious week of vacation together every summer for a decade until they ruin everything.
- 6. Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid – Joan Goodwin, a physics professor, joins NASA's space shuttle program in 1980 and finds a passion and love she never imagined.
- 5. My Husband's Wife by Alice Feeny – Eden Fox returns home to find a stranger who looks eerily like her answering the door, and her husband insists the stranger is his wife.
- 4. Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid – Pro hockey stars Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov struggle to keep their secret relationship out of the public eye.
- 3. The Correspondent by Virginia Evans – Sybil Van Antwerp, a distinguished lawyer, uses letters to make sense of her life, but a letter from her past forces her to confront painful memories.
- 2. Dear Debbie by Freida McFadden – Debbie Mullen, who gives advice in her column Dear Debbie, decides to take her own advice and seek payback against those who deserve it.
- 1. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir – Ryland Grace, the sole survivor of a last-chance mission, must solve an impossible scientific mystery to save humanity.
How Many Have You Read?
So how many of these popular books have you managed to read in total? Sadie, who created the video, had read seven out of 12, which is a solid number. After reading the blurbs, you might find some new novels to add to your bookshelves.
