The Most Read Books of the 2025 Reading Challenge
Posted by Cybil on December 1, 2025
It's time once again, gentle readers, for our end-of-year status check on the annual Goodreads Reading Challenge, in which dedicated bookworms pledge to read a certain number of books before the year is out. For those not already on board, it’s easy: Click on over to the 2025 Reading Challenge Page for details.
If you’re curious about the most popular books in this year’s Challenge, well, so were we. So we’ve crunched the numbers to reveal the top 12 books marked as Read by all Challenge participants worldwide. As such, the Overall Top 12 listed below is just what it says on the tin: These are the most popular selections across the board, considering all genres. The stacks after that are genre-specific—The Wedding People is the most popular choice in general fiction, Atmosphere in historical fiction, etc.
Some interesting patterns are developing. The phenomenon of the mega-author continues apace, with one or two (or three) alpha writers dominating their respective genres: Kristin Hannah and Taylor Jenkins Reid in Historical Fiction; Rebecca Yarros and Sarah J. Maas in Romantasy; Freida McFadden in Mystery & Thriller. Also note the perennial Romance trifecta of Emily Henry, Abby Jimenez, and Ali Hazelwood.
There’s a nice selection of Goodreads Choice Award winners in circulation, including Bonnie Garmus’ Lessons in Chemistry, R.F. Kuang’s Yellowface, and T.J. Klune’s Somewhere Beyond the Sea. Also in the mix are several books that have crossed over from book nerd territory into the global cultural conversation, like Percival Everett’s Pulitzer Prize winner James, or Timothy Snyder’s well-timed Klaxon alarm, On Tyranny.
Plus: Child star memoirs! Argentinean horror! Alien game shows! Click on the book cover images for more information about each title, and use the Want to Read button to add books to your digital shelf.
You can also click the link directly below to check in on your own Reading Challenge progress—or to sign up if you haven’t already. And pro tip: You can edit your yearly goal at any time. Need more inspiration? Check out the Challenge for special limited-time reading achievements throughout the year!
Overall Top 12
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Fiction
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Historical Fiction
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Mystery & Thriller
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Fantasy
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Romantasy
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Science Fiction
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Horror
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Romance
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Young Adult
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Memoirs
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History & Biography
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General Nonfiction
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