Best Book Lists Goodreads

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 1, 2025, 9:46 PM

Welcome back. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. We looked up the highest-rated books on Goodreads so you don't have to! Here are the top picks from the book-review site to help you meet your resolution to read more. Our editors and experts handpick every product we feature. We may earn a commission from your purchases.Learn more.

If your goal is to read more, or if you are a voracious reader on the hunt for an undiscovered gem, you’ve come to the right place. The sheer volume of content out today can be overwhelming, and you don’t want to pick up just any old book—you want to make sure it’s worth your time. We’ve done the homework for you by consulting one of the most popular book recommendations and review sites to curate a list of the highest-rated books on Goodreads. Here’s how we put the final lineup together: To establish a thoroughly vetted list of the best books you should read, we selected stand-alone books with at least 10,000 ratings on Goodreads. We also weeded out those with just one five-star review to make sure that the majority of readers were in love with the selection. To further whittle down the list and compare apples to apples, we excluded books in series, though many of them are highly rated.

(We’re looking at you, Harry Potter, Fourth Wing and pretty much anything by Brandon Sanderson!) The result is a robust roster of books that have been widely reviewed and are highly recommended by many, many readers. Whether you have a specific book genre in mind or simply want to pick up something you haven’t read yet, our list has your next good read. We've researched and ranked the best goodreads books in the world, based on recommendations from world experts, sales data, and millions of reader ratings. Learn more Eric BerkowitzThe case is about racism, but it’s also about white sexual fear of the black man, and the failed effort of white America to stop intermixing.

I think the notion of the scary black man still permeates the American justice system today. I don’t think To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the greatest pieces of literature ever, but it is a very good window into the ingrained sexual fear that permeated at... (Source) Scott TurowIt’s dated in many ways; it’s extremely sentimental. But it’s beautifully done – you can’t take a thing away from it. (Source)

David Heinemeier HanssonReally liking this one so far. I’m sure a lot of people here probably read it in high school or whatever, but it wasn’t on the Danish curriculum, so here I am! (Source) Richard BransonToday is World Book Day, a wonderful opportunity to address this #ChallengeRichard sent in by Mike Gonzalez of New Jersey: Make a list of your top 65 books to read in a lifetime. (Source) Goodreads is trusted as the go-to place online when searching for a book to read.

With millions of users, they have a lot of reviews and rating that are visible to everyone. That made us wonder what the highest rated books are and ultimately, the 25 best books on Goodreads. If you were curious about the highest rated books on Goodreads, then you are not alone. And luckily for us, Goodreads is open about this. They curated a list of the highest rated books. To make this list, a book has to have at least 10,000 ratings.

This list excludes including boxsets, collection books, short stories or selection books, and non-fiction books, except for memoirs. You can see full list below! The highest rated book on Goodreads is Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson. It is the second book in The Stormlight Archive and one of the best fantasy series out there. If you love fantasy novels and haven’t read any novels from Sanderson, then you are missing out. He has established himself as one of the best fantasy authors alive.

Sanderson speculated that this book is rated so highly is that mostly fans of The Stormlight Archive would read it because it is the second book in the series. If you didn’t like the first book, then there is almost no chance for that person to willingly read this book. Receive giveaways, book announcements and curated reading lists directly in your inbox. Written more than 70 years ago, 1984 was George Orwell’s chilling prophecy about the future. And while 1984 has come and gone, his dystopian vision of a government that will do anything to control the narrative is timelier than ever... “The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears.

It was their final, most essential command.” Winston Smith toes the Party line, rewriting history to satisfy the demands of the Ministry of Truth. With each lie he writes, Winston grows to hate the Party that seeks power for its own sake and persecutes those who dare to commit thoughtcrimes. But as he starts to think for himself, Winston can’t escape the fact that Big Brother is always watching... A startling and haunting novel, 1984 creates an imaginary world that is completely convincing from start to finish. No one can deny the novel’s hold on the imaginations of whole generations, or the power of its admonitions—a power that seems to grow, not lessen, with the passage of time.

Welcome back. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. It can be hard to know which books to add to your ever-growing reading list, especially after such a remarkable year of publishing. With so many great options and new worlds to explore, the choices can seem endless. So, we’ve gathered up the best fiction books from 2025 that everyone will keep talking about, both now and for years to come. There are enticing family dramas, sweeping coming-of-age tales and heartwarming stories of self-discovery — find your next favorite today.

By Thomas Schlesser Translator Hildegarde Serle Please enable javascript to add items to the cart. This debut novel from Thomas Schlesser is a vivid exploration of art and beauty through a young girl’s museum adventures with her beloved grandfather. Both heartfelt and thought-provoking, this tale stirs the soul and feeds the imagination. This debut novel from Thomas Schlesser is a vivid exploration of art and beauty through a young girl’s museum adventures with her beloved grandfather. Both heartfelt and thought-provoking, this tale stirs the soul and feeds the imagination.

In honor of Literary Hub’s tenth birthday, we asked over 200 authors, editors, booksellers, publishing professionals, and other literary luminaries to weigh in on a few questions about the past, present, and future of... We will be sharing their opinions on various subjects with you over the next weeks, but to start, we’ve collated some of the best answers on one of our favorite questions: what’s the best... NB that “recently,” in this case, meant the last 25 years (we’re long-term thinkers), and that rather than ask respondents to choose the best book published in the last 25 years, we asked them... Here are some of their responses, which reflect very little consensus—suggesting that books might not be dying in a monotonous, homogeneous heap after all: James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room. It’s a perfect novel, and reads like it could have been published this year.

–Kelsey McKinney, author and co-owner at Defector Giovanni’s Room. “I stand at the window of this great house in the south of France as night falls, the night which is leading me to the most terrible morning of my life. I have a drink in my hand, there is a bottle at my elbow. I watch my reflection in the darkening gleam of the window pane. My reflection is tall, perhaps rather like an arrow, my blond hair gleams.

My face is like a face you have seen many times. My ancestors conquered a continent, pushing across death-laden plains, until they came to an ocean which faced away from Europe into a darker past.” There are few websites that are more trusted when it comes to books. It has made a name for itself and has made it easy to keep track of the books you are reading. Today, we decided to look at Goodreads’ 100 best books of all time list. Keep reading to find out which books made their list

The great thing about Goodreads is that their lists are often created by users voting. That is the best way in our opinion to make these lists. After browsing the list, it feels like a list my fellow readers would make. There are your typical books and a few surprises here and there. You can see the full list below. A sci-fi novel that has risen to popularity in modern times is 1984 by George Orwell.

When some ideas in this sci-fi and dystopian novel came true, people’s interest in the novel rose. The novel touches on issues such as mass surveillance, a controlling regime, and disinformation. When Edward Snowden leaked the NSA’s mass surveillance of the public, the novel was mentioned by many and how it predicted the government spying on the public. One of my favorite classics of all time has to be The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. It is an adventure novel unlike anything else. The book is entertaining and has held up well centuries later.

Who doesn’t love a good revenge story? Even after a couple centuries after it was published, this novel is still considered one of the best works of literature. A book that doesn’t get the attention it deserves is A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. The novel was published 11 years after the author committed suicide. Toole’s mother repeatedly asked Walker Percy, an author and a college instructor to read it. When the novel was finally published, it was well received and Toole went on to win a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Best Book Lists Goodreads

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