The most popular book club books in August, according to Goodreads

https://ui-avatars.com/api/[email protected]&background=64&color=fff&font-size=0.5&rounded=false&format=pngby John Andrew — August 28, 2024 in twitter

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Erica Ezeifedi, Associate Editor, is a newcomer from Nashville, Tennessee, who has settled in the Northeast. In addition to being a writer, she has worked as a victim advocate and in public libraries, where she has focused on creating safe spaces for queer teens, mentoring, and providing free test prep classes for students. Outside of work, she spends much of her free time searching for her next great read and planning her next snack. Find her on Twitter at @Erica_Eze_.

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My colleague Danika Ellis is the best at number crunching and idea generation. When I took a break in June, they had the brilliant idea of looking at book club stats on Goodreads. With over 100 million members, Goodreads can be a goldmine of information when it comes to finding out real reader behavior straight from the source.

Today I looked at the list again to see what the book clubs have been reading this month. There are a lot of repeats—including the biggest books of the last year and a half—but there are also some shifts.

In August, book clubs read historical novels set during the Vietnam War, historical crime novels set in African-American and Jewish neighborhoods, love stories filled with dragons, love stories about time travel, and more.

The Women of Kristin Hannah

Cover of The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

James McBride’s Heaven & Earth grocery store

In fourth place, June's First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston is swapped for McBride's historical crime novel The grocery store Heaven & Earthwhich has been doing very well since its release this time last year.

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

If we jump around a bit, we see that Fourth wing is still a popular romance and ranks seventh among this month's most popular book club books.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

At number 10 is this 2022 release that is anchored in the world of video games.

This summer will be different by Carley Fortune

This summer will be different is making the rounds this summer, ranking at No. 17 this month. If you're looking for more options, Abby Jimenez's Just for the Summer (No. 18) is another summer smash.

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

As usual with such lists, there is a lack of variety, so we move this time travel romance a little further up and land it at number 21.