Today’s post is going to be a little bit different — it’s not necessarily a tag, as far as I’m aware, but I saw Adriana over at Perpetual Pages do it in a recent video, and loved the idea! Basically, you go to your Goodreads TBR shelf and sort your books by the number of ratings (“num ratings” in the dropdown bar at the bottom), and then show off which 10 books are the most widely read/rated on your TBR!
I actually decided to do the top 20, because most of my top 10 were classics that everyone expects to make it into the most widely rated. Once I got past the first 7 or 8, though, there were some titles that really surprised me by having so many ratings!
1. The Hobbit — J. R. R. Tolkien
2,319,804 ratings — 4.25 average
Not surprised, obviously. This one is on my April TBR!
2. The Fellowship of the Ring — J. R. R. Tolkien
1,935,134 ratings — 4.34 average
I didn’t expect this one to be so much lower in ratings than The Hobbit, or for its average rating to be this much higher, actually.
3. The Book Thief — Markus Zusak
1,393,235 ratings — 4.36 average
I’m a little bit surprised that this one has such a high average, given how many of my personal friends felt that it was an important story, but very poor execution. That said, I know I have to try this one for myself, and it’s on my “must read” list for 2018.
4. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy — Douglas Adams
1,080,002 ratings — 4.21 average
Not at all surprised to see this one so high! Everyone is always surprised I haven’t read it, but it is my fiance’s favorite book of all time, so I promised him I’d buddy read it with him in May, for his birthday. 😛
5. Jurassic Park — Michael Crichton
680,230 ratings — 3.98 average
First, I would like to bring your attention to the fact that the 5th most widely read book on my TBR has barely over half as many ratings as the 4th book on this list! Second, yes, I know, as someone who has seen the Jurassic Park film literally 200-300 times in my life (no, not kidding… stop judging me), I “should” have read this by now. I know.
6. City of Glass — Cassandra Clare
667,900 ratings — 4.34 average
Ha! Joke’s on you, Goodreads, because this book is on my shelf to be picked up as soon as I can be bothered with reviewing City of Ashes!
7. All the Light We Cannot See — Anthony Doerr
636,008 ratings — 4.32 average
This is kind of neat, because I literally just bought a copy of this book during the last week or two. I didn’t know what it was even about until I saw it on BookOutlet, and it sounds perfectly devastating and gorgeous.
8. The Selection — Kiera Cass
605,951 ratings — 4.15 average
I cannot describe how shook I am to have this book in the #8 spot. You guys know how I took my YA hiatus for several years, yadda yadda yadda, but I still felt like I was hearing about most of the majorly popular releases… yet this one was completely off of my radar until I joined the Owlcrate Society group on FB in fall of 2016. So, I had no clue it was this widely read!
9. The Battle of the Labyrinth — Rick Riordan
566,675 ratings — 4.39 average
Aww, Percy. <3 I actually got 50-100 pages into this one a few weeks ago, but I have so many other reads going on right now that I moved it back to my TBR shelf until things settle a little. I can’t wait to dive back in, though!
10. American Gods — Neil Gaiman
574,176 ratings — 4.11 average
Will I ever actually read this? Probably not. Neil and I just don’t “click”, no matter how many times I’ve tried or how many of his titles I’ve picked up. I read the first few chapters of this last year, and wasn’t feeling it, but I keep it on my TBR because I keep hoping I’ll “get” what everyone loves about his writing someday.
11. The Two Towers — J. R. R. Tolkien
558,995 ratings — 4.42 average
I’m low-key stunned it took this long into the list to hit another Tolkien book…
12. It — Stephen King
561,462 ratings — 4.21 average
I feel like I’ve been putting this book off for literally my entire life…
13. Clockwork Angel — Cassandra Clare
547,697 ratings — 4.34 average
I’m getting there soon, I swear!
14. The Return of the King — J. R. R. Tolkien
534,752 ratings — 4.51 average
Aww, the trilogy is complete, and they all made it in the list! <3
15. The Last Olympian — Rick Riordan
528,313 ratings — 4.50 average
I’m gonna be really sad to see this series end soon, but I’m honestly so happy that these books are so widely cherished.
16. The Lost Hero — Rick Riordan
512,404 ratings — 4.35 average
… LMAO. For those of you who don’t know, this is the first book in the Heroes of Olympus series, which is the spin-off of the Percy Jackson series. How fitting.
17. The Name of the Wind — Patrick Rothfuss
500,370 ratings — 4.55 average
Our highest average yet! I thought this would actually be higher on the list. (This is also on my “must read in 2018” list.)
18. Beautiful Creatures — Kami Garcia
478,300 ratings — 3.76 average
This is another book I didn’t expect to make the list, and it has the lowest rating so far (by, like… a fair margin), but I’ve owned a copy for years and feel like I should really read it eventually.
19. Vampire Academy — Richelle Mead
473,262 ratings — 4.14 average
This, on the other hand, I’m not even remotely surprised to see make the list, because I legitimately feel like the only 20-something-or-older YA reader left in the world who hasn’t picked this up already.
20. Carrie — Stephen King
396,564 ratings — 3.93 average
And, lastly, another King title I “should” have read years ago. I’m surprised that there’s such a big jump in rating numbers between #19 and #20.
(Just because I know some of you are as addicted to charts as I am.)
There you have it! Those are my 20 most widely read TBR titles. I was surprised by a few, but not by most of them. This exercise also helped me weed out several titles on my TBR shelf that should have been on my read, DNF, or “nope” shelves, so that was a pleasant bonus!
This was such a fun and insightful post to create, so I totally encourage anyone else who’s interested in doing it, too – and please let me know if you do it, so I can see what your most widely read TBR titles were, too! <3
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Nice list! I loved the LOTR, The Book Thief, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and the PJ books! ?
Thank you! <3 I'm so excited to read all of them. I feel so out of the loop sometimes when I think about how many of them I haven't read yet, haha!
All the Light We Cannot see is absolutely amazing! I hope you’ll love it as much as I did!
Ooooh, good! I’m so glad to hear that. I saw that it won a bunch of awards and it sounds really sad, but incredible, so I’m glad I bought it.
It’s beautiful and a sometimes really sad, but most of all it’s real. It portrays beautifully how it was to live in that time plus how it affected your life after the war.
God, I bet. I’m simultaneously eager to read it and nervous, because I know it’s break my heart!
(This is the second time I link you to one of my post sorry ?♥️) but I actually did a post with a lot of pictures when I visited Saint-Malo (one of the main places in the book). I visited places from the book and it was absolutely amazing! It’s spoiler free but I think that it would be more interesting after you’ve read the book ☺️
(And yes it’s going to shatter your heart in a billion peaces ??)
Bahaha don’t apologize for that! I don’t always get to see every post that the bloggers I follow post, so I’m always happy to go look them up! That sounds so cool though. Super heart breaking, but incredible. I will go look!
It’s an older post so you wouldn’t have seen it ☺️
Oh good, now I don’t feel so bad for missing it! <3
I LOVE the idea of this post! I’m gonna have to try this out! I also can’t believe The Selection landed that high in your count!!
Thanks, girl! You totally should! I’d love to see your post! 😀
This was a really fun post!!
I loved The Book Thief and All the Lights We Cannot See!!
I have been meaning to read American Gods for ages! I wonder what I will think of it.
Thank you, Kristin! 🙂 I’m so glad you loved both of those – hearing rave reviews always helps push books even higher on my TBR! I hope you’ll like American Gods. I’ve tried reading a few of Neil’s books but I just have such a rough time with them. Have you read anything by him before?
Ooo so many books I hope you have the chance to check out soon! I’ve read The Book Theif twice now and really love it!
I’m so glad you loved it that much, Elise! I owned a copy years ago and loaned it to a friend who never returned it – I should have asked for it back, lol!
Lol I hope you are able to get a copy from the library, or maybe ask that friend for the copy back (if they still have it)
Oh, sadly, I’m not even friends with them anymore! Lol one of those “we grew apart” sort of situations. Ah, well. I’ll just have to get another copy!
Aww well I hope you can get your hands on another copy 🙂
So many amazing books! A few of these are on my tbr but I read most of them. I hope you enjoy them when you read them!
Thank you so much! Which ones were your favorites? 🙂
The Book thief, every percy jackson book you mentioned, it was about half and half. Half of em I read and liked and half I still need to read
I’m glad you liked the ones you read! 🙂
This is a great idea for a post! I love all the analytics and the chart! I was pleasantly surprised I had heard of all but two of the books on your list 😀
Thank you! 🙂 It was such a fun post to create! Haha that’s awesome.
I created a similar post! Inspired by yours 😀 I even included a chart haha
https://perfectlytolerable.com/2018/03/22/most-popular-books-i-have-read/
Yaaaay! *scurries off to see it*
Totally understand your Neil Gaiman problem, I think I’ve read 4 or 5 of his books, and while I really enjoy his ideas and his writing, I just never end up liking his books. I read American Gods last year and I really did not like it. It felt like a massive waste of my time tbh, I suggest trying the show if you are still interested in the story.
Right! That’s the issue I have, too – I love his writing, but I never enjoy the books themselves. Even his short stories have given me the same issue. I read one of his horror short stories recently and the writing was so stunning, but the story itself had a lot of pedophilia, I guess? And I was just queasy through the whole thing. 🙁
The Hobbit and LotR ?? this is such an interesting way to look at your tbr!
I thought so, too! As soon as I saw the video, I knew I had to do it, haha!
I really liked the book thief! I hope you like it too!
Thanks Charlotte, I honestly really bet I will! I love a good, sad hist-fic story, haha! 🙂
Nice!!
I think if I’d do this, I’d get a total feeling of guilt towards my TBR all over again.. And I already have one, a bit.. So, maybe I shouldn’t do it.. On the other hand, I’m a sucker for things like this.. And I know IT will be on mine as well. I’m just SO SCARED to read it. I’m a pussy and I hate clowns. I can’t help it. :’)
Ahhhh you should totally do it though! I would love to see your list! 😀 And if you ever decide to pick up IT, let me know, and I’ll totally buddy read it with you <3 I hate clowns, too. The old movie didn't scare me for some reason, but the Pennywise in the remake legit creeps me out!
Okay. Okay. I’ll do it! [If only because I have this feeling that I’m going to crave some posts like this when I look at next month’s schedule.. Which is non-existent at this point.. xD
Will do! If I don’t forget about it.. I always forget about people telling me to let them know when I start reading a certain book. I have to start making a list for that stuff.. :’)
I’ve stayed clear of all the King-movies! Except The Green Mile because that’s just different. 😛
I never did write up any posts yesterday except an award I have going up tomorrow (bahaha, tag, you’re it~), but I did sit down and tentatively map out some post ideas! Like days that I want to post certain reviews and such. Now, I just have to actually read them and write the reviews… heh. I also have a few awards planned – I think one a week, for the next month or so? Apparently, I hadn’t looked at my “awards” bookmark folder in about 6 months…
Lmao, I keep thinking about making a list like that, too. And… The Green Mile. <3
NO. YOU ARE NOT SERIOUS. I have like six or seven of those in my drafts and I’m going nuts. So far for me quitting the things?!
I’m going to get ink for my printer after work so I can print off some bullet journal-images and get my April prep done for my bujo. Once that’s in order, I can get to blogging prep.. :’) Here’s me keeping my fingers crossed I’ll be able to prep almost the entire month this weekend.
[Wishful thinking but a girl can dream..]
Yessss <3 I cry at that movie every single time so I'm convinced my paperback copy will be all ruined by the time I finish it. Tears will do that to a book sometimes. :')
Mwahahaha!
How much did you get done? 😛 I was just pleased to get 2 days ahead of myself last night. I’ve been really struggling to prep in advance lately, mostly because my slumps always make me go into major review block, too.
It was SERIOUS wishful thinking because I’ve done shit. I have two scheduled posts left and THAT’S IT. I’m in a “fuck this all”-mood even though I’m NOW going to try and get my blog prep done but I’m sooooo not in the mood for it. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Can someone come slap me? Put my brain back where it’s supposed to be? Like. I don’t know. SOMETHING?!
I’m having a life slump. I don’t even know what else to call it any more. It’s not nearly as bad as when I had to stay at home, but I’m having all these days where I just don’t feel like anything. “Read?” Nah. “Watch a movie?” Nah. “Go out?” Nah. “Clean?” NOPE. “Go to the carnaval?” Noooo. “Sit at the window and stare outside?” Nah. “Maybe we can go meet up with..” Nooope.
Literally nothing interests me at this point? HOW. *rant*
Ugh. 🙁 I feel you. I dunno if it’s depression, or the weather, or being burnt out, or what, but… I feel you. *hugs* I hope it gets better for you soon! I’m supposed to be prepping blog posts right now, but I just can’t bring myself to do it right this moment. Whoops.
Still! You’re answering comments and that’s a part of blog prep too! I can never start my actual blog prep when I have comments left to answer, haha. :’)
I’m hoping to get decent blog prep done this afternoon or tomorrow but.. yeah.. we’ll see.
True! I had a lot of comments because I hadn’t replied to any of my top ten tuesday ones yet. Those are always the most overwhelming for me, but I really want to get into the habit of blog hopping every Tuesday. I don’t know if it’ll happen, though. 😛
Oh, the name of the wind was amazing! And i’m not even a fantasy fan…
<3 I really liked the main character, he was such a smartass, and funny, even though some things that happened were not funny at all.
Yay! I’m so glad. I keep hearing such good things about it!
Ahhhhhhh love this so much. Totally stealing it ;D
Please do! 😀 I can’t wait to see your list!
I actually really dig this idea! I think I might do it as well! Good post! 😀
Thank you, lovely! Omg, you totally should. It was one of the most fun posts I’ve done while blogging, I think!
[…] has ended up being a very Goodreads inspired blogging week. This time I’ve been inspired by Destiny’s super fun post. The aim is to sort your Goodreads TBR shelf according to the number of ratings […]
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Ah this is so much fun. And great to read you are buddy reading the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy with your husband. Just the first one or all 5?
Just the first one! He wants to do all 5 at some point, but I told him those might have to wait for next year, lmao!
As a fellow JP lover, ya gottaaaaa read the book! I also remember loving Carrie, but I need to reread it to see how it holds up for me.
That’s what my mom is always telling me about JP! She loves the films too, especially the first one, and every time we talk about it, she’s like, “Why haven’t you read the book yet?!” And I’m just like, “I dunno, ARCs, Mom!” Lmao
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