The 24 Most Popular Book Club Picks of the Year

Posted by Cybil on December 19, 2018
When it comes to making the perfect book club selection, you can't go wrong by listening to your fellow readers. So, we combed through our data to find Goodreads members' 24 most popular book club picks of 2018!

Readers' top choice for their book clubs was Tara Westover's memoir, Educated, about her journey from her childhood in an isolated survivalist family to earning a PhD from Cambridge University.

Other popular selections prove as varied as the groups reading them and include fiction, historical fiction, history, and horror. Whatever genre these books fall into, they are all guaranteed to kindle conversation and garner sharp opinions.

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Comments Showing 1-50 of 54 (54 new)


message 1: by Kei (new)

Kei Smith I'm not in a book club, but I still managed to read nine of these -- although one ended up on my dropped list. Circe was really marvelous, though! And I can't overstate how much I recommend The Hate U Give.


message 2: by Amy (new)

Amy Zupancic Very curious which one you dropped!


message 3: by Amy (new)

Amy Haunting of Hill House is a classic scary story (not horror) and it's so very well done. I would recommend this one to everyone!


message 4: by Kelly (new)

Kelly I dropped Beartown and An American Marriage.


message 5: by Kelli (new)

Kelli Santistevan My book club read Little Fires Everywhere and one of the ladies in my book club recommended that we read Michelle Obama’s book. Next year, we’re going to be reading Where The Crawdads Sing for February’s book club pick. I was going to read Where The Crawdads Sing this year on my own but I’m glad that I waited and that my book club picked it for us to read next year. That will motivate me to pick it up when it’s time. I have some time before I have to read it.


message 6: by Amy (new)

Amy Zupancic Amy wrote: "Haunting of Hill House is a classic scary story (not horror) and it's so very well done. I would recommend this one to everyone!"

I was curious about this one, because I'm not into horror books at all, but I enjoy "scary" books. I might give this a try now. Thanks!


message 7: by Charlotte (new)

Charlotte  Kei wrote: "I'm not in a book club, but I still managed to read nine of these -- although one ended up on my dropped list. Circe was really marvelous, though! And I can't overstate how much I recommend The Hat..."
I have read nine and agree with those choices!


message 8: by Shauna-lisa (new)

Shauna-lisa Eleanor Eliphant is Completely fine is an excellent book! Passed it around to my friends and they loved it just as much.
I dropped A Gentleman in Moscow.
Pachinko also excellent.
The Woman In The Woman I was disappointed in. Didn't dislike it, just found it very predictable.
Wondering what to read next? Maybe Educated or Where The Crawdads Sing?


message 9: by Ann (new)

Ann Shauna-lisa wrote: "Eleanor Eliphant is Completely fine is an excellent book! Passed it around to my friends and they loved it just as much.
I dropped A Gentleman in Moscow.
Pachinko also excellent.
The Woman In The W..."


It seems according to thi site that a lot of people want to read Educated. including myself:)


message 10: by Amy (new)

Amy Zupancic Faizy wrote: "After leaving my previous job 1 months ago, I've had some good luck to learn about this website which was a life-saver for me... They offer jobs for which people can work online from their house. M..."

I have flagged your comment. Spam and self-promotion are not tolerated here. Either delete your comment or wait to have Goodreads delete it.


message 11: by Amber (new)

Amber A few of the books listed above were group reads at the reading for pleasure book club this year on goodreads. I especially enjoyed Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine too.


looking forward to what reads we are doing in the new year starting in January.


if anyone wants to join us, go here if you are 18 or older:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...


message 12: by Kristen (new)

Kristen Finnegan My book club read All The Ugly and Wonderful Things in 1/2016 and it was one of the best discussions we’ve had. We still refer back to that book during current mertings!


message 13: by Joanna (new)

Joanna Clausen I'm so proud that two of these twenty-four books are written by authors from Idaho, a state with fewer than two million population. Furthermore, they are the best.


message 14: by Carrie (new)

Carrie Kei wrote: "I'm not in a book club, but I still managed to read nine of these -- although one ended up on my dropped list. Circe was really marvelous, though! And I can't overstate how much I recommend The Hat..." so glad to hear that about the hate you give, it's on my bedside table!


message 15: by Carrie (new)

Carrie WOW! I read 11...will be reading some of the rest too!


message 16: by Amanda (last edited Dec 20, 2018 10:17AM) (new)

Amanda Kaplan If you love history especially US history, "Killers of The Flower Moon" and "Radium Girls" are two excellent must reads!!


message 17: by Patricia (new)

Patricia I just read an ARC that is due out in March 2019, that I'd like my group to read:
THE LAST YEAR OF THE WAR, by SUSAN MEISSNER.


message 18: by Amanda (new)

Amanda Kaplan Kei wrote: "I'm not in a book club, but I still managed to read nine of these -- although one ended up on my dropped list. Circe was really marvelous, though! And I can't overstate how much I recommend The Hat..."

Thanks for the recommendations! I actually had considered "Circe" and "The Hate U Give" to read for 2019, and now they are definitely on my list to read for next year.


message 19: by Jodi (new)

Jodi Thanks for the recommendations! I've read 12 of these books and am now motivated to read more. My favs of the 12 I read are Eleanor Oliphant and Where the crawdads Sing.


message 20: by Kelly (new)

Kelly Kelly wrote: "I dropped Beartown and An American Marriage."

I read both of those all the way through but didn't enjoy either one.


message 21: by Myra (new)

Myra Amy wrote: "Amy wrote: "Haunting of Hill House is a classic scary story (not horror) and it's so very well done. I would recommend this one to everyone!"

I was curious about this one, because I'm not into hor..."


I read this book when I was in college, decades ago. It stands the test of time. It's one of the scariest stories I've ever read - and I loved every minute of it. Every minutes, except the part where it scared me so badly, I threw the book across the room. (I did pick the book up again and finished reading it.)


message 22: by Janie (new)

Janie Shauna-lisa wrote: "Eleanor Eliphant is Completely fine is an excellent book! Passed it around to my friends and they loved it just as much.
I dropped A Gentleman in Moscow.
Pachinko also excellent.
The Woman In The W..."


A Gentleman in Moscow was one of my favoarites!


message 23: by Janie (new)

Janie Kelly wrote: "Kelly wrote: "I dropped Beartown and An American Marriage."

I read both of those all the way through but didn't enjoy either one."


Loved Beartown!


message 24: by Nannette (new)

Nannette Jalene Gentleman in Moscow is my favorite of this list. Captivating and enchanting.


message 25: by Richard H. Rowe (new)

Richard H. Rowe The Tattooist of Auschwitz is a must read!


message 26: by Lynn (new)

Lynn Hallinan Where the Crawdads Sing is an excellent book!


message 27: by June (new)

June Janie wrote: "Kelly wrote: "Kelly wrote: "I dropped Beartown and An American Marriage."

I read both of those all the way through but didn't enjoy either one."

Loved Beartown!"


I dropped American Marriage, then went back to it & really enjoyed it


message 28: by June (new)

June Nannette wrote: "Gentleman in Moscow is my favorite of this list. Captivating and enchanting."

I loved it even more the second time around


message 29: by Amy (new)

Amy Myra wrote: "Amy wrote: "Amy wrote: "Haunting of Hill House is a classic scary story (not horror) and it's so very well done. I would recommend this one to everyone!"

I was curious about this one, because I'm ..."


Shirley Jackson also wrote a weirdly scary book that I believe is going to be made into a film soon. "We have always lived in the castle". Anyone have more classic scary stories?


message 30: by Ginger (new)

Ginger B All the Light We Cannot See was the best book I've ever read. I've read a dozen of these books, but the next one on my list is Circe.


message 31: by Christian (new)

Christian Ekman Read 15 of these. Have a few more on my to-read list.


message 32: by Karen (new)

Karen Turton desperate for my book group to read A Gentleman in Moscow, i hope seeing this list they will be more persuaded


message 33: by Jacqui Wellbrook (new)

Jacqui Wellbrook Ordinary Grace, William Kent Kruger definitely my best read of 2018, wanted to read all over again the minute I finished it


message 34: by Kathy (last edited Dec 21, 2018 07:32AM) (new)

Kathy Barlow The Great Alone came highly recommend. I listened to the audio book and it got so repetitive that I had to let it go. I listened to the Handmaid's Tale on audiobook and loved it. I've become a huge Margaret Atwood fan this year. While I didn't read the first two books of the trilogy, Maddaddam, the third book of the series,
was by far my favorite book of the year, in part because the narration was superb. Mark Haddon's A Spot of Bother was also a quirky favorite.


message 35: by MARY (new)

MARY LYNCH Shauna-lisa wrote: "Eleanor Eliphant is Completely fine is an excellent book! Passed it around to my friends and they loved it just as much.
I dropped A Gentleman in Moscow.
Pachinko also excellent.
The Woman In The W..."


WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING IS EXCELLENT, PASSED TO MANY OTHER READERS!!


message 36: by Susanne (last edited Dec 21, 2018 03:05PM) (new)

Susanne I've read three of the books on the list - "Pachinko", "Handmaid's tale", "All the light we cannot see" - and "All the light we cannot" se was the one I was slightly disappointed with, too long and too many details.
For next spring in my book club we have choosen to read "Milkman" "The Tattooist of Auschwitz" and "Snap" . The last book we read in the book club was "Together" by Julie Cohen, everybody loved that one and we had a long and interesting discussion about it so I can recommend that one as a book club book.


message 37: by Men'S (new)

Men'S Fashion john Elia is highly recommended for great learning. men’s fashion


message 38: by Marion (new)

Marion I've read 12 of these books and loved them all! I want to read more of the books listed here in 2019. "Becoming" by Michele Obama is an excellent and very lovely book. We are all always BECOMING!


message 39: by Hades (new)

Hades Winchester The dark side :!


message 40: by Susan (new)

Susan Haught My book club reads a lot of wonderful books one of which was The Animators. We all appreciated the beautifully written story of the enduring friendship of two women who meet in college. I’m surprised this book hasn’t shown up on many best of lists.


message 41: by Brenda (new)

Brenda I just finished The History of Bees by Maja Lunde and there is a lot that could be discussed in a book club


message 42: by Carrie (new)

Carrie Richard H. Rowe wrote: "The Tattooist of Auschwitz is a must read!"
i rarely listen to audio books, but did so with this one and it was excellent!


message 43: by Yvone (new)

Yvone Gillespie So happy to be part of Goodreads. A Happy Festive Season to all members and a wonderful 2019 reading year.
Yvonne


message 44: by Elizabeth (new)

Elizabeth I've read 5 of the books mentioned, and several more are on my "hold" list at the library... the wait is long!!!


message 45: by Karen (new)

Karen Nelson The Heart’s Invisible Furies. The best. Ever.


message 46: by Jennifer (new)

Jennifer Educated is excellent. I read it months ago, and I still find myself thinking about it.


message 47: by Sharon (new)

Sharon The Alice Network was the best I have read from this list! So interesting and a gripping story!


message 48: by Kim (new)

Kim Kelly wrote: "I dropped Beartown and An American Marriage."

I dropped Beartown, too!


message 49: by Anda (last edited Dec 26, 2018 02:27PM) (new)

Anda Kelly wrote: "I dropped Beartown and An American Marriage."

I was on the point of dropping it too (Beartown), but it gets better! I'd say after you pass the first 25-30% of the book. The pace annoyed me and I have no interest in hockey so a book that seemed to be about it was really not for me. However, now, I can say it's one of the best books I've read this year. Maybe, sometime when you've got time on your hands, you'll give it another try :).


message 50: by Maria (new)

Maria Gerokostopoulou Nannette wrote: "Gentleman in Moscow is my favorite of this list. Captivating and enchanting."

I found it enchanting, as well! My next in line is Pachinko.


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