The Most Read Books on Goodreads This Week

Very few actors have been front and center in so many culturally historic moments as LeVar Burton. From playing Kunta Kinte on Roots to Geordi La Forge on Star Trek, and being the host on Reading Rainbow—one might even say that Burton has embodied and portrayed many aspects of America’s past, present, and its (hopeful) future. Here, he traces his life, first as a child experiencing the Civil Rights Movement, then his acting career, and later his advocacy for literacy. He fills in the moments in between his major roles to show the struggle and resilience it has taken to lead such a remarkable life. —Erica Ezeifedi

You don’t often come across historical fantasy inspired by Taiwanese mythology and the enthusiasm around this debut novel is big. Yu’er’s story unfolds in the Eleventh century in a small village. First sold off for marriage in her youth at the advice of a jing, then estranged from the husband she’s come to love, Yu’er takes matters into her own hands. She strikes a bargain with a jing that sets her on a path to riches and agency but away from her humanity. —S. Zainab Williams

This prequel novel in the Hunger Games series was published in 2025, but it’s getting new interest ahead of the movie adaptation, which is out November 20th. It follows Haymitch’s Hunger Games, 24 years before the events of the first novel. It was read by almost 17,000 users this week and has a 4.5 average rating.

Still in the top five is Yesteryear, which came out in April. It’s one of several buzzy tradwife novels out this year. In this one, a tradwife influencer wakes up one day in the time period she’s been romanticizing, and real-life homesteading turns out to be much more difficult—and dangerous—than it looks on Instagram. Yesteryear was read by 21,000 users this week and has a 3.8 average rating.

The fourth book in the Empyrean series still doesn’t have a release date, so fans likely have a long time to wait. In the meantime, they can revisit the world in this new novella, which follows 13 characters on their Threshing Days, when they endure a deadly trial in attempts to bond with a dragon. It was read by almost 32,000 users this week and has a 4.4 average rating.