Book Riot’s Most Popular Stories of the Week

Start your weekend off right with the Book Riot highlight reel.

The Best Books of 2024 So Far

That’s right folks, we’re at the midway point of the year, which means it’s time to crown Book Riot’s Best Books of 2024 (so far)! Check out our favorite reads that were published between January 1st and June 30th of this year. We love them all and we hope you will too. Happy reading!

The Bestselling Books of the Week, According to All the Lists

Today’s bestsellers including a couple of new titles, starting with All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker. This is a thriller set in 1975 Missouri, and it’s a Read with Jenna pick. The publisher describes it as a “missing person mystery, a serial killer thriller, a love story, a unique twist on each.”

The other new release is a nonfiction book by the hosts of the politics podcastPod Save America called Democracy or Else: How to Save America in 10 Easy Steps. This is an illustrated humorous guide to participating in U.S. democracy that promises to advise readers on how to “sav[e] American democracy just in time for the 2024 election and 2025 insurrection.”

📚 For another finger on the publishing pulse, check out the most-read books on Goodreads this week.

Small-Town Horror Books Offer Big Scares

Small towns can be havens for some people. The close-knit community, the quiet nights, and the lack of rush-hour traffic can be things some people dream about their whole lives. They long for the slower pace of life and search for a peaceful place to call home outside the glaring lights of the big city where the stars are more visible at night.

Others, though, find them terrifying…If you’re one of the latter, look no further! Here are nine of the best small-town horror books!

💖 If you’d rather swoon than be scared, don’t miss these historical romances for fans of Bridgerton.

The Best New Books Out This Week

How up-to-date are you on bookish news? If you need to be caught up, here’s a roundup. Heads up that it’s not all pretty. In other bookish things you may want to know, here are the most-read books on Goodreads from last week, and the most popular genres right now.

As for new books, there’s the AI-centered dystopian Whoever You Are, Honey by Olivia Gatwood; family sagas My Parents’ Marriage by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond and A Thousand Times Before by Asha Thanki — which a Ghanian family and an Indian family, respectively.