Thursday, December 20, 2012

WhatShouldIReadNext.com's Top 20 of 2012

In September I blogged about WhatShouldIReadNext.com, a site that "helps" pick your next favorite read based on what you've already read and liked (check out that post here). The site could be a good helper for last-minute Christmas gift ideas - just enter in a book your loved one liked and find an instant recommendation for something similar.

The folks at that site recently posted its top 20 books of the year - the top 20 books that have been recommended to users through WhatShouldIReadNext.com. Not all of them are new - in fact most are not.

Here are the 20 most popular books at the site in 2012:

1. The Hunger Games: Book 1 - Suzanne Collins
2. Fifty Shades of Grey - E. L. James
3. The Cat in the Hat - Dr. Seuss
4. The Help - Kathryn Stockett
5. Twilight - Stephenie Meyer
6. Mockingjay (The Final Book of The Hunger Games) - Suzanne Collins
7. The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky
8. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter 6) - J.K. Rowling
9. A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1) - George R.R. Martin
10. Divergent - Veronica Roth
11. Nineteen Eighty-Four - George Orwell
12. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson
13. Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen
14. Gone Girl: A Novel - Gillian Flynn
15. Bared to You - Sylvia Day
16. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling
17. Pride and Prejudice (Collector's Library) - Jane Austen
18. Fifty Shades Freed - E.L. James
19. The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern
20. The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

They noted that the first book of The Hunger Games - although it came out in 2008 - completely dominated, with more than 175,000 searches. The third part, Mockingjay, has also been in the top 20 throughout the year, "although interestingly the second part, Catching Fire, never caught fire."
Another big sensation was Fifty Shades of Grey, " which appropriately came in at second place, despite only entering the top 20 chart in March. Once again the third part of the trilogy made a good showing - what is it about the second part of trilogies that's never so popular?"

They said classics including The Cat in the Hat, 1984 and Pride and Prejudice are "up high in the charts every month."

It's fun to try plugging books into the site, whether you're looking for a gift or a new pick for yourself. I (sadly) haven't really loved a book I've read lately.

Currently I'm reading Jonathan Franzen's "The Corrections." WhatShouldIReadNext.com says if I like it, next I should try Sharon Osbourne's autobiography .... Not likely!

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