The topic of this week’s Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) is our fall To Be Read (TBR) list. I’ve gotten away from TBR lists, outside of challenges, because I want some flexibility in how I read. But I keep eyeing the books sitting on my shelves, which are increasing rather than decreasing.
I decided to rank the books on my shelves by Goodreads and The StoryGraph ratings, to come up with a list of 20 that I’ll prioritize. All are rated above 4.0, on average, in Goodreads and The StoryGraph. Some of these came from Book of the Month clubs, some picked up at used book sales or from Little Free Libraries. Some were gifts or came highly recommended.
I’m curious how my own feelings about the book will relate to the ratings. Will these be books that disappoint? Or will I discover something new that I love? (Probably both will be true.) At any rate, this is a prompt for me to read and then donate some of the many books sitting on my shelf.
I think it’s a good mix of bestsellers and fairly obscure titles. I’ve heard a lot of good things about The Jasmine Throne, Mystic River, The Girl with the Louding Voice, and Project Hail Mary. I’ve loved books by Catherine Newman and Alison Cochrun. Solito came highly recommended from a reading nonprofit, choosing this book for a Rhode Island school read in 2024. Mr. CG and I do a lot of wine tasting but I rarely read books about wine, so Cork Dork sounds intriguing (great title). Bridge Kingdom has a gorgeous cover, as do Jensen’s other books in the series.
It will take me a while to read these, and I’m not going to attack them in any order (although the list below is ordered by StoryGraph rating). This will also support my goal to read more backlist books.
20 Books To Read Next:
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" srcset="https://thebookstop.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/food-travel.jpg?strip=info&w;=300 300w" tabindex="0" />Title AuthorYear PublishedThe StoryGraph avg rating (as of 8/25)
SolitoJavier Zamora20224.54
Project Hail MaryAndy Weir20214.49
The Girl With the Louding VoiceAbi Dare2024.39
Adventures of Amina Al-SirafiShannon Chakraborty20234.35
The Escape ArtistJonathan Freedland20224.3
A More Perfect UnionTammye Huf20204.25
Here We Go AgainAlison Cochrun20244.2
Best American Food and Travel WritingPadma Lakshmi, ed.20244.19
The Jasmine ThroneTasha Suri20214.18
Ready or NotCara Bastone20244.11
We All Want Impossible ThingsCatherine Newman20224.1
The Henna ArtistAlka Joshi20204.08
Mystic RiverDennis Lehane20014.07
In the Shadow of the BanyanVaddey Ratner20124.06
Women & PowerMary Beard20174.04
I’ll Be Right ThereKyung-sook Shin20104.04
Passage WestRishi Reddi20204.02
I Am The MessengerMarkus Zusak20024.01
The Bridge KingdomDanielle L. Jensen20184
Cork DorkBianca Bosker20173.99
Have you read any of these, and if so, what do you recommend from this list? Do you ever use online ratings to determine what you read next?
