About Must-Read 50

An independent ranking of the best books to read right now, new and classic, built on one transparent score.

What it is

We analyzed 9,414 books from more than a century of prizes, critics' lists, bestseller lists and reader data, and 3,056 made the ranking. Each one gets a Must-Read Score from how much readers love it, its prize, best-list and bestseller record, and its buzz right now. The Top 50 is the 50 highest scores. Upload your Goodreads or StoryGraph history and you get your own 50: the same ranking with everything you've read taken out.

Who makes it

Must-Read 50 is made by Nick Barker. It's an independent project: no publisher, bookstore or author owns it, and no one can pay to be in it.

How we keep it accurate

• Every prize, best-books list and bestseller record on a book page comes from the prize's, list's or bestseller list's own records.
• Book write-ups are based on each book's published description, and they only mention honors we can show.
• Every update goes through an automatic check of titles, authors and honors before it goes live.
• The whole ranking is re-checked every month: new bestsellers, new prizes and fresh reader numbers.

How the site makes money

Some "Get it" links are affiliate links: if you buy through Amazon or Bookshop.org, or start an Audible trial, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Commissions never change a ranking: a book scores the same whether it earns us anything or not.

Where the data comes from

Prizes and best-books lists come from the prizes' and publishers' own records, bestseller history from the New York Times and Publishers Weekly, reader numbers from Hardcover and other large reading communities, and covers and editions from Open Library. How we rank explains the method in full.