The Secret
by Rhonda Byrne
A popular book on the law of attraction, the idea that focusing on positive thoughts brings positive results. Divisive, and best read with a critical eye. Read the full description
Best for: Readers curious about the law of attraction
The Secret is #78 on BookWard's Top 100 books for September 2026, with a BookWard Score of 53 out of 100.
The Secret: reading interest over the past 12 months
Sources: Open Library’s public reading-log and ratings data (dump of 2026-08-31), Wikipedia page views and Wikidata. Monthly counts are exact; they show relative interest among readers of these public sources, not total readership.
Ranked against the other books on this list, The Secret’s reading interest has run from #52 to #86 over these 12 months. Interest rank blends shelf adds, Wikipedia page views and rating activity, each compared with the other 99 books that month.
Shelf adds by month
The Secret was added to Open Library readers’ shelves 559 times in the past 12 months, peaking in September 2025 with 107 (130% above its monthly average of 47). Over the latest three months (Jun 2026 to Aug 2026) shelf adds were down 4% on the three months before. 88% of the adds were “want to read”, 10% “currently reading” and 2% “already read”.
Want to read Currently reading Already read
Wikipedia page views
Its Wikipedia article was viewed 342,165 times in the past 12 months, peaking in January 2026 with 33,217 views. The latest three months were down 6% on the three before.
Source: Wikimedia monthly page views for the article The Secret (Byrne book).
Adaptations
- The Secret: Dare to Dream (film), 2020
Adaptations are listed from Wikidata; a release date near a rise in the charts above is context, not proof of a cause.
What the data says about The Secret
- Moderate swings. Monthly shelf adds averaged 47 with some ups and downs.
- Busiest and quietest months. September 2025 was its busiest month (107 adds), about 4.1 times its quietest, December 2025 (26).
- Against its genre. It had 77% fewer shelf adds than the average Self-help book on this list.
- Share of the list. It accounts for 0.5% of all shelf adds recorded for the Top 100 over these 12 months, #67 of 100.
- Its age. First published in 2006 (20 years ago), it is older than 47% of the books on the list.
Each finding is computed from the public data above and shown only when the numbers support it.
The Secret on the Top 100: rank history
First charted in September 2026. The chart gains a point with every monthly update, so its peak, climbs and falls will show here as they happen.
| Month | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | #78 | 53 |
Is The Secret rising or falling?
Cooling It ranks lower this week than over the past year, so interest is softening from its recent level.
On Open Library, The Secret ranks #98 this week, #81 this month, and #98 over the past year. A longer bar means a higher position. Comparing the three windows shows whether readers are arriving faster than the book's long-term pace. Readings as of 2026-09-30.
Why The Secret made the Top 100
The Secret made the list mainly on momentum (+23.3 points) and being read right now (+18.8 points). Its smallest contribution is rising (+0.6). The BookWard Score blends five public signals, each scored from 0 to 100 and weighted as shown.
The reading-now, rating and rank signals come from Open Library’s public data, not from BookWard’s own readers. The score measures reading interest, not quality or sales. How the score works.
Open Library reader stats for The Secret
Source: Open Library public reading logs, as of 2026-09-30. BookWard’s own monthly snapshots are added to the picture, and anonymous BookWard reader data will be layered in as the community grows.
More readers have The Secret open right now than 55% of the other books on this list. These counts come from one public source, so they show relative interest rather than total readership.
Where it sits among Self-help books
It is #12 of the 12 Self-help books on this month’s list.
About The Secret
A popular book on the law of attraction, the idea that focusing on positive thoughts brings positive results. Divisive, and best read with a critical eye.
Why it’s here: It sparked a movement and remains a talking point in self-help.
Best for: Readers curious about the law of attraction
At a glance
- First published
- 2006-11-26
- Genre
- Self-help
- Length
- about 216 pages (the median across its editions)
- Original language
- English
- Languages
- editions in 7 languages listed on Open Library
- Editions
- 21 on Open Library
From Open Library and Wikidata public records. Missing rows mean the records do not list that fact.
Themes
- The law of attraction
- Visualization
- Gratitude
What reading it is like
Motivational and anecdote-based.
At about 216 pages it is a medium-length read: roughly 4 hours at an average reading pace (about 250 words a minute, 300 words a page). Audiobook and edition lengths vary.
Good to know
Its central claim has no scientific support and has been widely criticized.
The premise
Rhonda Byrne describes the law of attraction, the idea that positive thoughts attract positive outcomes, drawing on stories and quotes from teachers.
What you’ll get
- A motivating, easy read
- Exercises like gratitude and visualization
- A cultural phenomenon
You might skip it if you want evidence-based advice; the claims are debated.
Pairs well with: The Power of Your Subconscious Mind · Think and Grow Rich
Keep exploring the chart
Also on the chart at #77 and #79
Questions about The Secret
What rank is The Secret on the Top 100 books?
The Secret is #78 on BookWard's Top 100 books for September 2026, with a BookWard Score of 53 out of 100.
Is The Secret rising or falling?
Cooling. It ranks lower this week than over the past year, so interest is softening from its recent level. On Open Library, The Secret ranks #98 this week, #81 this month, and #98 over the past year.
Why is The Secret on the Top 100?
The Secret made the list mainly on momentum (+23.3 points) and being read right now (+18.8 points). Its smallest contribution is rising (+0.6).
How many people are reading The Secret right now?
Open Library's reading logs show 315 readers currently reading The Secret, 2,803 who want to read it and 87 who have logged it as read (as of 2026-09-30). These are counts from one public source, not all readers.
How much interest has The Secret had over the past year?
559 Open Library shelf adds in the past 12 months (peak September 2025, 107); latest three months down 4% on the prior three; 342,165 Wikipedia views in the past 12 months (down 6% over the latest three months); Adaptations on Wikidata: The Secret: Dare to Dream (2020). Figures come from Open Library and Wikipedia public data.
Who is The Secret best for?
Readers curious about the law of attraction.
Ask a question about The Secret
Ask about this book's chart history, reading interest, or who it is for. Answers come from this page's data and can be wrong.
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How we know
This page is built from public data: Open Library’s dated reading-log and ratings dumps, Wikipedia page views, Wikidata, and BookWard’s own monthly Top 100 snapshots. The interest rank blends shelf adds (45%), Wikipedia page views (30%), rating activity (10%) and, for months where a snapshot exists, BookWard’s own score (15%), each as a percentile among the Top 100 books. Every month shown is real data; nothing is estimated. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Last updated September 2026. Read the full methodology.
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