There are countless books to read and not enough time to read them. That is why we must carefully choose which books we do read. Which is why we created a list of the 30 must read books of all time!
While these are must read books, we do believe that any book that you enjoy is a must read. We highlighted these books because they are powerful novels that everyone should experience. Whether or not they become your favorite is another matter.
And oddly enough, many favorite lists contain some classics. There is a reason why the classics are highly touted. Finding which ones you like and dislike is a fun adventure and the only way to do that is to read them! You can see the full list below!
The 30 Must Read Books of All Time
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
- 1984 by George Orwell
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
- The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
- Lord of the Flies by William Golding
- The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
- The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
- Dracula by Bram Stoker
- Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Beloved by Toni Morrison
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
- Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
- Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
- One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
- Animal Farm by George Orwell
- Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
- Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
- A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
- Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
- The Color Purple by Alice Walker
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
- War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
- The Secret History by Donna Tartt
30 Must Read Books
The top two novels on the list are books that define their respective genres. To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the best works of fiction and still as popular and relevant as ever. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings is the best fantasy series of all time and its popularity seems to still be growing.
Some of my personal favorites on this list are The Count of Monte Cristo, The Book Thief, and The Lord of the Rings. Adventure novels are some of the best books when done right. And no matter how many times I read The Book Thief, I will always be in my feelings after finishing it.
Outside the top ten, we have novels such as Dracula, Catch-22, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. A novel that readers either love or hate is The Great Gatsby. I think it is a good novel that readers should read at least once.
Conclusion
That is all for our list of the 30 must read books of all time. How many of these books have you read? Which books should we include in our next list? Let us know in the comments below!
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The 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝘆 𝗕𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 in its Authorised King James Version (AKJV) with the Apocrypha.
A Vizier’s Daughter by Lillie’s Hamilton. It should be a must read published in 1900
The Trial by Kafka, Crime and Punishment by Dostojevski, Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain are also timeless classics.
Some personal favorites of mine are: Butchers Crossing by John Edward Williams , The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco and Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.
Greetings and keep on reading!
You have left out Shakespeare and the great Poets! MILTON, CPLOERIDGE, WORDSWORTH, KEATS ,SHELLEY.
🙂
Moby Dick, Gulag Archipelago
You surely don’t believe Fiction, of any ilk, outranks Non-Fiction! That thought alone reveals volumes! Some of my Library consists of the top-most UFO books ever written, many now out of print. I either own, or have read over 200 books on the JFK assassination! At the 100th anniversary of the sinking of TITANIC, I loaned a portion of my holdings for my local Public Library Branch to create a Public Exhibit! Give me 1960s Biography over every title on your list!!! (I STILL refuse to read “To Kill A Mockingbird!”)
Gone With The Wind a great book? Surely you jest. What do you think is gone? Slavery and the antebellum South. This book does nothing more than promote the Myth of the Lost Cause.
I only read the list to make sure “ The Hitchhiker’s Guide…” was included.
Euro/English books. Skipping everyone else on the planet!
Good point. I’m ashamed I didn’t realize it myself.