Goodreads’ Best Books of All Time 

If you want to get a good idea of what books people are reading, Goodreads is a good place to turn to. Especially when it comes to what readers consider the best books of all time. Keep reading to find out must read Goodreads’ best books of all time. 

I love lists like this and exploring all of the books that made the list. With a long list like this, a ton of books make the list that many would argue against. For me, I love discovering new books to read that might not have come across my radar.

With millions of users, Goodreads have a lot of information about what people like and dislike. There isn’t another website that can do what Goodreads can. The books on the list were voted but Goodreads users. You can see the full list below! 

Must-Read Books According to Goodreads Rankings

• The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1) by Suzanne Collins  
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter, #5) by J.K. Rowling  
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen  
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee  
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak 
• Twilight (The Twilight Saga, #1) by Stephenie Meyer  
• Animal Farm by George Orwell  
• J.R.R. Tolkien 4-Book Boxed Set: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien  
• The Chronicles of Narnia (Chronicles of Narnia, #1-7) by C.S. Lewis  
• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green  
• Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell 
• The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein  
• The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde  
• Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë  
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë  
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky  
• The Da Vinci Code (Robert Langdon, #2) by Dan Brown  
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald  
• Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll  
• Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden  
• The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry  
• Divergent (Divergent, #1) by Veronica Roth  
• The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #1) by Rick Riordan  
• Les Misérables by Victor Hugo  
• Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky  
• Lord of the Flies by William Golding 
• Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare  
• Anne of Green Gables (Anne of Green Gables, #1) by L.M. Montgomery  
• City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1) by Cassandra Clare  
• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, #1) by Douglas Adams  
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett 
• Ender’s Game (Ender’s Saga, #1) by Orson Scott Card  
• Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White  
• Dracula by Bram Stoker  
• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck  
• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho  
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Harry Potter, #1) by J.K. Rowling  
• The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger  
• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley  
• One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez  
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury  
• The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger  
• A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini  
• The Princess Bride by William Goldman  
• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett  
• A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1) by George R.R. Martin  
•  The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton  
• A Wrinkle in Time (Time Quintet, #1) by Madeleine L’Engle  
• The Odyssey by Homer  
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott  
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain  
• 1984 by George Orwell  
• The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold  
• Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak  
• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini 
• Frankenstein: The 1818 Text by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley  
• Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss  
• Life of Pi by Yann Martel  
• A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens  
•  The Handmaid’s Tale (The Handmaid’s Tale, #1) by Margaret Atwood  
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter, #7) by J.K. Rowling  
• The Giver (The Giver, #1) by Lois Lowry  
• Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov  
• Water for Elephantsby Sara Gruen  
• Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.  
• Dune (Dune, #1) by Frank Herbert  
• The Stand by Stephen King  
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter, #3) by J.K. Rowling  
• Catch-22 by Joseph Heller  
• The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath  
• Matilda by Roald Dahl  
• The Pillars of the Earth (Kingsbridge, #1) by Ken Follett (Goodreads Author)  
• The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes, #3) by Arthur Conan Doyle  
• Watership Down (Watership Down, #1) by Richard Adams  
• Great Expectations by Charles Dickens  
• Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier  
• The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1) by J.R.R. Tolkien  
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1) by Stieg Larsson  
• Outlander (Outlander, #1) by Diana Gabaldon  
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey  
• The Color Purple by Alice Walker  
• My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult  
• Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy  
• The Brothers Karamazovby Fyodor Dostoevsky  
• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith  
• A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess  
• The Road by Cormac McCarthy  
• Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt, #1) by Frank McCourt  
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Harry Potter, #1) by J.K. Rowling  
• Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy, #1) by Richelle Mead 
• Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse  
• The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, #1) by Philip Pullman  
• And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie  
• It by Stephen King  
• The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver  
• The Shining (The Shining, #1) by Stephen King  
• The Complete Stories and Poems by Edgar Allan Poe  
• Interview with the Vampire (The Vampire Chronicles, #1) by Anne Rice  
• Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra  

The Hunger Games

If you haven’t read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, then you might not agree that it belongs on this list. But if you have read it, then you will understand. The novel and series is well written and is one of the better dystopian novels written.

it is no wonder that prequels of the series are still topping charts even over a decade later. I would say that The Hunger Games is right below Harry Potter in a literary franchise that has had a big impact on readers. I enjoyed this series a lot and agree with its placement on the list.

Harry Potter

A series that shouldn’t surprise anyone is the Harry Potter series. Five books made the top 100 list and I’m sure if we covered a few dozen more, then the whole series would have made the list. This is one of the best series ever written and I don’t see anyone arguing against these books to not be on this list.

I understand that J.K Rowling is not in the best standing with readers. But that shouldn’t reflect on the Harry Potter series. Sometimes you have to differentiate the art from the artist. I love this iconic series and franchise and will be reading this series again and again.

Pride and Prejudice 

We all knew that Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen would be on this list. It is a classic novel that has stayed relevant for decade because it is fantastic romance novel. Not many novels age as well as this one and it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Elizabeth Bennett is one of five daughters and the novel follows her and Mr. Darcy, who moves near the Bennetts. Elizabeth’s older sister Jane falls in love with Bingley who is a close friends with Mr. Darcy.

Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth interact at a party and while Mr. Darcy falls for Elizabeth, she insults him after he is rude to her. Jane and Bingley seem like they are made for each other but suddenly, things go awry. Elizabeth guesses that somebody doesn’t want them to get married.

A turn of events scares the Bennett family and Elizabeth turns to Mr. Darcy to help. Will Jane and Bingley get married? And how does Elizabeth feel about Mr. Darcy? Jane Austen spins a tale like no other that has remained relevant centuries later and is considered one of the best historical fiction books ever written.

To Kill a Mockingbird

If I had to choose the best novel ever written, I would easily choose To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. It is a timeless classic novel that made me fall in love with reading. That is why classics should be taught in schools because even one book can have a big impact on someone. 

The novel is narrated by six-year-old Jean Louise Finch and takes place in 1933 in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama. Jean, along with older brother Jeremy, and friend Dill are caught in a drama involving their father Atticus Finch. 

Atticus, a lawyer, is assigned to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who has been accused of raping a white woman. Residents of the town are not happy with Atticus defending a black man. But Atticus is determined to defend him as he would any other man, not matter their race. 

The Book Thief

Another of my all time favorite novels on this list is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. This classic novels tells one of the best stories about World War II, love, and unwavering strength. It is novel that everyone needs to read at least once.

The novel takes place in Nazi Germany starting in 1939. Liesel Meminger is a foster child that is adopted by Hans and Rosa Hubermann. One day, Hans helps hide a Jewish man named Max Vandenburg in the basement of their home. Liesel and Max form a bond as the war goes on. 

Once a thriving town, Now Molching is a ghost town. The Hubermann are treated horrible because of Hann’s hatred of the Nazi party. His distaste of the party catches up with the family and they are punished as a result.

The writing is incredible but what I love the most is using death as a narrator. If you haven’t read this timeless classic, then you are missing out.

The Great Gatsby

A novel that many people love that while I agree is a great novel, isn’t one of the my favorite novels is The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The novel does a wonderful job of showcasing the roaring 20s and tells a good story.

Jay Gatsby has recently arrived at the West Egg part of Long Island and rumors of his extravagant parties have made him famous among the community. Nobody knows how he accumulated his wealth but they want to befriend the millionaire. 

Gatsby himself has his own plans and wants to right the wrongs of the past. He wants to reunite with his lost love no matter the cost. This timeless classic novel captures the magic of the roaring twenties before the Great Depression. 

Conclusion 

The list starts off with The Hunger Games and is followed by a ton of amazing books. While I wouldn’t agree with all of this list, it has a good variety. Novels like To Kill a Mockingbird and Pride and Prejudice have earned their spot here.

I loved seeing some of my favorite novels crack the list such as The Book Thief and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. No list is ever going to be perfect but this one hits a lot of the right notes.

That is all for Goodreads’ Best Books of All Time list. How many of these novels have you read or plan to read? What do you think of the list? Let us know in the comments below. Until next time, happy reading!

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