17 Unforgettable Books Everyone Should Read in Their Lifetime

Some books entertain you for a few hours and slowly fade from memory. Others stay with you long after you turn the final page.

They challenge your beliefs, introduce you to unfamiliar perspectives, and make you think differently about history, society, love, identity, and human nature. Sometimes, they simply remind you why reading can be such a powerful experience.

That is exactly what this list is about.

We are back with 17 more books that everyone should read at least once in their lives. If you saw our first list, then you already know that we are working toward something bigger: a collection of essential books spanning different generations, genres, cultures, and writing styles.

And if you did not see the original list, it may explain why a few obvious classics are missing here. This is not meant to be a definitive ranking of the 17 greatest books ever written. Instead, it is the next chapter in an ongoing collection of unforgettable books that deserve to be experienced at least once.

For this list, we paid close attention to reader recommendations while also revisiting several classics that we could not believe we had initially overlooked. The result is a collection filled with ambitious literary masterpieces, emotional coming-of-age stories, gripping adventures, influential science fiction, and thought-provoking works that continue to inspire conversation.

Some of these novels are long. Others are challenging. A few may even be books you were assigned in school but never fully appreciated at the time.

Every one of them, however, has something meaningful to offer.

Let’s get into the 17 books everyone should read at least once.

17 Books Everyone Should Read at Least Once

• Catch-22 by Joseph Heller 
• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith 
• War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy 
• East of Eden by John Steinbeck
• Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson 
• The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas 
• Gulliver’s Travel by Jonathan Swift
• Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky 
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K Dick 
• The Secret History by Donna Tartt 
• Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy 
• The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
• The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner 
• Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison 
• The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood 
• Watership Down by Richard Adams 
• The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver 

1. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Catch-22 was one of the most frequently requested additions to our original list, and it is easy to understand why.

Joseph Heller’s novel is a brilliant satire of war, bureaucracy, military leadership, and the strange systems people create to maintain control. It manages to be hilarious and deeply disturbing at the same time.

The novel follows Captain John Yossarian, an American bombardier stationed in the Mediterranean during World War II. Yossarian wants to survive, but the military continues increasing the number of missions he must fly. His attempts to escape danger are blocked by a circular rule known as Catch-22.

The book’s nonlinear structure and absurd logic reflect the chaos of war itself. Beneath the humor is a powerful examination of fear, power, obedience, and the ways institutions can treat human lives as expendable.

Few novels have influenced the language as much as this one. The phrase “Catch-22” has become shorthand for an impossible situation in which the rules prevent any reasonable escape.

2. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a moving coming-of-age novel about poverty, family, ambition, and resilience.

The story follows Francie Nolan, a young girl growing up in Brooklyn during the early 20th century. Francie loves books and dreams of building a better future, even as her family struggles financially.

What makes the novel so powerful is its honesty. Smith does not romanticize poverty, but she also refuses to define her characters entirely by hardship. Francie’s world contains disappointment and struggle, but it also contains imagination, humor, love, and hope.

Many readers first encounter this novel in school. However, its themes often become more meaningful when revisited later in life. It is a beautiful reminder that strength does not always appear in dramatic moments. Sometimes it is found in simply continuing to grow under difficult circumstances.

3. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Yes, War and Peace is enormous. And yes, its size can be intimidating.

But Leo Tolstoy’s masterpiece is widely considered one of the greatest novels ever written for a reason.

Set during the Napoleonic Wars, the novel follows several aristocratic Russian families as their personal lives intersect with major historical events. Tolstoy moves between battlefields, family homes, political conversations, romances, tragedies, and philosophical reflections.

Despite its scale, War and Peace feels deeply personal. Its characters experience love, grief, uncertainty, ambition, jealousy, fear, and spiritual change. Tolstoy is interested not only in what happens during history but also in how ordinary individuals experience forces far beyond their control.

It requires patience, but readers who commit to the journey will find one of literature’s richest explorations of life, history, and human connection.

4. East of Eden by John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck considered East of Eden one of his most important works, and many readers believe it is his masterpiece.

Set primarily in California’s Salinas Valley, the novel follows two families across multiple generations. Inspired partly by the biblical story of Cain and Abel, it explores jealousy, rejection, free will, family legacy, and the struggle between good and evil.

The novel’s scope is large, but its emotional power comes from its characters. Steinbeck examines how parents shape their children, how pain moves through generations, and whether people are capable of escaping the mistakes of the past.

At the center of the novel is the idea that human beings have a choice. We may be influenced by our upbringing and circumstances, but we are not necessarily doomed to repeat what came before us.

It is a sweeping family saga filled with unforgettable characters and difficult moral questions.

5. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Few adventure novels have had as much cultural influence as Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island.

The story follows young Jim Hawkins, who discovers a treasure map and joins an expedition in search of buried riches. The journey introduces him to pirates, betrayal, danger, and one of literature’s most memorable characters: Long John Silver.

Many of the images now associated with pirate stories, including treasure maps, tropical islands, hidden gold, and treacherous crews, were popularized by Stevenson’s novel.

But Treasure Island is more than a collection of pirate clichés. It is a fast-paced story about courage, greed, loyalty, and growing up. Jim must learn to judge people for himself in a world where heroes and villains are not always easy to separate.

It remains one of the most entertaining classics ever written.

6. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

If there is one book on this list that defines epic storytelling, it is The Count of Monte Cristo.

Alexandre Dumas’s novel begins with Edmond Dantès, a young sailor whose future appears bright. He is about to become a captain and marry the woman he loves. But jealous enemies falsely accuse him of treason, leading to years of imprisonment.

After escaping and discovering a hidden fortune, Edmond transforms himself into the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo. He then begins an elaborate campaign against the people who destroyed his life.

The novel has betrayal, adventure, secret identities, political intrigue, romance, imprisonment, hidden treasure, and revenge. Yet beneath its thrilling plot is a serious examination of justice.

As Edmond’s plans unfold, the novel asks whether revenge can ever remain controlled. Can someone punish the guilty without harming the innocent? And what happens when a person begins to believe they have the right to determine everyone else’s fate?

It is long, but its ambition and unforgettable storytelling make it worth the commitment.

7. Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift

Gulliver’s Travels is often presented as a simple adventure story, especially in versions written for younger readers. The original novel, however, is a sharp and often ruthless satire.

Jonathan Swift follows Lemuel Gulliver as he travels to several strange societies. The most famous is Lilliput, where the inhabitants are only a few inches tall. Later journeys introduce Gulliver to giants, intellectuals consumed by impractical ideas, and rational horses who look down on humanity.

Each society allows Swift to criticize politics, pride, science, war, corruption, and human behavior.

The novel is funny, imaginative, and deeply cynical. Its observations about political conflict and human arrogance remain surprisingly relevant, even centuries after its publication.

8. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Few novels explore guilt and the human mind as intensely as Crime and Punishment.

The story follows Rodion Raskolnikov, an impoverished former student who develops a theory that certain extraordinary individuals may be justified in breaking moral laws. He decides to test that theory by committing murder.

But the crime is only the beginning.

Dostoevsky places readers inside Raskolnikov’s unstable mind as he struggles with paranoia, guilt, pride, fear, and the possibility of redemption. The novel becomes a psychological battle between the ideas Raskolnikov believes and the emotional consequences he cannot escape.

It is dark, philosophical, and sometimes uncomfortable. That is also what makes it unforgettable.

9. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

Philip K. Dick’s science-fiction classic asks one of the genre’s most enduring questions: What does it mean to be human?

The novel takes place in a damaged future where much of Earth has been devastated. Rick Deckard works as a bounty hunter tasked with identifying and killing advanced androids that have escaped from Mars.

The androids look and behave like humans, making Deckard’s mission increasingly complicated. As the story progresses, the distinction between human and artificial life becomes less certain.

The novel explores empathy, identity, memory, consumerism, and morality. It also served as the inspiration for the movie Blade Runner, although the book and film differ in significant ways.

It is a relatively short novel, but its ideas are large enough to inspire discussion long after the story ends.

10. The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Donna Tartt’s The Secret History may seem like an unusual addition beside much older classics, but it has already had a major influence on modern literary fiction.

The novel follows Richard Papen, a student who becomes involved with an exclusive group studying ancient Greek at a small Vermont college. The group is intelligent, wealthy, secretive, and increasingly dangerous.

The reader learns early that a murder has taken place. The mystery is not simply who committed the crime but how the characters reached that point and what happens afterward.

Tartt explores obsession, privilege, beauty, morality, elitism, and the desire to belong. The novel also helped shape what readers now commonly call dark academia.

Atmospheric and psychologically rich, The Secret History is a modern classic that rewards rereading.

11. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

While War and Peace examines families against the backdrop of history, Anna Karenina focuses more closely on relationships, marriage, desire, and social expectations.

The novel centers on Anna, a married woman whose affair with Count Vronsky places her in conflict with the rigid rules of Russian society.

Tolstoy contrasts Anna’s story with the life of Konstantin Levin, a landowner searching for meaning through work, family, faith, and personal responsibility.

The novel is famous for its examination of love, but it is equally interested in hypocrisy. Society judges Anna harshly while allowing men greater freedom for similar behavior.

Anna Karenina is tragic, compassionate, and psychologically complex. Its characters feel alive because Tolstoy refuses to reduce them to simple heroes or villains.

12. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

The Diary of a Young Girl is more than a literary work. It is a deeply personal historical record written during one of humanity’s darkest periods.

Anne Frank received a diary for her 13th birthday and continued writing while hiding with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.

Her entries describe fear, confinement, family disagreements, hope, loneliness, adolescence, and her dream of becoming a writer.

What makes the diary so powerful is Anne’s voice. She is thoughtful, funny, frustrated, observant, and full of life. Readers know what eventually happened to Anne and her family, which gives even her most ordinary observations enormous emotional weight.

The book helps readers understand history through the words of one young person living through it.

13. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury is one of the most challenging books on this list, but it is also one of the most rewarding.

The novel tells the story of the declining Compson family through multiple perspectives and shifting timelines. Faulkner experiments with stream-of-consciousness narration, memory, time, and language.

The opening section can be especially disorienting because events are not presented in chronological order. Readers must gradually piece together the family’s history from fragmented memories.

The difficulty is intentional. Faulkner is showing how people experience time emotionally rather than neatly or logically.

This is not a book to rush through. It requires patience, but its influence on modern literature is enormous.

14. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon is a powerful exploration of identity, ancestry, family, and freedom.

The novel follows Macon “Milkman” Dead III, a young man who grows up disconnected from his family’s history. His journey eventually leads him to uncover stories, names, and traditions that reshape his understanding of himself.

Morrison blends realism, folklore, myth, and history to create a novel that feels both intimate and expansive.

The book asks what people lose when they become separated from their roots. It also examines how family stories can be hidden, transformed, or passed down through generations.

Morrison’s writing is lyrical and layered, making Song of Solomon a novel that reveals more with every reading.

15. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale imagines a totalitarian society in which women have lost control over their bodies, identities, and futures.

The story is narrated by Offred, a Handmaid forced into reproductive servitude under the Republic of Gilead. As she remembers her former life, readers see how quickly familiar freedoms were taken away.

Atwood’s dystopia is frightening because it is constructed from recognizable ideas, historical practices, and systems of control.

The novel explores political extremism, gender, language, resistance, memory, and the gradual erosion of personal freedom.

It is uncomfortable reading, but that discomfort is part of its purpose. The Handmaid’s Tale asks readers to consider how oppressive systems are built and why people sometimes fail to recognize danger until it is too late.

16. Watership Down by Richard Adams

At first glance, a novel about rabbits may not sound like essential reading. Watership Down, however, is far more ambitious than its premise suggests.

The story follows a group of rabbits who leave their home after one of them experiences a vision of approaching disaster. Their search for safety becomes an epic journey involving survival, leadership, courage, sacrifice, and freedom.

Richard Adams gives the rabbits their own mythology, language, traditions, and social structures. Their conflicts reflect many human concerns without turning them into ordinary people wearing animal disguises.

The novel can be tense, violent, emotional, and surprisingly philosophical. It is both an adventure story and a thoughtful examination of what makes a community worth protecting.

17. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible follows an American missionary family that moves to the Belgian Congo in 1959.

The story is told through the voices of Orleanna Price and her four daughters. Each narrator interprets the family’s experiences differently, creating a complex portrait of faith, marriage, colonialism, culture, and responsibility.

At the center of the family is Nathan Price, a rigid Baptist missionary who refuses to understand the people he believes he has been called to save.

As the family struggles to adapt, the novel reveals the danger of entering another culture with certainty but without humility.

Kingsolver connects intimate family conflict with larger political and historical changes. The result is a powerful novel about unintended consequences, guilt, survival, and the stories people tell themselves to justify their actions.

Books You May Have Read in School—but Should Revisit

Several books on this list are commonly assigned in classrooms, including The Diary of a Young Girl, The Sound and the Fury, Gulliver’s Travels, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

Reading a book for an assignment, however, can be very different from choosing to read it yourself.

In school, it is easy to become focused on symbolism, essays, quizzes, and deadlines. Years later, the same book may feel completely different. Life experience can make certain characters more understandable and some themes much more powerful.

A book you disliked as a teenager may become one of your favorites as an adult.

That is why revisiting classics can be so rewarding. Great books often change because the reader has changed.

Final Thoughts

Building a list of books everyone should read is never easy, and it is never truly finished.

For every title included, another worthy book is left out. Every reader has personal favorites, cultural touchstones, and transformative reading experiences that they believe belong on a list like this.

That is part of what makes discussing books so enjoyable.

With these 17 additions, our growing collection now includes 40 books that we believe deserve to be read at least once. Some have stood the test of time for centuries. Others are modern classics that have already influenced readers, writers, and popular culture.

Together, they explore war, love, revenge, poverty, identity, justice, oppression, family, history, survival, and the complicated question of what it means to live a meaningful life.

You do not have to read them in order. You do not have to begin with the most famous or the most difficult.

Start with the book that speaks to you.

Choose the adventure of Treasure Island, the revenge story of The Count of Monte Cristo, the psychological intensity of Crime and Punishment, or the dark academic atmosphere of The Secret History.

What matters is that you begin.

Because the right book, read at the right moment, can stay with you for the rest of your life.

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