This is a list of best books that you can find in every bookstore under the ‘best books to read’ category.
If you are an avid reader, then you must read these books in your lifetime from the great writers of all times.
The only thing left is to decide in which order you are going to read these books. So without further ado, let’s start looking at the list of great books to read at least once in your lifetime.
List of best books of all time
Book Name | Author | Date Published | Vowelor Rating |
---|---|---|---|
Ulysses | James Joyce | 1918 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
The Lord of the Rings | J. R. R. Tolkien | 1954 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
To Kill a Mocking Bird | Harper Lee | 1960 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
The Grapes of Wrath | John Steinbeck | 1938 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
A Bend in the River | V.S Naipaul | 1979 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Life of Pi | Yann Martel | 2001 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
The Time Traveler’s Wife | Audrey Niffenegger | 2003 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Mockingjay | Suzanne Collins | 2010 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
War And Peace | Leo Tolstoy | 1865-69 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Moby-Dick | Herman Melville | 1851 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Beloved | Toni Morrison | 1987 | ⭐⭐⭐ |
Catch 22 | Joseph Heller | 1961 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
The Kite Runner | Khaled Hosseini | 2003 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
The Book Thief | Markus Zusak | 2005 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Lolita | Vladimir Nabokov | 1955 | ⭐⭐⭐ |
The Handmaid’s Tale | Margaret Atwood | 1985 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
I Know Why the Caged Birds Sing | Maya Angelou | 1969 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Don Quixote | Miguel De Cervantes | 1605 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
All The Light We Cannot See | Anthony Doerr | 2015 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
The Slaughterhouse Five | Kurt Vonnegut | 1969 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
The Colour Purple | Alice Walker | 1982 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
The Satanic Verses | Salman Rushdie | 1988 | ⭐⭐⭐ |
Norwegian Woods | Haruki Murakami | 1987 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Never Let Me Go | Kazuo Ishiguro | 2005 | ⭐⭐⭐ |
Love in the Time of Cholera | Gabriel Garcia Marquez | 1985 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Mrs. Dalloway | Virginia Woolf | 1925 | ⭐⭐⭐ |
Things Fall Apart | Chinua Achebe | 1958 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
A Brief History of Time | Stephen Hawking | 1988 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
The Bell Jar | Sylvia Plath | 1963 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
The Lovely Bones | Alice Sebold | 2002 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
One Hundred Years of Solitude | Gabriel Garcia Marquez | 1967 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Little Women | Louisa May Alcott | 1868 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Fahrenheit 451 | Ray Bradbury | 1953 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Wuthering Heights | Emily Bronte | 1847 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Lord of the Flies | William Golding | 1954 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Water for Elephants | Sara Gruen | 2006 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Pride and Prejudice | Jane Austin | 1813 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Hamlet | William Shakespeare | 1599 & 1602 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
The Diary of a Young Girl | Anne Frank | 1947 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Holy Bible | – | – | |
The Catcher in the Rye | J.D. Salinger | 1951 | ⭐⭐⭐ |
A Passage to India | E.M. Forster | 1924 | ⭐⭐⭐ |
The Great Gatsby | F. Scott Fitzgerald | 1925 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Men Without Women | Ernest Hemingway | 1927 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Harry Potter Series | J.K. Rowling | 1997 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
1984 | George Orwell | 1949 | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
1. Ulysses by James Joyce
The plot is set in Dublin where events are centrally depended on the three characters of the books: Stephen Dedalus, Molly Bloom, and Leopold Bloom.
It might be the toughest novel to read but the immensity of the book will give all bibliophiles the great reading pleasures.
2. The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
If you are a die-hard fan of fantasy fiction, then this book is essentially the must-read book before you die.
3. To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee
This book is famous for its unique humor, despite dealing with the serious issues of rape and racism, the sensitive issues depicted in the book makes it famous among the readers and because of that it is at the top ranks among the best books to read before you die.
4. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The story revolves around the protagonist Tom Joad, who leaves his native place Oklahoma with his family in the quest of a better job and better life in California.
This book will let you peep into the harsh realities of great depression where you could sense the difficulties faced by the people, making it among the must-read books of all time.
5. A Bend in the River by V.S Naipaul
After this, chronicle folds itself and the story of emerging Africa, poverty, corruption and politics is narrated making it the best book to read ever.
6. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
After the tragic sinking of the ship, the crew of the surviving vessel consists of a hyena, one zebra (with a broken leg), an orang-utan, a 450-pound Royal Bengal Tiger named Richard Parker and Pi, a 16-year-old Indian boy. It is a story of faith, survival, and adventure.
7. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Their love never changes even when she came to know that Henry has a rare disease named Chrono-Displacement Disorder that changes his genetic clock periodically. Clare and Henry make their relationship work in such odd circumstances which can inspire many to stick to their love.
8. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
The book chronicles the story of Katniss Everdeen who after completing her second year in the games reluctantly accepts a proposal from District 13.
It is a group behind the rebellion in Panem, by agreeing to be ‘Mockingjay’, the symbol representing the rebellion spearheaded by them, and their president Alma Coin. This novel is a blend of sci-fi, romance, adventure, and action, counting it as the best new books to read.
9. War And Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy writes about five families whose story gets intertwined during the war and the peace in Russia. War And Peace is a story of love, sufferings, punishments, suicides, and of human behavior during war and peace.
10. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
The Captain decides to kill the whale after his first voyage into the sea when a whale had made him handicapped and now he takes revenge for it.
It is not only about whaling and sea life incidents but also raises questions about good and evil, justice and vengeance, and life and death.
11. Beloved by Toni Morrison
The story revolves around an African-American lady, Sethe who was a slave and ran to a free state Ohio. She lives in a new home haunted by the ghost of her baby whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved.
Toni Morrison won Pulitzer Award for this spellbinding novel and this should be on the top of one of the best novels to read before you die.
12. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
The story mainly follows his journey and the fictional squadron who is posted in the West of Italy during the war. The book talks about the life of WW II soldiers and how they used to maintain their mental balance and the longings to go back home.
It is a satirical novel with complex and humorous writing.
13. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Kite Runner is the story of a boy, Amir who is the son of a wealthy merchant and his best friend Hassan who is from a poor family. But their bond of friendship was distorted due to the political tensions in the country.
It is one of the interesting books to read as it so gracefully narrates the power of love, relationships, and family.
14. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The book is about a young girl, Liesel Meminger and his life journey after her brother dies. She was sent to her foster parents during the Nazi Germany rule in the country. After that story reveals various characters and her relationships with them.
The book will convince you that words have the power to change their lives.
15. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
This is a story of love, desperation, and lust written in a humorous style where Humbert Humbert is referred to as a ‘funny monster’.
16. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
In the story, she yearns to go back to the times when she used to live happily with her loving husband and daughter and hopes that one day she will again lead a normal life.
17. I Know Why the Caged Birds Sing by Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou elucidates how the love of literature can overcome racism and trauma and how it can help in strengthening the individual’s character. This book will touch many hearts and change the mind of its readers.
18. Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes
He was accompanied by his faithful squire Sancho Panza and they both set their journey to defend the helpless and destroy the wicked.
You will find this book poignant, powerful, profound and hilarious at the same time.
19. All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
This is a story about two kids who suffered through WW II. Marie Laure is a blind girl who knew each and every street of Paris as his father has made a model of the city to make her familiar. On the other side of the world in Germany, an orphaned boy named Werner lives with her sister and had a talent for fixing radios.
When they cross each other paths a beautiful story unfolds itself and the world got to read the best book of all time. It is one of the best new books to read.
20. The Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Billy has no control over what was happening in his life and in the war. He gets captured by Germans as he hates war and confiscates to fight. Kurt Vonnegut writes about the central event of Firebombing of Dresden and the concept of war making it a page-turner novel.
21. The Colour Purple by Alice Walker
The Tragic story of Celie unleashes when she was separated from her sister, her two children and was struck in an ugly marriage. During the journey of loss and pain, she meets a singer who has unlike Celie taken charge of her own destiny.
It is a chronicle of a young woman fighting back against all the odds and seeking empowerment from within and hence, it is said to be one of the best self-improvement books to read for women.
22. The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
The publication of this book issued a Fatwa against the author and many book stores were burnt protesting against the book.
23. Norwegian Woods by Haruki Murakami
Naoko is a young and beautiful girl living in Tokyo. They met every Sunday and found comfort in each others company. As Naoko retreats herself to another world, curing her mental illness, Toru faces new challenges and losses. It is a tale of nostalgia, loss, love, and hope.
24. On the Road by Jack Kerouac
This book is beautifully written and the journey of 20th century America makes it to the best books to read right now.
25. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
This sci-fi novel is about love, friendship, and disappointment. It breaks through the boundaries of the literary novel.
26. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
This novel is a sentimental story about the enduring power of true love and is one of the best romantic novels to read for all the lovers.
27. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
It is a normal day in Mrs. Dalloway’s life. She is preparing for a party at her home when certain events take place and she ponders over her decision about life and love.
This is an unconventional novel and a must-read classic for all the book lovers.
28. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
The novel talks about emerging Africa from the events happening in the life of its protagonist. More than 20 million copies have been sold in 57 languages narrating the illuminating story by Chinua Achebe.
29. A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
With exciting images and profound imagination, Stephen Hawking brings us closer to the ultimate secrets at the very heart of creation.
30. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
The Bell Jar is the only novel written by the writer and poet, Sylvia Plath under the pseudonym Victoria Lucas. It is the semi-autobiography of the author with changed names of people and places.
Esther Greenwood, the protagonist of the story is a young beautiful, brilliant and talented woman who did suicide after her mental illness.
This is the shocking, realistic and intense story of a woman battling the social pressure.
31. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
As Susie Salmon, the victim refuses to give up on the life in the beautiful heaven, she vigil her family. The lost, the grieving of her family and the vengeance will also grab the readers.
32. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The story plot is set into the times of Latin America and the events societies had witnessed then. It is about the two families and their ancient family names which have lived through centuries. The families who were obsessed with their pasts were most certainly doomed in the future.
33. The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien
It is a story of a hobbit who lives in a hole and loves his comfort life. Things got to change when the hobbit decides to fight with the dragon named Smaug and steal the treasure from it.
This book can give thrilling adventures to its readers.
34. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
35. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
All books or the commodities related to the literature is destroyed by Montag and Television is the one which rules. Soon after meeting his new neighbor Clarisse, Montag realizes how important books were used to be in the past.
This book is one of the great books to read and will give you an enthralling reading experience.
36. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
This book is an unusual & beyond the bounds love story.
37. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
It is a tale of a myth, a morality tale, a parody, a political treatise, even a vision of the apocalypse.
This novel is one of the most memorable and one of the amazing books to read.
38. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
The circus owner offered him a job as a veterinarian and after that, his life changed. It is the page-turning novel and one of the best books to read.
39. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
‘Pride and Prejudice’ is about a girl named Elizabeth Bennet, who learns the harms of making judgments without much thinking of the consequences and later on, she appreciates the difference between the illusion and Reality.
40. Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Hamlet is considered as the longest play and the most quoted in the English Language. Since the 400 years of inception, it is the most performed and influential work of William Shakespeare.
41. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
If you are looking for a good book that leaves an everlasting impression, then, you must add this book on your list of best books to read before you die.
42. Holy Bible
The Bible is the God of all the books. If you have given a life to live by the god and you forgot to read the book written by God himself, then you are missing so much in your life. This book so far is the most famous book on the earth and you cannot afford to die before reading this classic work.
43. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Struck in the societal norms, laws, and the Orthodox Church, Anna struggles to find the balance between her wishes and the Russian mores.
The book is many a time adapted into films, operas, ballet, and television and radio dramas and continues to ensnare its audience.
44. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Catcher in the Rye deals with the complex issue of identity, connection, and personal loss. It is considered as one of the best books to read in your 20s.
45. A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
Time Magazine included ‘A Passage to India’ in the “All Time 100 Novels” List.
46. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Story main plot is about the life young and a mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and his passionate love for the beautiful former debutante Daisy Buchanan.
47. Men Without Women by Ernest Hemingway
Ernest did magic with his simple words and with every story, he recreates the absolute truth of life. If you are a fan of Ernest Hemingway, then you should add this book to the list of non-fiction books to read.
48. Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
This book is about the life of a young wizard harry potter and his friends. The main story revolves around the struggle of Harry Potter against the dark wizard, Lorde Voldemort.
If you belong to the readers of 21st-century generation, then you must read this record-breaking novel before you die.
49. 1984 by George Orwell
Being working with the government, Winston gets the duty to distort the historical facts, photos or any other source. He developed a keen interest in real history and joins a secret journal criticizing the Government.
This novel is banned and criticized many times because of the true and rebellious writing of George Orwell.
Final Words
I don’t think that now you would ever ask someone, ‘What should I Read?’.
We have given you the list of best books which is a must-read for every bibliophile or else don’t consider yourself a bibliophile.
These books are the laurels in the history of literature and everyone should read them once in their lifetime.
The best part is, you are going to live many lives and centuries with these books. So, don’t miss out the fun of being a book lover.
Tell us about your best book you have read lately in the comment section below
All time best … how about Arthur Canon Doyle and Ayn Rand?