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The 32 Greatest Books of All Time, Ranked by Readers

Ranking the greatest books ever written is a great way to start an argument. So we went looking for where readers and critics actually agree.

We checked big reader polls like PBS's Great American Read, critic lists, Goodreads shelves and years of book-forum debates about what holds up and what's overrated. A few classics everyone assigned in high school still win by a mile. Some huge bestsellers slid toward the bottom. And yes, Holden Caulfield still divides people. Here are 32 books, from our #1 on down.

The list

  1. 1To Kill a MockingbirdTo Kill a Mockingbird
  2. 219841984
  3. 3Pride and PrejudicePride and Prejudice
  4. 4The Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the Rings
  5. 5One Hundred Years of SolitudeOne Hundred Years of Solitude
  6. 6The Great GatsbyThe Great Gatsby
  7. 7Crime and PunishmentCrime and Punishment
  8. 8BelovedBeloved
  9. 9Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's StoneHarry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
  10. 10Jane EyreJane Eyre
  11. 11Moby-DickMoby-Dick
  12. 12FrankensteinFrankenstein
  13. 13Animal FarmAnimal Farm
  14. 14Brave New WorldBrave New World
  15. 15The HobbitThe Hobbit
  16. 16Wuthering HeightsWuthering Heights
  17. 17Fahrenheit 451Fahrenheit 451
  18. 18The Handmaid's TaleThe Handmaid's Tale
  19. 19DuneDune
  20. 20The RoadThe Road
  21. 21Of Mice and MenOf Mice and Men
  22. 22Little WomenLittle Women
  23. 23Lord of the FliesLord of the Flies
  24. 24Charlotte's WebCharlotte's Web
  25. 25The Catcher in the RyeThe Catcher in the Rye
  26. 26The Kite RunnerThe Kite Runner
  27. 27The GiverThe Giver
  28. 28The Hunger GamesThe Hunger Games
  29. 29Gone GirlGone Girl
  30. 30The AlchemistThe Alchemist
  31. 31Where the Crawdads SingWhere the Crawdads Sing
  32. 32The Da Vinci CodeThe Da Vinci Code

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#1 to #10

To Kill a Mockingbird
Image: Wikipedia

1 To Kill a Mockingbird

Atticus Finch sitting outside the jail at night with a reading lamp, waiting for the mob, is one of the great quiet scenes in American fiction. Harper Lee tells a story about racism and justice through the eyes of a kid, Scout, which is why it lands so hard. It won PBS's Great American Read vote in 2018, and we're not arguing.

About To Kill a Mockingbird

Harper Lee's novel follows Scout Finch in 1930s Alabama as her father, lawyer Atticus Finch, defends a Black man, Tom Robinson, falsely accused of rape. It won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Author
Harper Lee
Published
1960
Award
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (1961)

Also ranked in: Books Tier List: 32 Classics Ranked Best to Worst

1984
Image: Wikipedia

2 1984

Room 101 still gives readers chills, because it's built around whatever you personally fear most. Orwell's Big Brother, doublethink and the Ministry of Truth have become everyday vocabulary. Few novels have aged into being more relevant, not less.

About 1984

George Orwell's dystopian novel follows Winston Smith, a worker at the Ministry of Truth in the totalitarian superstate of Oceania. It introduced terms such as Big Brother, doublethink and Newspeak.

Author
George Orwell
Published
1949
Genre
Dystopian fiction

Also ranked in: Books Tier List: 32 Classics Ranked Best to Worst

Pride and Prejudice
Photo: National Library NZ on The Commons, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)

3 Pride and Prejudice

Darcy's first proposal, where he basically insults Elizabeth's whole family while asking her to marry him, is still one of the funniest disasters in literature. Austen's dialogue is sharp enough to feel modern. It's the romance every other romance is measured against.

About Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen's novel follows Elizabeth Bennet and her relationship with the proud Mr. Darcy in rural Regency England. It was published anonymously, credited to 'the Author of Sense and Sensibility.'

Author
Jane Austen
Published
1813
Genre
Romance, comedy of manners

Also ranked in: Books Tier List: 32 Classics Ranked Best to Worst

The Lord of the Rings
Image: Wikipedia

4. The Lord of the Rings

Sam carrying Frodo up the slopes of Mount Doom is the moment fans bring up again and again. Tolkien built languages, maps and thousands of years of history before he wrote the story, and it shows. Some readers bail during the long songs, but it topped the BBC's Big Read for good reason.

About The Lord of the Rings

J.R.R. Tolkien's epic fantasy follows Frodo Baggins and the Fellowship on their quest to destroy the One Ring. Though often called a trilogy, it was written as a single novel and published in three volumes. It was voted the UK's best-loved novel in the BBC's Big Read in 2003.

Author
J.R.R. Tolkien
Published
1954-1955
Volumes
3

Also ranked in: Books Tier List: 32 Classics Ranked Best to Worst

One Hundred Years of Solitude
Image: Wikipedia

5. One Hundred Years of Solitude

It opens with a colonel facing a firing squad and remembering the afternoon his father took him to discover ice. Gabriel García Márquez follows seven generations of the Buendía family in the town of Macondo, where yellow butterflies and rains of flowers feel totally normal. Critics rank it near the very top of any list.

About One Hundred Years of Solitude

Gabriel García Márquez's novel traces seven generations of the Buendía family in the fictional town of Macondo. It is a landmark of magical realism, and García Márquez won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982.

Author
Gabriel García Márquez
Published
1967
Original language
Spanish

Also ranked in: Books Tier List: 32 Classics Ranked Best to Worst

The Great Gatsby
Image: Wikipedia

6. The Great Gatsby

That green light at the end of Daisy's dock carries more symbolism per word than anything else you read in school. Fitzgerald packs the whole Jazz Age into under 200 pages. Some readers find the characters too unlikable, but the last page is as good as prose gets.

About The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel is narrated by Nick Carraway and follows the wealthy Jay Gatsby's pursuit of Daisy Buchanan on Long Island in the summer of 1922.

Author
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Published
1925
Setting
Long Island and New York City, 1922

Also ranked in: Books Tier List: 32 Classics Ranked Best to Worst

Crime and Punishment
Image: Wikipedia

7. Crime and Punishment

Raskolnikov's cat-and-mouse conversations with the detective Porfiry are basically the first great psychological thriller. Dostoevsky spends more time on guilt than on the crime itself. It's long and intense, and readers who finish it tend to call it life-changing.

About Crime and Punishment

Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel follows Rodion Raskolnikov, a poor former student in St. Petersburg who commits a murder and struggles with the guilt that follows. It was first published in installments in The Russian Messenger.

Author
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Published
1866
Setting
St. Petersburg, Russia

Also ranked in: Books Tier List: 32 Classics Ranked Best to Worst

Beloved
Image: Wikipedia

8. Beloved

The house at 124 Bluestone Road is haunted, and Toni Morrison makes that ghost story carry the weight of slavery and a mother's impossible choice. Sethe is one of the most unforgettable characters in American fiction. It won the Pulitzer Prize, and critics consistently call it one of the best novels of its era.

About Beloved

Toni Morrison's novel follows Sethe, a woman who escaped slavery, and the house in Ohio she believes is haunted by her dead daughter. It won the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Author
Toni Morrison
Published
1987
Award
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (1988)

Also ranked in: Books Tier List: 32 Classics Ranked Best to Worst

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Image: Wikipedia

9. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Hagrid knocking the door off its hinges and telling Harry he's a wizard hooked a whole generation of readers. The first book is lighter than the later ones, but Diagon Alley, Platform 9¾ and the Sorting Hat still feel magical. Its reach is hard to overstate, whatever you think of the prose.

About Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

The first book in J.K. Rowling's seven-book series follows an orphaned boy who learns he is a wizard and begins school at Hogwarts. It was published in the UK in 1997 as Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and in the US in 1998 under this title.

Author
J.K. Rowling
Published
1997 (UK), 1998 (US)
Series
Harry Potter, book 1 of 7

Also ranked in: Books Tier List: 32 Classics Ranked Best to Worst

Jane Eyre
Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)

10. Jane Eyre

Few endings are as famous as Jane's matter-of-fact 'Reader, I married him.' Before that you get Lowood School, the mysterious noises at Thornfield Hall and a heroine who refuses to be anybody's pushover. Charlotte Brontë made it feel like a gothic thriller and a coming-of-age story at once.

About Jane Eyre

Charlotte Brontë's novel follows an orphaned governess who falls in love with her employer, Edward Rochester, at Thornfield Hall. It was first published under the pen name Currer Bell.

Author
Charlotte Brontë
Published
1847
Pen name
Currer Bell

Also ranked in: Books Tier List: 32 Classics Ranked Best to Worst

#11 to #25

Moby-Dick
Photo: The original uploader was Chick Bowen at English Wikipedia., Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)

11. Moby-Dick

Captain Ahab nailing a gold doubloon to the mast for the first man to spot the white whale is pure drama. Then Melville detours into entire chapters about whale anatomy and rope. Readers argue about those detours constantly, but the book's ambition is why it tops so many great-American-novel lists.

About Moby-Dick

Herman Melville's novel is narrated by the sailor Ishmael and follows Captain Ahab's obsessive hunt for the white whale Moby Dick. It sold poorly in Melville's lifetime but is now considered one of the great American novels.

Author
Herman Melville
Published
1851
Opening line
Call me Ishmael.

Also ranked in: Books Tier List: 32 Classics Ranked Best to Worst

Frankenstein
Photo: Mary Shelley, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)

12. Frankenstein

The creature secretly learning to read by watching a family through a hole in the wall is the heartbreaking center of the book. Mary Shelley started the story as a teenager during a ghost-story contest on Lake Geneva. It's scarier, sadder and much smarter than the movies suggest.

About Frankenstein

Mary Shelley's novel follows scientist Victor Frankenstein, who creates a living being and then abandons it. Shelley began the story in 1816 during a ghost-story challenge near Lake Geneva, and it is often called one of the first science fiction novels.

Author
Mary Shelley
Published
1818
Full title
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus

Also ranked in: Books Tier List: 32 Classics Ranked Best to Worst

Animal Farm
Image: Wikipedia

13. Animal Farm

'All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others' might be the most quoted line from any school reading list. Orwell's farm-animal fable about the Russian Revolution is short enough to read in an afternoon. Boxer the loyal workhorse gets readers every time.

About Animal Farm

George Orwell's allegorical novella tells of farm animals who overthrow their human farmer, only to fall under the rule of the pigs. It satirizes the Russian Revolution and Stalin's Soviet Union.

Author
George Orwell
Published
1945
Genre
Political satire, allegory

Also ranked in: Books Tier List: 32 Classics Ranked Best to Worst

Brave New World
Image: Wikipedia

14. Brave New World

Instead of a boot on your face, Huxley's future keeps people in line with the happiness drug soma and endless entertainment. Readers keep saying it predicted modern life better than 1984 did. John the Savage's arrival in London is where the book really bites.

About Brave New World

Aldous Huxley's dystopian novel imagines a future World State where people are engineered in hatcheries and kept content with the drug soma. It is often paired with 1984 as one of the key dystopian novels.

Author
Aldous Huxley
Published
1932
Genre
Dystopian fiction

Also ranked in: Books Tier List: 32 Classics Ranked Best to Worst

The Hobbit
Image: Wikipedia

15. The Hobbit

The riddle game with Gollum in the dark is one of the best chapters in all of fantasy. It's lighter and funnier than The Lord of the Rings, with Bilbo fretting that he left home without a pocket handkerchief on the way to the Lonely Mountain. A lot of lifelong readers started right here.

About The Hobbit

J.R.R. Tolkien's children's fantasy follows Bilbo Baggins on a journey with thirteen dwarves and the wizard Gandalf to reclaim treasure guarded by the dragon Smaug. It is set in the same world as The Lord of the Rings.

Author
J.R.R. Tolkien
Published
1937
Full title
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again

Also ranked in: Books Tier List: 32 Classics Ranked Best to Worst

Wuthering Heights
Photo: Emily Brontë (under the pseudonym Ellis Bell), Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)

16. Wuthering Heights

Cathy's ghost scratching at the window in the opening chapters sets the mood for everything after. Heathcliff is less a romantic hero than a walking storm of revenge, which is exactly why readers still argue about him. Emily Brontë's only novel is wild, bleak and nothing like a typical love story.

About Wuthering Heights

Emily Brontë's only novel tells of the passionate, destructive bond between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff on the Yorkshire moors. It was first published under the pen name Ellis Bell.

Author
Emily Brontë
Published
1847
Pen name
Ellis Bell

Also ranked in: Books Tier List: 32 Classics Ranked Best to Worst

Fahrenheit 451
Image: Wikipedia

17. Fahrenheit 451

The Mechanical Hound hunting Montag through the city is still genuinely scary. Bradbury's firemen burn books instead of putting out fires, and his wall-sized TV 'family' feels uncomfortably close to screens today. It's short, angry and easy to love.

About Fahrenheit 451

Ray Bradbury's novel is set in a future America where books are banned and 'firemen' burn any they find. It follows fireman Guy Montag as he begins to question his work.

Author
Ray Bradbury
Published
1953
Genre
Dystopian fiction

Also ranked in: Books Tier List: 32 Classics Ranked Best to Worst

The Handmaid's Tale
Image: Wikipedia

18. The Handmaid's Tale

Offred's small acts of rebellion, like hiding butter to use as lotion, make the Republic of Gilead feel terrifyingly real. Margaret Atwood has said she included nothing that hadn't already happened somewhere in history. The TV show gave it a second life, and the book is even sharper.

About The Handmaid's Tale

Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel is narrated by Offred, a woman forced into reproductive servitude in the theocratic Republic of Gilead. It won the first Arthur C. Clarke Award and was adapted into a Hulu series in 2017.

Author
Margaret Atwood
Published
1985
Award
Arthur C. Clarke Award (1987)

Also ranked in: Books Tier List: 32 Classics Ranked Best to Worst

Dune
Image: Wikipedia

19. Dune

Paul Atreides riding a sandworm for the first time is one of science fiction's biggest moments. Frank Herbert mixes politics, religion and ecology on the desert planet Arrakis, where the spice drives everything. The opening chapters are dense, but sci-fi fans rank it as the genre's best.

About Dune

Frank Herbert's science fiction novel follows Paul Atreides after his family takes control of the desert planet Arrakis, the only source of the valuable spice melange. It won the first Nebula Award for Best Novel and shared the Hugo Award.

Author
Frank Herbert
Published
1965
Awards
Nebula Award, Hugo Award

Also ranked in: Books Tier List: 32 Classics Ranked Best to Worst

The Road
Image: Wikipedia

20. The Road

A father and son push a shopping cart south through a burned-out America, 'carrying the fire.' Cormac McCarthy barely uses punctuation, and somehow that makes it hit harder. Readers call it one of the bleakest books they've read and one of the most loving.

About The Road

Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic novel follows a father and his young son traveling on foot through a devastated America. It won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Author
Cormac McCarthy
Published
2006
Award
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (2007)

Also ranked in: Books Tier List: 32 Classics Ranked Best to Worst

Of Mice and Men
Image: Wikipedia

21. Of Mice and Men

George and Lennie's dream of a little farm with rabbits is so simple, and that's what makes the ending wreck people. Steinbeck tells the whole story in about a hundred pages. It's one of the most assigned books in America, and one of the few students actually finish.

About Of Mice and Men

John Steinbeck's novella follows George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced ranch workers in California during the Great Depression who dream of owning their own land. Steinbeck wrote it as a 'play-novelette' and adapted it for the stage the same year.

Author
John Steinbeck
Published
1937
Setting
California, Great Depression

Also ranked in: Books Tier List: 32 Classics Ranked Best to Worst

Little Women
Photo: Louisa May Alcott (died 1888), Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)

22. Little Women

Jo selling her hair, and Amy burning Jo's manuscript, are scenes readers still get worked up about. Louisa May Alcott's four March sisters feel like real people with real tempers. Some find the morality lessons heavy, but Jo remains a favorite heroine for generations of writers.

About Little Women

Louisa May Alcott's novel follows the four March sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, as they grow up in Massachusetts during and after the Civil War. It was first published in two volumes.

Author
Louisa May Alcott
Published
1868-1869
Setting
Massachusetts, Civil War era

Also ranked in: Books Tier List: 32 Classics Ranked Best to Worst

Lord of the Flies
Image: Wikipedia

23. Lord of the Flies

Piggy's glasses, used to start the fire, and the conch shell that gives the right to speak are symbols everyone remembers from English class. William Golding strands a group of British schoolboys on an island and watches order fall apart. It's grim and memorable, though some readers find the message heavy-handed.

About Lord of the Flies

William Golding's first novel follows a group of British schoolboys stranded on an uninhabited island who try, and fail, to govern themselves. Golding won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1983.

Author
William Golding
Published
1954
Genre
Allegorical novel

Also ranked in: Books Tier List: 32 Classics Ranked Best to Worst

Charlotte's Web
Image: Wikipedia

24. Charlotte's Web

'Some Pig,' spelled out in a spider's web, might be the most famous save in children's books. E.B. White writes about friendship and death with a simplicity that sneaks up on adults rereading it. It placed in the top ten of PBS's Great American Read, ahead of plenty of grown-up classics.

About Charlotte's Web

E.B. White's children's novel tells of a pig named Wilbur whose life is saved by his friend Charlotte, a barn spider who writes words in her web. Garth Williams illustrated the original edition.

Author
E.B. White
Published
1952
Honor
Newbery Honor (1953)

Also ranked in: Books Tier List: 32 Classics Ranked Best to Worst

The Catcher in the Rye
Image: Wikipedia

25. The Catcher in the Rye

Holden asking where the Central Park ducks go in winter is the kind of detail people either find touching or annoying. No classic splits readers like this one. Teenagers often relate, while adults on forums call Holden whiny, so we split the difference and put it in the middle of the pack.

About The Catcher in the Rye

J.D. Salinger's novel is narrated by 16-year-old Holden Caulfield over a few days in New York City after he is expelled from prep school. It was Salinger's only full-length novel.

Author
J.D. Salinger
Published
1951
Setting
New York City

Also ranked in: Books Tier List: 32 Classics Ranked Best to Worst

#26 to #32

The Kite Runner
Image: Wikipedia

26. The Kite Runner

Hassan running kites in Kabul and telling Amir 'For you, a thousand times over' sets up a story about guilt that fans say left them sobbing. Khaled Hosseini's debut was a massive book-club hit. Critics find parts of the second half too neat, which keeps it out of the top twenty.

About The Kite Runner

Khaled Hosseini's debut novel follows Amir, a boy from Kabul, and his friendship with Hassan, the son of his father's servant, against the backdrop of Afghanistan's upheavals. It was adapted into a 2007 film.

Author
Khaled Hosseini
Published
2003
Setting
Kabul, Afghanistan, and California

Also ranked in: Books Tier List: 32 Classics Ranked Best to Worst

The Giver
Image: Wikipedia

27. The Giver

Jonas seeing the color red for the first time, in a world with no color at all, is the moment the whole book turns. Lois Lowry wrote one of the first dystopias many kids ever read, and it still sparks debate over that ambiguous ending. It's short but sticks with people for decades.

About The Giver

Lois Lowry's novel follows Jonas, a boy chosen to become the Receiver of Memory in a community that has eliminated pain, choice and color. It won the 1994 Newbery Medal.

Author
Lois Lowry
Published
1993
Award
Newbery Medal (1994)

Also ranked in: Books Tier List: 32 Classics Ranked Best to Worst

The Hunger Games
Image: Wikipedia

28. The Hunger Games

Katniss shouting 'I volunteer as tribute' to save her sister Prim is about as strong an opening hook as YA has. Suzanne Collins writes a fast, tense story that's also a sharp shot at reality TV. It kicked off a decade of dystopian copycats, and it's still better than almost all of them.

About The Hunger Games

Suzanne Collins's young adult novel follows Katniss Everdeen, who volunteers to take her sister's place in a televised fight to the death in the nation of Panem. It is the first book in a series that was adapted into a film franchise.

Author
Suzanne Collins
Published
2008
Genre
Young adult dystopian

Also ranked in: Books Tier List: 32 Classics Ranked Best to Worst

Gone Girl
Image: Wikipedia

29. Gone Girl

Amy's 'Cool Girl' monologue is the passage everyone quotes, and the midpoint twist changes the whole book. Gillian Flynn's marriage-from-hell thriller has two narrators who are both lying to you. It's pure fun, just not in the same weight class as the classics above it.

About Gone Girl

Gillian Flynn's thriller alternates between Nick Dunne and his wife Amy, who disappears on their fifth wedding anniversary. It was adapted into a 2014 film directed by David Fincher.

Author
Gillian Flynn
Published
2012
Genre
Psychological thriller

Also ranked in: Books Tier List: 32 Classics Ranked Best to Worst

The Alchemist
Image: Wikipedia

30. The Alchemist

Santiago, the Andalusian shepherd boy, crosses the desert to the Egyptian pyramids chasing a dream about treasure. Paulo Coelho's fable has sold enormously and has devoted fans. Just as many readers find it shallow and preachy, and it lands on a lot of overrated lists, so it sits near the bottom here.

About The Alchemist

Paulo Coelho's novel follows Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd, on a journey to the Egyptian pyramids in search of treasure. Originally written in Portuguese, it has been translated into dozens of languages.

Author
Paulo Coelho
Published
1988
Original language
Portuguese

Also ranked in: Books Tier List: 32 Classics Ranked Best to Worst

Where the Crawdads Sing
Image: Wikipedia

31. Where the Crawdads Sing

Kya, the 'Marsh Girl,' raising herself alone in the North Carolina wetlands is a great setup, and the nature writing is lovely. Delia Owens' novel was a huge bestseller for years. Readers split hard on the murder-trial plot and the ending, so it's a fun read more than an all-time great.

About Where the Crawdads Sing

Delia Owens's debut novel follows Kya Clark, who grows up alone in the marshes of coastal North Carolina and later becomes a suspect in a local man's death. It was adapted into a 2022 film.

Author
Delia Owens
Published
2018
Setting
Coastal North Carolina

Also ranked in: Books Tier List: 32 Classics Ranked Best to Worst

The Da Vinci Code
Image: Wikipedia

32. The Da Vinci Code

A body posed like Leonardo's Vitruvian Man inside the Louvre is a killer opening. Dan Brown's short chapters and cliffhangers made it one of the best-selling novels ever. Critics, and a lot of readers, pan the clunky writing, so it's the ultimate beach read, not a great book.

About The Da Vinci Code

Dan Brown's mystery thriller follows symbologist Robert Langdon as he investigates a murder in the Louvre and a secret connected to the Holy Grail. It is one of the best-selling novels of the 21st century.

Author
Dan Brown
Published
2003
Series
Robert Langdon, book 2

Also ranked in: Books Tier List: 32 Classics Ranked Best to Worst

How we ranked them

This ranking reflects fan and critic consensus. We looked at large reader polls like PBS's Great American Read and the BBC's Big Read, published critic lists, Goodreads ratings and shelves, and long-running forum and Reddit discussions about which books hold up and which are overrated. Where readers split, as with The Catcher in the Rye or The Alchemist, we picked a spot and explained why. Publication years and awards were checked against reference sources.

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FAQ

What is the greatest book of all time?

Our pick is To Kill a Mockingbird. It won PBS's Great American Read reader vote in 2018 and ranks near the top of most critic lists too.

What is the most read book in the world?

The Bible is generally considered the most read and most printed book. Among novels on this list, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and The Da Vinci Code are among the best-selling.

What order should I read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings?

Start with The Hobbit. It came first, it's shorter and lighter, and it sets up Bilbo, Gollum and the Ring.

Is The Catcher in the Rye overrated?

Readers are split. Many who read it as teens love it, while many adults find Holden annoying. We rank it in the middle of our list.

What classic books should everyone read?

Start with To Kill a Mockingbird, 1984, Pride and Prejudice and The Great Gatsby. They're widely loved, not too long and referenced everywhere.

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Image credits
  • To Kill a MockingbirdImage: Wikipedia · Source
  • 1984Image: Wikipedia · Source
  • Pride and PrejudicePhoto: National Library NZ on The Commons, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons) · Source
  • The Lord of the RingsImage: Wikipedia · Source
  • One Hundred Years of SolitudeImage: Wikipedia · Source
  • The Great GatsbyImage: Wikipedia · Source
  • Crime and PunishmentImage: Wikipedia · Source
  • BelovedImage: Wikipedia · Source
  • Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's StoneImage: Wikipedia · Source
  • Jane EyrePhoto: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons) · Source
  • Moby-DickPhoto: The original uploader was Chick Bowen at English Wikipedia., Public domain (Wikimedia Commons) · Source
  • FrankensteinPhoto: Mary Shelley, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons) · Source
  • Animal FarmImage: Wikipedia · Source
  • Brave New WorldImage: Wikipedia · Source
  • The HobbitImage: Wikipedia · Source
  • Wuthering HeightsPhoto: Emily Brontë (under the pseudonym Ellis Bell), Public domain (Wikimedia Commons) · Source
  • Fahrenheit 451Image: Wikipedia · Source
  • The Handmaid's TaleImage: Wikipedia · Source
  • DuneImage: Wikipedia · Source
  • The RoadImage: Wikipedia · Source
  • Of Mice and MenImage: Wikipedia · Source
  • Little WomenPhoto: Louisa May Alcott (died 1888), Public domain (Wikimedia Commons) · Source
  • Lord of the FliesImage: Wikipedia · Source
  • Charlotte's WebImage: Wikipedia · Source
  • The Catcher in the RyeImage: Wikipedia · Source
  • The Kite RunnerImage: Wikipedia · Source
  • The GiverImage: Wikipedia · Source
  • The Hunger GamesImage: Wikipedia · Source
  • Gone GirlImage: Wikipedia · Source
  • The AlchemistImage: Wikipedia · Source
  • Where the Crawdads SingImage: Wikipedia · Source
  • The Da Vinci CodeImage: Wikipedia · Source