List Challenges
Movies Books Travel Food Other
Trending
New
Popular
Sign In
 Make a List Browse Lists Search Lists Leaders Help / Contact Newsletter

Essential Books to Read

These are them! The most essential, foundational, near-inescapable books you have just got to read in your lifetime.
2,680 users · 14,240 views
 
made by private user
avg. score: 52 of 250 (21%)
required scores: 1, 26, 36, 53, 84 
type to search

How many have you read?

Page 1 of 7
1984 (George Orwell)
1984
1
George Orwell
Absalom, Absalom! (William Faulkner)
Absalom, Absalom!
2
William Faulkner
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
3
Mark Twain
The Aeneid (Virgil)
The Aeneid
4
Virgil
The Age of Innocence (Edith Wharton)
The Age of Innocence
5
Edith Wharton
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
6
Lewis Carroll
All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren
All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren
7
The Ambassadors (Henry James)
The Ambassadors
8
Henry James
An American Tragedy (Theodore Dreiser)
An American Tragedy
9
Theodore Dreiser
Animal Farm (George Orwell)
Animal Farm
10
George Orwell
Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy)
Anna Karenina
11
Leo Tolstoy
The Arabian Nights: One Thousand and One Nights (Anonymous)
The Arabian Nights: One Thousand and One Nights
12
Anonymous
As I Lay Dying (William Faulkner)
As I Lay Dying
13
William Faulkner
Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
Atlas Shrugged
14
Ayn Rand
The Autobiography of Alice B. Tokias by Gertrude Stein
The Autobiography of Alice B. Tokias by Gertrude Stein
15
The Awakening (Kate Chopin)
The Awakening
16
Kate Chopin
Babbitt (Sinclair Lewis)
Babbitt
17
Sinclair Lewis
The Beautiful and Damned (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
The Beautiful and Damned
18
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Beloved (Toni Morrison)
Beloved
19
Toni Morrison
Berlin Alexanderplatz (Alfred Döblin)
Berlin Alexanderplatz
20
Alfred Döblin
The Betrothed
The Betrothed
21
Bleak House (Charles Dickens)
Bleak House
22
Charles Dickens
Blindness (Jose Saramago)
Blindness
23
Jose Saramago
The Bonfire of the Vanities (Tom Wolfe)
The Bonfire of the Vanities
24
Tom Wolfe
The Book of Disquiet (Fernando Pessoa)
The Book of Disquiet
25
Fernando Pessoa
Book of Job
Book of Job
26
The Bostan of Saadi
The Bostan of Saadi
27
The Bostonians
The Bostonians
28
Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
Brave New World
29
Aldous Huxley
Brideshead Revisited (Evelyn Waugh)
Brideshead Revisited
30
Evelyn Waugh
The Brothers Karamazov (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
The Brothers Karamazov
31
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Buddenbrooks
Buddenbrooks
32
Call It Sleep (Henry Roth)
Call It Sleep
33
Henry Roth
The Call of the Wild (Jack London)
The Call of the Wild
34
Jack London
Candide (Voltaire)
Candide
35
Voltaire
The Canterbury Tales (Geoffrey Chaucer)
The Canterbury Tales
36
Geoffrey Chaucer
The Castle (Franz Kafka)
The Castle
37
Franz Kafka
Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
Catch-22
38
Joseph Heller
The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
The Catcher in the Rye
39
J.D. Salinger
Cat's Cradle (Kurt Vonnegut)
Cat's Cradle
40
Kurt Vonnegut
Page 1 of 7
Click books you've read
Lists Similar to 'Essential Books to Read'
Essential Books Read So Far (Personal Opinion)
Essential Books Read So Far (Personal Opinion)
766
132
Top 50 Essential Books to Read to Earn "Well-Read" Status
Top 50 Essential Books to Read to Earn "Well-Read" Status
3,144
50
Five Essential Books From Essential Authors
Five Essential Books From Essential Authors
2,065
320
100 Essential Books You Should Have Read in College
100 Essential Books You Should Have Read in College
6,998
100
The Essential Man's Library: 100 Must-Read Books
The Essential Man's Library: 100 Must-Read Books
2,847
99
Essential Books You'll Actually Read
Essential Books You'll Actually Read
2,628
150
Updated '100 Essential Books You Should Have Read in College'
Updated '100 Essential Books You Should Have Read in College'
2,606
100
Essential Books I'm Told I've Gotta Read
Essential Books I'm Told I've Gotta Read
2,274
415
Essential Comic Books/ Graphic Novels That Could and Should Be Read by Anyone.
Essential Comic Books/ Graphic Novels That Could and Should Be Read by Anyone.
2,164
100
Essential Books You've Gotta Read
Essential Books You've Gotta Read
1,588
100
100 Essential Books to Read Before You Die
100 Essential Books to Read Before You Die
1,528
100
Essential Books to Read in a Lifetime
Essential Books to Read in a Lifetime
1,455
106
Harper's Bazaar's 32 Essential Feminist Books to Read for Women's History Month
Harper's Bazaar's 32 Essential Feminist Books to Read for Women's History Month
1,441
32
100 Must-Read Books: The Essential Man's Library
100 Must-Read Books: The Essential Man's Library
1,193
100
161 Essential Books to Read
161 Essential Books to Read
920
161
33 Essential Literary Fiction Books to Read Now
33 Essential Literary Fiction Books to Read Now
728
33
Essential Books to Read Before You Die
Essential Books to Read Before You Die
561
20
50 Essential Books of Poetry That Everyone Should Read —Flavorwire
50 Essential Books of Poetry That Everyone Should Read —Flavorwire
469
50
116 Essential New Books to Read for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
116 Essential New Books to Read for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
166
116
Outside Magazine's 26 Essential Books for the Well-Read Explorer
Outside Magazine's 26 Essential Books for the Well-Read Explorer
160
26
50 Essential Hawai'i Books You Should Read in Your Lifetime
50 Essential Hawai'i Books You Should Read in Your Lifetime
116
50
Essential Books to Read Before College According to Penguin Random House
Essential Books to Read Before College According to Penguin Random House
104
17
Five Essential Books From Authors Who Wrote a Ton of Books
Five Essential Books From Authors Who Wrote a Ton of Books
9,683
225
The Ultimate Bucket List of Books (1,800 Essential Novels, Biographies, Essays, Plays, Science and Sports Books)
The Ultimate Bucket List of Books (1,800 Essential Novels, Biographies, Essays, Plays, Science and Sports Books)
1,101
1800
DC Essential Graphic Novels 2019 (25 Essential Graphic Novels)
DC Essential Graphic Novels 2019 (25 Essential Graphic Novels)
277
25
Every Essential Viewing (Including Essential Retro) Given by the Dissolve
Every Essential Viewing (Including Essential Retro) Given by the Dissolve
125
204
Books You Should Read According to a Third of 33 '100 Books to Read' Lists
Books You Should Read According to a Third of 33 '100 Books to Read' Lists
2,641
59
Must-Read Books of All Time: 40 Books Everyone Should Read
Must-Read Books of All Time: 40 Books Everyone Should Read
1,621
40
Books Josepha Has Read From the 1001 Books to Read
Books Josepha Has Read From the 1001 Books to Read
997
121
The Books I've Read (From 1001 Books to Read Before You Die)
The Books I've Read (From 1001 Books to Read Before You Die)
713
143
All Similar Lists
Newsletter · Help/Contact · Privacy · Copyright Claim   © 2025 App Spring, Inc. · This product uses the TMDb API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDb.
Seen It - Movies & TV 
Android & iOS
Seen It is a new app from the creators of List Challenges. You can view movies and shows in one place and filter by streaming provider, genre, release year, runtime, and rating (Rotten Tomatoes, Imdb, and/or Metacritic). Also, you can track what you've seen, want to see, like, or dislike, as well as track individual seasons or episodes of shows. In addition, you can see the most watched/liked stuff amongst your friends. Learn more at SEENIT.FUN