40 Books You Won't Be Able to Put Down
JulieYou know that book. The one you read in one or two sittings. The one you practically swallowed whole. What an exhilarating experience –– to be so captivated by a book that you cannot bear to do anything until you get to the last page!
I polled our ~3,000 HPB Bibliomaniacs around the country about which books they devoured. And they had much to say on the topic. So, if you've never read them, give these books a try. Without further ado, here are 40 Books You Won't Be Able to Put Down.
There seems to be something for everyone on this list -- mystery, romance, biography, contemporary literature, classics, even paranormal. So, did your favorite quick read make the list? Add yours to our list by making a quick comment below.
-- Julie
This website is made from 100% completely recycled materials.
Reader Comments (309)
The Fault in our Stars by John Green! I read it in about half a day!
Great list. The Secret History, by Donna Tartt is another one I would add.
I've read 10 of these, 5 were hard to put down.
A few of my favorite summer books is Gold Coast by Nelson DeMille and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt.
I love The Giver, Gathering Blue, and Messenger by Lois Lowry. They are for younger audiences but they have always been my absolute favorites!
I love that Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging is on this list! That book is such a laugh, and not a lot of people have read it, although it's one of my faves.
I really recommend 11/22/63 by Stephen King...great book. I grew up in Dallas when JFK was assassinated and I just loved this book. Also, The Paris Wife...story of Hemingway's early life in Paris with his first wife...mesmerizing!
I can't believe "1984" isn't on this list! But I was glad to see "Harry Potter" and "Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas." Such classics.
TWILIGHT SERIES!!
OHMYGOD! Jeaniene Frost's Halfway to the Grave is on this list. LOVE IT <3
I had no problem putting several of these books down after getting about 50-100 pages into them...don't know who puts these types of lists together but it was not hard for me not to want to even start several of them and of the ones I did start most of them never got finished. I did start and finished a couple of the books on this list but most of them just did not interest me.
The Fault in Our Stars - John Green
You won't regret it.
Great List. I really couldn't put down the The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series. I even read them at red lights.
I would add A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole.
Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill is excellent!
Where is Nora Roberts? She is an excellent author and hers are difficult to put down. Chasing FIre, Black Hills, Tribute to name a few. Two others I couldn't put down were Prospect Street and Lover's Knot by Emilie Richards.
Phantom by Susan Kay. Incredible book that takes you from the birth until after the death of the Phantom of the Opera. I'm not into opera, but this book is so good that I've now seen Phantom of the Opera several times because of it. It will give you a completely different feel for Erik (the Phantom).
The anybodies by N.E. Bode. Such a great book. I read it first in the fifth grade, and I still love it now that I'm a senior in high school. It is my absolute favorite book!
I agree with "E L James" with 50 shades of Grey, who also happens to be the author ;) The characters are well executed even if the reading level is very middle school. and the 10th circle by Picoult was fascinating, most of her books captivate me. Another I would like to add is Kate Atkinson-Started Early Took my Dog. She has a series based on the detective Jackson. I read most of the books in less then a day.
If you are getting withdrawals from The Hunger Games, then try Veronica Roth's Divergent series. I am just startiing the second called Insurgent.
The Uglies "Trilogy." It was supposed to be a trilogy but was so amazing that people wrote Scott Westerfeld for a 4th book. The 4th isn't as great, but it really ends the series well (I felt abandoned after the 3rd book, and was literally depressed it was over until I read the 4th).
Uglies
Pretties
Specials
Extras
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett, and also her award-winning Bel Canto. Another book that was hard to put down was The Samurai's Garden, by Gail Tsukiyama.
The Princess Bride dude. So so so funny.
Hahaha 50 Shades of Grey... I CANNOT and do NOT want to put it down. Its so CRAZY and alluring because everyone says its so dirty and bad. hahah! Its really a fabulous read!
I would also recommend the Janet Evanovich numbers series (also known as Plum Series).
Any Mitch Albom or Nicholas Sparks book also!
SO happy you do not have the Shades of Grey trilogy, they're awful.
Although "The Kite Runner" was on the list, "A Thousand Splendid Suns" was not. That is also one of the many great books of this generation. Khaled Hosseini is one extraordinary author that is worth watching.