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
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Reader Comments (309)
I've only read ten. Better get reading!
Time Traveler's Wife
The Night Circus
Like Water for Chocolate
There are some good ones on here, but I'd add a few:
Gone With the Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
So happy to see The Book Thief on here! Read this book when it first came out with any recomindation and never regreted it. One of my favorites.
I have read many of the listed books, and I agree with the list, as well as many of the others that have been included.
I would have to include
The Good Earth by Pearl Buck and
The Underneath by Kathi Appelt.
I love the selection of children books I can get at 1/2 Price Books!
I've read all of Jeanine Frost's books, and they are awesome! I highly recommend them....I've gone through about 8 of them in the last 3 weeks!
" Where Children Run" by Karen Emilson - if you can get a copy; it's a true story of unbelievable child abuse and a true test of survival. You will be changed by this book! I also recommend Jean Auel's "Clan of the Cave Bear" series! Awesome sleepers.
This is a great list but it is not complete without The Giver by Lois Lowry. I reread it at least once a year and I still love it.
I love almost everything Anne Rivers Siddons has written.
Now, I am reading the Outlander series by Diana Galbadon for the THIRD time!
The Kite Runner, The Hunger Games books, and the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy are all wonderful.
Thanks for the list and all the comments. Books, books everywhere, and not enough time!
Great list! I loved the Dragon Tattoo series and The Help. I would definately add the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon!
So happy that Ender's Game is on this list! It is the one book that I can give to any person and when they read it, they love it. It doesn't matter that they don't read science fiction. You just connect. And please read the book before the movie comes out next fall. The book is just too incredible to be missed.
I think I would add The Wheel of Time series, Sabriel by Garth Nix, and the His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman.
I can't believe DIVERGENT and INSURGENT by Veronica Roth didn't make the list >:(
Those of you who are Hunger Games fans (and anybody else, really), you're sure to enjoy those!
Anything by Nicolas Sparks, but especially 3 Weeks With My Brother.
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
A list without To kill a mockingbird? Memoirs of a geisha? His dark materials- Philip Pullman??
Third degree - greg iles. Couldn't put it down! Same with the Fifty Shades trilogy. I was happy to see The Glass Castle on this list. That was a devastatingly good read.
A Tale of Two Cities was one of my favorites! Been enjoying Bringing Up The Dead, about Thomas Cromwell lately. Need to reread some classics. Shogun series was outstanding.
Kite Runner, for sure...one of the most engrossing books I have ever read.
great list! I'd add
someone knows my name by lawrence hill. its pretty sad, but an extremely meaningful and overall beautiful story. Stick it out till the end! its worth it!
I would also add the forgotten garden by kate morton and divergent by veronica roth. i could not put either books down. they were fabulous!
The Pillars of the Earth and World Without End by Ken Follett--many, many nights with too little sleep because of these books!
The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter is one of the many classics that should be read
Jasper Fforde's 'Thursday Next' series; I could not put down 'The Eyre Affair'. Also, 'The Hundred-Foot Journey' by Richard Morais.
Great list! I've read a lot of these (loved the Hunger Games, but I appreciate the fact that you didn't add the other two from the trilogy...they were less than impressive...). The Help is my all time favorite read right now. If anyone has not read it, I would recommend it. It's profoundly impacting. If I had to add any to the list I would add:
Philippa Gregory - The Other Boleyn Girl
Carolly Erickson - The Secret Diaries of Marie Antoinette
Sue Monk Kidd - The Secret Life of Bees
Loved the Night Circus and have re-read it again, both times in just a couple days. Also - has anyone read Life Expectancy by Dean Koontz? I am not a big fan of his but LOVE this book - I have read it over and over and always tell people to read it. An odd little story, so different but such a page turner, it's great - give it a chance if you haven't.
Making lots of notes for books I need to try!