25 Books Everyone Should Read at Least Once
There's no universal list of books everyone "must" read. Still, these twenty-five have earned their lasting reputation.

There is no universal list of books that everyone "must" read.
Reading isn't homework.
Still, there are certain books that have had such a lasting impact on literature and culture that they're worth experiencing at least once.
Here are twenty-five.
Classics

1.
1984
George Orwell
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2.
The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Explore this book →3.
To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee
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Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen
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Jane Eyre
Charlotte Brontë
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6.
The Catcher in the Rye
J.D. Salinger
Explore this book →Little Women
Louisa May Alcott
7.
Little Women
Louisa May Alcott
8.
The Hobbit
J.R.R. Tolkien
Explore this book →Animal Farm
George Orwell
9.
Animal Farm
George Orwell
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Oscar Wilde
10.
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Oscar Wilde
Modern classics and contemporary fiction
11.
The Book Thief
Markus Zusak
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Never Let Me Go
Kazuo Ishiguro
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Beloved
Toni Morrison
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The Kite Runner
Khaled Hosseini
Explore this book →The Road
Cormac McCarthy
15.
The Road
Cormac McCarthy
16.
The Handmaid's Tale
Margaret Atwood
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The Midnight Library
Matt Haig
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18.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Taylor Jenkins Reid
Explore this book →Science fiction and fantasy

19.
Dune
Frank Herbert
Explore this book →The Golden Compass
Philip Pullman
20.
The Golden Compass
Philip Pullman

21.
Fahrenheit 451
Ray Bradbury
Explore this book →Nonfiction and ideas
22.
Man's Search for Meaning
Viktor E. Frankl
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Sapiens
Yuval Noah Harari
Explore this book →24.
Thinking, Fast and Slow
Daniel Kahneman
Explore this book →25.
Meditations
Marcus Aurelius
Explore this book →But don't read them because you "have to"
If a book doesn't work for you, that's okay.
A list like this is a map, not a checklist.
The best book for you isn't necessarily the most famous book. It's the one you actually want to read.
Looking for something less obvious?
Let Next Read Club find a book beyond the usual classics →Related articles

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