The appeal of reading varies for everyone, but for the book worms out there, it’s an integral part of everyday life and at the moment, something you are likely to have more time for. So with the help of goodreads.com, we’ve collated some categorised book lists and recommendations to keep you reading all summer long.
Whether you’re sunning yourself on the balcony with a book in hand, or reading on the sofa with a cup of tea, sometimes there’s no better place to be than lost in a story.
From all time classics to 2020’s top reads, there’s a variety of suggestions in the lists below. We hope you find something in here that piques your interest or reminds you how refreshing a good book can be.
10 books that everyone should read at least once:
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- The Giver by Lois Lowry
- The Help by Kathryn Stockett
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
- The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
- 1984 by George Orwell
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
- The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
- Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Most popular books published In 2020
- The Ballad of Songbirds and Snake (The Hunger Games) by Suzanne Collins
- American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
- House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City) by Sarah J. Maas
- Untamed by Glennon Doyle
- In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
- Chain of Gold (The Last Hours) by Cassandra Clare
- Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano
- My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
- Beach Read by Emily Henry
- Long Bright River by Liz Moore
Olivia Laing's books for lonely lockdown days:
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
- The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
- Frankenstein: The 1818 Text by Mary Shelley
- Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
- The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
- SCARS: Heroes Come in all Sizes by J. Ishiro Finney
- The Crimson Spark (Vagabond Legacy Book) by William Hastings
- Good Morning, Midnight by Jean Rhys
- A Writer’s Diary by Virginia Woolf
- Happy Days: A Play in Two Acts by Samuel Beckett
- The Lonely Londoners by Sam Selvon
- Good Night, Mr. Tom by Michelle Magorian
- Close to the Knives: A Memoir of Disintegration by David Wojnarowicz
- Solitary by Albert Woodfox
Top 10 best historical fiction books:
- Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
- Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
- The Pillars of the Earth (Kingsbridge) by Ken Follett
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
- The Other Boleyn Girl (The Plantagenet and Tudor Novels) by Phillippa Gregory
- The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
- A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
- Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
- Shōgun (Asian Saga) by James Clavell
- The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough
Looking for more ideas to keep you busy at home? Take a look at our Together at Home stories for more tips and suggested ways to spend your time.
