This list of 100 books everyone should read at least once in their life includes recommendations from both Team OwlCrate and our wonderful community of Nesties over on The Nest. No matter what genres you enjoy reading, you'll find at least one book worth adding to your TBR on this list!
HORROR
The Troop
by Nick Cutter
Published: 2014
Page Count: 358
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Only Good Indians
by Stephen Graham Jones
Published: 2020
Page Count: 305
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Monster of Elendhaven
by Jennifer Giesbrecht
Published: 2019
Page Count: 160
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Stand
by Stephen King
Published: 1978
Page Count: 1,152
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
We Have Always Lived in the Castle
by Shirley Jackson
Published: 1962
Page Count: 152
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Rosemary’s Baby
by Ira Levin
Published: 1967
Page Count: 308
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
SCI-FI
Red Rising
by Pierce Brown
Published: 2014
Page Count: 382
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
11/22/63
by Stephen King
Published: 2011
Page Count: 849
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Project Hail Mary
by Andy Weir
Published: 2021
Page Count: 476
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Chain-Gang All-Stars
by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Published: 2023
Page Count: 367
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Parable of the Sower
by Octavia E. Butler
Published: 1993
Page Count: 345
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Three-Body Problem
by Liu Cixin
Published: 2006
Page Count: 472
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Hunger Games
by Suzanne Collins
Published: 2008
Page Count: 374
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Scythe
by Neal Shusterman
Published: 2016
Page Count: 435
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
A Wrinkle in Time
by Madeleine L’Engle
Published: 1962
Page Count: 218
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
ROMANTASY
One Dark Window
by Rachel Gillig
Published: 2022
Page Count: 432
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Kushiel’s Dart
by Jacqueline Carey
Published: 2021
Page Count: 1,040
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Nightmare Before Kissmass
by Sara Raasch
Published: 2024
Page Count: 357
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Fourth Wing
by Rebecca Yarros
Published: 2023
Page Count: 517
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
A Court of Thorns and Roses
by Sarah J. Maas
Published: 2015
Page Count: 419
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Quicksilver
by Callie Hart
Published: 2024
Page Count: 624
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Poison Study
by Maria V. Snyder
Published: 2005
Page Count: 427
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Divine Rivals
by Rebecca Ross
Published: 2023
Page Count: 368
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Ballad of Never After
by Stephanie Garber
Published: 2022
Page Count: 416
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Heartless
by Marissa Meyer
Published: 2016
Page Count: 453
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Black Jewels: Daughter of the Blood
by Anne Bishop
Published: 1998
Page Count: 412
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Peaches & Honey: These Immortal Truths
by Sara Raasch
Published: 2023
Page Count: 320
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Our Infinite Fates
by Laura Steven
Published: 2025
Page Count: 352
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Heir of Illusion
by Madeline Taylor
Published: 2025
Page Count: 464
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Twilight
by Stephenie Meyer
Published: 2005
Page Count: 498
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
ROMANCE
One Last Stop
by Casey McQuiston
Published: 2021
Page Count: 418
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Alone With You in the Ether
by Olivie Blake
Published: 2020
Page Count: 288
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
One Day
by David Nicholls
Published: 2009
Page Count: 435
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Here the Whole Time
by Vitor Martins
Published: 2017
Page Count: 288
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Love and Other Words
by Christina Lauren
Published: 2018
Page Count: 432
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Time Traveler’s Wife
by Audrey Niffenegger
Published: 2003
Page Count: 537
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
FANTASY
The Golden Compass
by Philip Pullman
Published: 1995
Page Count: 399
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Fifth Season
by N.K. Jemisin
Published: 2015
Page Count: 468
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Blood Over Bright Haven
by M.L. Wang
Published: 2023
Page Count: 430
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Throne of Glass
by Sarah J. Maas
Published: 2012
Page Count: 406
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Ember Blade
by Chris Wooding
Published: 2018
Page Count: 824
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Flamecaster
by Cinda Williams Chima
Published: 2016
Page Count: 535
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Queen of Blood
by Sarah J. Maas
Published: 2016
Page Count: 368
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Dandelion Wine
by Ray Bradbury
Published: 1957
Page Count: 239
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Sabriel
by Garth Nix
Published: 1995
Page Count: 491
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Dragon Keeper
by Robin Hobb
Published: 2009
Page Count: 553
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Jade City
by Fonda Lee
Published: 2017
Page Count: 540
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Poppy War
by R.F. Kuang
Published: 2018
Page Count: 545
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
A Monster Calls
by Patrick Ness
Published: 2011
Page Count: 226
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Carve the Mark
by Veronica Roth
Published: 2017
Page Count: 468
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Howl’s Moving Castle
by Diana Wynne Jones
Published: 1986
Page Count: 329
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Hobbit
by J.R.R. Tolkien
Published: 1937
Page Count: 553
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
by J.R.R. Tolkien
Published: 1954
Page Count: 398
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
by C.S. Lewis
Published: 1950
Page Count: 206
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Last Unicorn
by Peter S. Beagle
Published: 1968
Page Count: 294
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Night Circus
by Erin Morgenstern
Published: 2011
Page Count: 506
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Priory of the Orange Tree
by Samantha Shannon
Published: 2019
Page Count: 848
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Winter’s Tale
by Mark Helprin
Published: 1983
Page Count: 769
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Air Awakens
by Elise Kova
Published: 2015
Page Count: 342
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Cruel Prince
by Holly Black
Published: 2018
Page Count: 370
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
by V.E. Schwab
Published: 2020
Page Count: 448
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
OTHER
Remarkably Bright Creatures
by Shelby Van Pelt
Published: 2022
Page Count: 368
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Interesting Facts About Space
by Emily Austin
Published: 2024
Page Count: 320
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Hate U Give
by Angie Thomas
Published: 2017
Page Count: 444
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Five People You Meet in Heaven
by Mitch Albom
Published: 2003
Page Count: 196
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Braiding Sweetgrass
by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Published: 2003
Page Count: 408
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
My Friends
by Fredrik Backman
Published: 2025
Page Count: 448
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
A Man Called Ove
by Fredrik Backman
Published: 2012
Page Count: 337
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Nightingale
by Kristin Hannah
Published: 2015
Page Count: 440
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Mud Vein
by Tarryn Fisher
Published: 2014
Page Count: 283
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Death of Vivek Oji
by Akwaeke Emezi
Published: 2020
Page Count: 248
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Exit, Pursued by a Bear
by E.K. Johnston
Published: 2016
Page Count: 243
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Book Thief
by Markus Zusak
Published: 2005
Page Count: 592
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Kite Runner
by Khaled Hosseini
Published: 2003
Page Count: 371
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
All the Light We Cannot See
by Anthony Doerr
Published: 2014
Page Count: 531
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Shadow of the Wind
by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Published: 2001
Page Count: 487
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
CLASSICS
Frankenstein
by Mary Shelley
Published: 1818
Page Count: 260
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
A Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens
Published: 1843
Page Count: 184
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Anne of Green Gables
by L.M. Montgomery
Published: 1908
Page Count: 320
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee
Published: 1960
Page Count: 323
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen
Published: 1813
Page Count: 279
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Brontë
Published: 1847
Page Count: 532
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Rebecca
by Daphne du Maurier
Published: 1938
Page Count: 449
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Little Women
by Louisa May Alcott
Published: 1868
Page Count: 449
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Secret Garden
by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Published: 1911
Page Count: 331
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Outsiders
by S.E. Hinton
Published: 1967
Page Count: 208
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
by Stephen Chbosky
Published: 1999
Page Count: 213
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Twelve Years a Slave
by Solomon Northup
Published: 1853
Page Count: 363
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
by Betty Smith
Published: 1943
Page Count: 496
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Alchemist
by Paulo Coelho
Published: 1988
Page Count: 197
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Kindred
by Octavia
Published: 1979
Page Count: 288
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
An Old-Fashioned Girl
by Louisa May Alcott
Published: 1869
Page Count: 288
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Chinese Cinderella
by Adeline Yen Mah
Published: 1999
Page Count: 205
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Fair and Tender Ladies
by Lee Smith
Published: 1988
Page Count: 336
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
Night
by Elie Wiesel
Published: 1869
Page Count: 288
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Handmaid’s Tale
by Margaret Atwood
Published: 1985
Page Count: 320
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
by Agatha Christie
Published: 1929
Page Count: 288
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
NON-FICTION
Tuesdays with Morrie
by Mitch Albom
Published: 1997
Page Count: 210
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
ADHD Is Awesome
by Penn Holderness
Published: 2024
Page Count: 292
ADD TO YOUR TBR:
The Emperor of All Maladies
by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Published: 2010
Page Count: 472
