BookFrontier
List

Century Books Worth Reading

A tight century books worth reading shortlist - built for quick decisions, not endless scrolling.

Last refreshed 2026-02-27. We keep tuning this list as new titles land and reader interest shifts.

  1. A Moveable Feast

    1. A Moveable Feast

    Ernest Hemingway
    A Moveable Feast: Digital – Import, June 1, 2002
  2. The Book of Charlie

    2. The Book of Charlie

    David Von Drehle
    The Book of Charlie: Wisdom from the Remarkable American Life of a 109-Year-Old Man
  3. An Autobiography

    3. An Autobiography

    Agatha Christie
    An Autobiography: Hardcover – November 22, 2011
  4. As Nature Made Him

    4. As Nature Made Him

    John Colapinto
    As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised as a Girl
  5. Small Wonder

    5. Small Wonder

    Barbara Kingsolver
    Small Wonder: Essays
  6. Working

    6. Working

    Studs Terkel
    Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do
  7. Six Wives

    7. Six Wives

    David Starkey
    Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII
  8. Victorian Internet,The

    8. Victorian Internet,The

    Tom Standage
    Victorian Internet,The: Paperback – September 18, 2007
  9. Victoria

    9. Victoria

    A. N. Wilson, A.N. Wilson
    Victoria: A Life
  10. The Private Lives of the Impressionists

    10. The Private Lives of the Impressionists

    Sue Roe
    The Private Lives of the Impressionists: Paperback – Illustrated, October 23, 2007
  11. Lies Across America

    11. Lies Across America

    James W. Loewen
    Lies Across America: What Our Historic Sites Get Wrong
  12. A Great Improvisation

    12. A Great Improvisation

    Stacy Schiff
    A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America
  13. Boom

    13. Boom

    Michael Shnayerson
    Boom: Mad Money, Mega Dealers, and the Rise of Contemporary Art
  14. Kissinger's Shadow

    14. Kissinger's Shadow

    Greg Grandin
    Kissinger's Shadow: The Long Reach of America's Most Controversial Statesman
  15. Dixie's Daughters

    15. Dixie's Daughters

    Karen L. Cox
    Dixie's Daughters: The United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Preservation of Confederate Culture
  16. Lightbringer

    16. Lightbringer

    K. D. Mcentire, K.D. McEntire
    Lightbringer: Hardcover – November 22, 2011
  17. Candide

    17. Candide

    Voltaire, Rockwell Kent
    A Classics pick for readers exploring Candide.
  18. For Whom the Bell Tolls

    18. For Whom the Bell Tolls

    Ernest Hemingway
    A Classics pick for readers exploring For Whom the Bell Tolls.
  19. Anna Karenina

    19. Anna Karenina

    Leo Tolstoy
    A Classics pick for readers exploring Anna Karenina.
  20. Jane Eyre (Deluxe Hardbound Edition)

    20. Jane Eyre (Deluxe Hardbound Edition)

    Charlotte Brontë
    A Classics pick for readers exploring Jane Eyre (Deluxe Hardbound Edition).
  21. Killing Lincoln

    21. Killing Lincoln

    Bill O'Reilly, Martin Dugard
    Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever
  22. Why Fish Don't Exist

    22. Why Fish Don't Exist

    Lulu Miller
    Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life
  23. The Book Woman's Daughter

    23. The Book Woman's Daughter

    Kim Michele Richardson
    The Book Woman's Daughter: A Novel
  24. Suite Francaise

    24. Suite Francaise

    Irène Némirovsky, Sandra Smith
    A Fiction pick for readers exploring Suite Francaise.

Browse Related Genres

biography and memoirhistoryfictionsocial scienceartliterary criticism

If you want more in this direction