List

Literary Books Worth Reading

A tight literary 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. Madame Bovary

    1. Madame Bovary

    Madame Bovary: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)
  2. Sunburn

    2. Sunburn

    Sunburn: Shortlisted for the 2024 Book of the Year: Discover Award by the British Book Awards
  3. Behind the Beautiful Forevers

    3. Behind the Beautiful Forevers

    Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, death, and hope in a Mumbai undercity
  4. Say Goodbye for Now

    4. Say Goodbye for Now

    Say Goodbye for Now: Paperback – December 13, 2016
  5. Wait Till Next Year

    5. Wait Till Next Year

    Wait Till Next Year: A Memoir
  6. The Betrothed

    6. The Betrothed

    The Betrothed: I Promessi Sposi
  7. Go

    7. Go

    Go: A Coming of Age Novel
  8. Will in the World

    8. Will in the World

    Will in the World: Paperback – September 17, 2005
  9. The Bookseller

    9. The Bookseller

    The Bookseller: The First Hugo Marston Novel
  10. Don't Panic: Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

    10. Don't Panic: Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

    Don't Panic: Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Paperback – September 15, 2009
  11. The Recovering

    11. The Recovering

    The Recovering: Intoxication and Its Aftermath
  12. Splinters

    12. Splinters

    Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story
  13. Bottoms Up and the Devil Laughs

    13. Bottoms Up and the Devil Laughs

    Bottoms Up and the Devil Laughs: A Journey Through the Deep State
  14. How to Be a Heroine

    14. How to Be a Heroine

    How to Be a Heroine: Or, What I've Learned from Reading too Much
  15. The Portable Nietzsche

    15. The Portable Nietzsche

    The Portable Nietzsche: Paperback – January 27, 1977
  16. Nine Horses

    16. Nine Horses

    Nine Horses: Poems
  17. Arbitrary Stupid Goal

    17. Arbitrary Stupid Goal

    Arbitrary Stupid Goal: Paperback – Illustrated, July 17, 2018
  18. Short Stories by Jesus

    18. Short Stories by Jesus

    Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi
  19. The Secret Life of the Lonely Doll

    19. The Secret Life of the Lonely Doll

    The Secret Life of the Lonely Doll: The Search for Dare Wright
  20. The Art of Biblical Narrative

    20. The Art of Biblical Narrative

    The Art of Biblical Narrative: Paperback – April 26, 2011
  21. I am Providence

    21. I am Providence

    I am Providence: Kindle Edition
  22. On Stories

    22. On Stories

    On Stories: And Other Essays on Literature
  23. Leaving Dirty Jersey

    23. Leaving Dirty Jersey

    Leaving Dirty Jersey: A Crystal Meth Memoir
  24. K-punk

    24. K-punk

    K-punk: The Collected and Unpublished Writings of Mark Fisher

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