Best fiction books, by genre
Fifteen fiction genres, each with a ranked list of 50 books worth your time and a short note on why.
Fiction is the broadest part of any library, so the quickest way in is to start with the kind of story you enjoy. Choose a genre below and you get 50 well-regarded books, ranked, with a line on what each one is about and the stores where you can read it. If you are not sure what you feel like reading, the book finder on the home page picks three titles from a genre and a mood.
15 fiction genres
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Mystery
Starts with And Then There Were None, Murder on the Orient Express and The Thursday Murder Club.
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Thriller
Starts with Gone Girl, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Silent Patient.
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Romance
Starts with Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre and Outlander.
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Fantasy
Starts with The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
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Science Fiction
Starts with Dune, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Project Hail Mary.
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Historical Fiction
Starts with The Pillars of the Earth, The Book Thief and All the Light We Cannot See.
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Literary Fiction
Starts with To Kill a Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby and A Man Called Ove.
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Horror
Starts with Dracula, The Shining and Frankenstein.
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Adventure
Starts with The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring and The Count of Monte Cristo.
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Classics
Starts with Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights.
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Young Adult
Starts with The Hunger Games, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and The Fault in Our Stars.
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Children's
Starts with Charlotte's Web, Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
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Humor
Starts with Good Omens, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.
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Graphic Novels
Starts with Maus, Persepolis and Watchmen.
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Poetry
Starts with Leaves of Grass, The Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson and Milk and Honey.
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Let the finder choose for you
Tell it your genre and your mood and get three books to try.