The books on this list are the most popular answer to the question:
What is the best book you’ve ever read?
These books, if you haven’t read them already, are some of the most popular books ever written, and because of their fan base, they continue to grow in popularity. WhytoRead books is doing its part by recommending these books to our readers. If you have a favourite book of all time already, the books on this list are some of the best contenders for a new favourite.
8 Top Contenders For The Best Book You’ll Ever Read
1. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
(Featured in 7 Popular Books You Will Be Recommending To All Of Your Friends)
This is science fiction made to laugh at itself while honouring its rich tradition, but it is much more than that. Adams’ peculiar humour also draws deeply from the well of sociology, philosophy, and science. Beneath the surface of utter hilarity, Adams actually used his sarcasm and wit to make some rather poignant statements about this silly thing called life and the manner in which we are going about living it. This may well be the funniest novel ever written.
2. Speaker for the Dead – Orson Scott Card
Speaker for the Dead is not meant for hard core sci-fi readers. The novel deals with complex issues such as racism, discrimination, guilt, redemption, compassion, understanding, and the power of truth. Thankfully the book doesn’t preach, but it simply show what happens in a clear and straight forward way, and then it allows the reader to make his or her own conclusions.
3. The Phantom Tollbooth – Norton Juster
This book is somewhere between Alice In Wonderland and a deluxe dictionary, this book is a wordy phenomena that will amuse kids and adults alike. Word jokes abound, alongside maths jokes and the quintessential quest.
4. The Giver – Lois Lowry
(Featured in 9 Thought Provoking Books Everyone Should Read)
Jonas lives in a perfect world where war, disease, and suffering have all been eradicated. The people have no worries or cares. The Community strives for “sameness,” in which everyone and everything are the same and equal. To help the Community function as a cohesive unit, each member is assigned a position in society. When Jonas turns twelve, the Community selects him to be the new “Receiver of Memories.” Only the “Giver” knows the truth and memories of the past, and now he must pass these memories on to Jonas.
5. The Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas
(Featured in 6 Books With Incredible Endings)
This book is a great example of perfect fiction writing. Its length is 5 times the average book and it still was not long enough! The story, the characters, the settings and the emotions will enthral you for days. You’ll be left with a total feeling of astonishment as you finish the book.
6. The Name of the Wind – Patrick Rothfuss
(Featured in 10 Books That Will Absolutely Blow Your Mind)
The Name of the Wind is very well written. The characters are real, the action is convincing and it has a compelling story to tell.
One of the best things about this book is that the magic is absolutely rooted in the book’s world. Nothing seems contrived; the consistency is excellent and the world is believable.
7.Slaughterhouse-Five – Kurt Vonnegut
(Featured in 8 Outstanding Classic Books Which Are Easy To Read)
Slaughterhouse Five follows a young man, Billy Pilgrim through his life. Billy believes aliens have abducted him. We assume that it’s through these aliens that he learns to time travel, a skill he frequently uses. The book changes the very way you think about time, life and death.
8. One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
(Featured in 8 Best Books Which Should NOT Be Turned Into A Movie)
A story which spans many generations, One Hundred Years Of Solitude is a shroud of mysteriousness and magical realism that make reading it something like stepping into a dream. There is no one protagonist. The family is the protagonist–the family, and the town. Almost all the characters have similar names, and they go through until the seventh generation. It would be a nightmare to make into a movie and to follow.
