The Best of "Best Book" Lists Collection gathers together a selection of popular bestsellers and fan favorites that frequently appear on "Best of" lists. This diverse Collection includes picks to suit a range of age groups and genre preferences, from otherworldly fantasy to gripping crime thrillers.
Publication year 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Life/Time: The Future, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology
Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Fantasy, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, LGBTQ
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Gender
Tags Fantasy, Magical Realism, Action / Adventure, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Gender / Feminism, Diversity, Race / Racism, African Literature, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Romance
Publication year 2015
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Masculinity, Life/Time: The Past, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Relationships: Marriage
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Addiction / Substance Abuse, Modern Classic Fiction
Paula Hawkins wrote The Girl on the Train over the course of six months in 2014. Hawkins, an Oxford-educated journalist and writer, drew on her experience as a reporter in London to structure the novel and describe its locations. Drawing immediate comparisons to Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, The Girl on the Train had similar performance, debuting at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list in 2015, and remaining there for 13 consecutive weeks... Read The Girl On The Train Summary
Publication year 2016
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Sexuality, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed
Tags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Psychological Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, History: World
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Fate
Tags Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Romance, Mythology, Fairy Tale / Folklore, Asian Literature, History: World
Publication year 2006
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Mental Health, Life/Time: The Past, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Scandinavian Literature
The Girl Who Played With Fire is the 2006 sequel to Stieg Larsson’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2005). As a crime fiction novel, the story focuses on solving the murders of Dag Svensson, Mia Johansson, and Nils Erik Bjurman, for which the series protagonist, Lisbeth Salander, is the prime suspect. In addition to tracking the murder investigations, the novel examines The Impact of Trauma on Personal Development, The Role of Appearances and Media... Read The Girl Who Played With Fire Summary
Publication year 2014
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth
Tags Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Grief / Death, Science / Nature, Relationships, British Literature, Fantasy
M.R. Carey’s The Girl with All the Gifts began as a short story (“Iphigenia in Aulis”) and was adapted into a 2016 film for which Carey also wrote the screenplay. The novel, which Carey wrote concurrently, was published in 2014. It is a post-apocalyptic horror tale that fits uneasily into the zombie/science fiction literary genre. While The Girl with All the Gifts incorporates plenty of genre tropes—cannibalism, disease, high-speed chases, feeding frenzies—the core of the... Read The Girl with All the Gifts Summary
Publication year 2005
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Gender, Relationships: Family, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Scandinavian Literature, Gender / Feminism, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Modern Classic Fiction
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is an international bestseller by writer and journalist Stieg Larsson. The crime thriller was published in Sweden shortly after his death in 2005 with the original Swedish title, Män som hatar kvinnor, or Men Who Hate Women. The book won the 2006 Glass Key Award for best crime novel in its native Sweden, and after the English translation was released it received the 2008 Boeke Prize (South Africa), Crime... Read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Summary
Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family
Tags Historical Fiction, History: World, Romance
The Giver of Stars (2019) by JoJo Moyes is a work of women’s fiction that can also be categorized as historical fiction. Not long after its publication, The Giver of Stars became embroiled in controversy when another author, Kim Michele Richardson, noted similarities between her book about the WPA Pack Horse Librarians, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, and Moyes’s novel. Moyes is the bestselling author of Me Before You, and The Giver of Stars... Read The Giver of Stars Summary
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Society: Economics, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Business / Economics, Arts / Culture, Class, Gender / Feminism, American Literature, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Identity: Femininity, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Marriage, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, History: World, Historical Fiction
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies
Tags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 1962
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Gender, Identity: Mental Health, Identity: Sexuality, Self Discovery, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Values/Ideas: Literature
Tags Gender / Feminism, Classic Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Post Modernism, British Literature, Depression / Suicide, Love / Sexuality, Mental Illness, Relationships, Cold War, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), History: World
Considered the most influential of Doris Lessing’s many novels, The Golden Notebook explores the development of a young writer. Anna Wulf has published one novel, Frontiers of War, to great acclaim, but she now finds herself uncomfortable with what she sees as its sentimentality and romanticization of war. Thus, she remains mired in a kind of writer’s block. She still writes in her notebooks, but she cannot bring herself to return to writing novels—especially in... Read The Golden Notebook Summary
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Siblings, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Identity: Mental Health, Identity: Femininity, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Mothers, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Beauty, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Diversity, Grief / Death, Mental Illness, Parenting, Relationships, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Modern Classic Fiction
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Identity: Indigenous, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Natural World: Animals, Natural World: Environment, Self Discovery, Society: Community
Tags Fantasy, Action / Adventure, Animals
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Identity: Race, Society: Colonialism, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice
Tags Modern Classic Fiction, History: World, Historical Fiction
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Society: Colonialism, Identity: Indigenous, Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality
Tags Historical Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Gothic Literature, Mystery / Crime Fiction, History: World, Fantasy
Publication year 2014
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Relationships: Teams, Society: Economics, Emotions/Behavior: Courage
Tags Business / Economics, Leadership/Organization/Management, Science / Nature, Self Help, Biography
Publication year 2021
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Relationships: Family, Relationships: Siblings, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt
Tags Mystery / Crime Fiction, Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Romance, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Class, Modern Classic Fiction, Fantasy, Action / Adventure
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Identity: Gender, Life/Time: The Past, Society: War
Tags Romance, History: World