The Best of "Best Book" Lists

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.

The Frozen River

by Ariel Lawhon

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Conflict, Shame & Pride, Femininity, Gender Identity, Indigenous Identity, Masculinity, Sexual Identity, Birth, Animals, Family, Mothers, Social Class, Colonialism, Community, Equality, Justice, Power & Greed, Truth & Lies

Tags Historical Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Gender & Feminism

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The Future

by Naomi Alderman

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Future, Appearance & Reality, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Science & Technology

Tags Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror & Suspense, LGBTQ+

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The Gene

by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Publication year 2016

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Family, Politics & Government, Fate, Science & Technology

Tags Science & Nature, Health, World History

The Gene: An Intimate History (2016) by Siddhartha Mukherjee weaves a family narrative with the tale of the evolution of genetics. Informed by Mukherjee’s experience as an oncologist and researcher, the book showcases both the life-changing potential, as well as danger, of gene-editing technologies. Mukherjee uses the cautionary tale of eugenics to examine what the power to change the genetic structure of human beings means in a fraught, fragmented world. Refuting notions such as biological... Read The Gene Summary

The Gilded Ones

by Namina Forna

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Shame & Pride, Gender Identity

Tags Fantasy, Magical Realism, Action & Adventure, Coming of Age, Trauma & Abuse, Gender & Feminism, Diversity, Race & Racism, African Literature, Science Fiction, Romance

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The Girl On The Train

by Paula Hawkins

Publication year 2015

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Loneliness, Conflict, Fear, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Love, Memory, Masculinity, The Past, Appearance & Reality, Truth & Lies, Marriage

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Trauma & Abuse, 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

The Girls

by Emma Cline

Publication year 2016

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Sexual Identity, Coming of Age, Power & Greed

Tags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age, Psychological Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Modern Classic Fiction, World History

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The Girl Who Played With Fire

by Stieg Larsson

Publication year 2006

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fear, Hate & Anger, Revenge, Femininity, Mental Health, The Past, Politics & Government, Justice, Loyalty & Betrayal, Safety & Danger, Trust & Doubt

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Trauma & Abuse, 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

The Girl with All the Gifts

by M. R. Carey

Publication year 2014

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Community, Trust & Doubt, Childhood & Youth

Tags Science Fiction, Horror & Suspense, 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

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

by Stieg Larsson

Publication year 2005

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Family, Social Class, Justice, Truth & Lies

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Psychological Fiction, Scandinavian Literature, Gender & Feminism, Trauma & Abuse, 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

The Giver of Stars

by Jojo Moyes

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Family

Tags Historical Fiction, World History, 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

The Glass Hotel

by Emily St. John Mandel

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Power & Greed, Economics, Justice

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Business & Economics, Arts & Culture, Social Class, Gender & Feminism, American Literature, Horror & Suspense, Modern Classic Fiction

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The Golden Gate

by Amy Chua

Publication year 2023

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Race, Power & Greed, Justice, Immigration, Equality, Femininity, Mental Health, Truth & Lies, Social Class

Tags Historical Fiction, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Race & Racism, Love & Sexuality, Social Class

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The Golden Notebook

by Doris Lessing

Publication year 1962

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Gender Identity, Mental Health, Sexual Identity, Self Discovery, Nostalgia, Literature

Tags Gender & Feminism, Classic Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Postmodernism, British Literature, Depression & Suicide, Love & Sexuality, Mental Illness, Relationships, Cold War, Colonialism & Postcolonialism, Women`s Studies, World History

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