Looking for the best fiction books of all time? You’re in the right place!
Why include a list of the best fiction books of all time on a blog that’s mostly devoted to nonfiction book recommendations?
Partly because there’s more to life than reading instruction manuals.
But mostly because devouring the best nonfiction AND fiction books is what keeps reading enjoyable and exciting. And keeping reading enjoyable and exciting is vital to reading more overall; it’s the secret to a voracious, sustainable and life-long passion for books.
The most impressive people I know always have at least one nonfiction and one fiction book going at the same time. That way, whether it’s an hour in bed, or 5 minutes in a line, they always have something perfect for their time, mood and appetite.
If you don’t normally read fiction books – give them a chance. You’ll learn as much (if not more) about being human from the best novels and poems than from hundreds of their nonfiction counterparts.
And if you already love fiction? Then you’re in the right place. I hope you find something below that touches and lightens your soul.
Here’s the list of the 100 best fiction books of all time…
(P.s., If you enjoy this list, don’t forget to check out my lists of the best fantasy books of all time and best sci-fi books of all time.)
The 100 Best Fiction Books Of All Time
Why these best fiction books and not others? The best fiction books of all time below are the top picks from my long list of hundreds of books, ranked by a combination of Goodreads rating, number of Goodreads reviews and first publication date. The aim is to surface what’s most loved, what’s most popular and what’s proven timelessly relevant.
Think something’s missing? Leave a comment or email me and I’ll add it to the next round of updates. I honestly love hearing from you so please, do get in touch!
- Pride and Prejudice (1813), Jane Austen
279 pages. Rated 4.3 over 2,797,800 reviews on Goodreads. - The Count of Monte Cristo (1844), Alexandre Dumas
1,276 pages. Rated 4.3 over 714,300 reviews on Goodreads. - The Brothers Karamazov (1879), Fyodor Dostoyevsky
796 pages. Rated 4.3 over 226,400 reviews on Goodreads. - The Complete Grimm’s Fairy Tales (1812), Jacob Grimm
880 pages. Rated 4.3 over 140,400 reviews on Goodreads. - Anne of Green Gables (1908), L.M. Montgomery
320 pages. Rated 4.3 over 679,800 reviews on Goodreads. - Crime and Punishment (1866), Fyodor Dostoyevsky
671 pages. Rated 4.2 over 580,300 reviews on Goodreads. - The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892), Arthur Conan Doyle
246 pages. Rated 4.3 over 228,500 reviews on Goodreads. - The Hobbit, or There and Back Again (1937), J.R.R. Tolkien
366 pages. Rated 4.3 over 2,835,700 reviews on Goodreads. - Gone with the Wind (1936), Margaret Mitchell
1,037 pages. Rated 4.3 over 1,037,700 reviews on Goodreads. - The Little Prince (1943), Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
93 pages. Rated 4.3 over 1,232,400 reviews on Goodreads. - Les Misérables (1862), Victor Hugo
1,463 pages. Rated 4.2 over 638,600 reviews on Goodreads. - The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1) (1954), J.R.R. Tolkien
1,216 pages. Rated 4.4 over 2,242,600 reviews on Goodreads. - The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings, #2) (1954), J.R.R. Tolkien
322 pages. Rated 4.5 over 701,500 reviews on Goodreads. - The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings, #3) (1955), J.R.R. Tolkien
404 pages. Rated 4.5 over 664,100 reviews on Goodreads. - The Complete Fairy Tales (1835), Hans Christian Andersen
803 pages. Rated 4.3 over 118,800 reviews on Goodreads. - Persuasion (1817), Jane Austen
249 pages. Rated 4.1 over 495,800 reviews on Goodreads. - Jane Eyre (1847), Charlotte Brontë
507 pages. Rated 4.1 over 1,538,900 reviews on Goodreads. - And Then There Were None (1939), Agatha Christie
264 pages. Rated 4.3 over 730,900 reviews on Goodreads. - Shakespeare’s Sonnets (1609), William Shakespeare
488 pages. Rated 4.3 over 79,300 reviews on Goodreads. - East of Eden (1952), John Steinbeck
601 pages. Rated 4.4 over 407,500 reviews on Goodreads. - Sense and Sensibility (1811), Jane Austen
409 pages. Rated 4.1 over 912,700 reviews on Goodreads. - The Essential Rumi (1273), Rumi
416 pages. Rated 4.4 over 35,400 reviews on Goodreads. - To Kill a Mockingbird (1960), Harper Lee
324 pages. Rated 4.3 over 4,240,100 reviews on Goodreads. - The Importance of Being Earnest (1895), Oscar Wilde
76 pages. Rated 4.2 over 290,100 reviews on Goodreads. - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #1) (1950), C.S. Lewis
206 pages. Rated 4.2 over 2,085,000 reviews on Goodreads. - A Study in Scarlet (1887), Arthur Conan Doyle
123 pages. Rated 4.2 over 299,900 reviews on Goodreads. - Rebecca (1938), Daphne du Maurier
449 pages. Rated 4.2 over 417,800 reviews on Goodreads. - The Prophet (1923), Kahlil Gibran
127 pages. Rated 4.2 over 219,400 reviews on Goodreads. - The Secret Garden (1911), Frances Hodgson Burnett
331 pages. Rated 4.1 over 839,600 reviews on Goodreads. - 1984 (1949), George Orwell
237 pages. Rated 4.2 over 3,055,100 reviews on Goodreads. - Little Women (1868), Louisa May Alcott
449 pages. Rated 4.1 over 1,583,500 reviews on Goodreads. - Hamlet (1600), William Shakespeare
289 pages. Rated 4.0 over 691,700 reviews on Goodreads. - Much Ado About Nothing (1598), William Shakespeare
246 pages. Rated 4.1 over 206,400 reviews on Goodreads. - The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1894), Arthur Conan Doyle
378 pages. Rated 4.3 over 77,700 reviews on Goodreads. - The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890), Oscar Wilde
367 pages. Rated 4.1 over 893,500 reviews on Goodreads. - The Screwtape Letters (1942), C.S. Lewis
223 pages. Rated 4.2 over 313,700 reviews on Goodreads. - The Godfather (1964), Mario Puzo
448 pages. Rated 4.4 over 311,000 reviews on Goodreads. - The Idiot (1869), Fyodor Dostoyevsky
667 pages. Rated 4.2 over 120,900 reviews on Goodreads. - War and Peace (1867), Leo Tolstoy
1,392 pages. Rated 4.1 over 248,600 reviews on Goodreads. - A Christmas Carol (1843), Charles Dickens
104 pages. Rated 4.1 over 572,000 reviews on Goodreads. - Charlotte’s Web (1952), E.B. White
184 pages. Rated 4.2 over 1,337,500 reviews on Goodreads. - The Three Musketeers (1844), Alexandre Dumas
625 pages. Rated 4.1 over 261,600 reviews on Goodreads. - The Richest Man in Babylon (1926), George S. Clason (FREE Summary)
THE classic parable on how to acquire money, how to not lose money and how to make money multiply – by serial entrepreneur and author, George S. Clason.
194 pages. Rated 4.3 over 104,500 reviews on Goodreads. - Aesop’s Fables (-560), Aesop
306 pages. Rated 4.1 over 111,300 reviews on Goodreads. - The Divine Comedy (1320), Dante Alighieri
798 pages. Rated 4.1 over 108,100 reviews on Goodreads. - Where the Wild Things Are (1963), Maurice Sendak
37 pages. Rated 4.2 over 774,900 reviews on Goodreads. - Anna Karenina (1877), Leo Tolstoy
964 pages. Rated 4.1 over 627,700 reviews on Goodreads. - Dune (Dune Chronicles, #1) (1965), Frank Herbert
604 pages. Rated 4.2 over 728,700 reviews on Goodreads. - I, Robot (Robot, #0.1) (1950), Isaac Asimov
224 pages. Rated 4.2 over 270,300 reviews on Goodreads. - Emma (1815), Jane Austen
474 pages. Rated 4.0 over 606,400 reviews on Goodreads. - The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902), Arthur Conan Doyle
256 pages. Rated 4.1 over 230,800 reviews on Goodreads. - Foundation (Foundation, #1) (1951), Isaac Asimov
244 pages. Rated 4.2 over 399,100 reviews on Goodreads. - The Flowers of Evil (1857), Charles Baudelaire
464 pages. Rated 4.3 over 45,400 reviews on Goodreads. - One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1962), Ken Kesey
325 pages. Rated 4.2 over 604,300 reviews on Goodreads. - The Great Divorce (1945), C.S. Lewis
146 pages. Rated 4.3 over 101,700 reviews on Goodreads. - Second Foundation (Foundation, #3) (1953), Isaac Asimov
256 pages. Rated 4.3 over 139,900 reviews on Goodreads. - The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson (1890), Emily Dickinson
716 pages. Rated 4.2 over 68,500 reviews on Goodreads. - The Master and Margarita (1967), Mikhail Bulgakov
335 pages. Rated 4.3 over 222,100 reviews on Goodreads. - Peter Pan (1904), J.M. Barrie
176 pages. Rated 4.1 over 252,900 reviews on Goodreads. - The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1905), Arthur Conan Doyle
455 pages. Rated 4.3 over 49,500 reviews on Goodreads. - The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales (1839), Edgar Allan Poe
400 pages. Rated 4.2 over 66,100 reviews on Goodreads. - A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1595), William Shakespeare
298 pages. Rated 3.9 over 426,600 reviews on Goodreads. - Foundation and Empire (Foundation, #2) (1952), Isaac Asimov
256 pages. Rated 4.2 over 151,000 reviews on Goodreads. - Notes from Underground (1864), Fyodor Dostoyevsky
136 pages. Rated 4.2 over 70,500 reviews on Goodreads. - Dracula (1897), Bram Stoker
488 pages. Rated 4.0 over 879,700 reviews on Goodreads. - The Phantom Tollbooth (1961), Norton Juster
256 pages. Rated 4.2 over 226,000 reviews on Goodreads. - Leaves of Grass (1855), Walt Whitman
624 pages. Rated 4.1 over 85,800 reviews on Goodreads. - Demons (1872), Fyodor Dostoyevsky
733 pages. Rated 4.3 over 35,100 reviews on Goodreads. - The Arabian Nights (800), Anonymous
1,049 pages. Rated 4.1 over 71,700 reviews on Goodreads. - Ender’s Game (Ender’s Saga, #1) (1985), Orson Scott Card
324 pages. Rated 4.3 over 1,109,700 reviews on Goodreads. - Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Alice’s Adventures, #1) (1865), Lewis Carroll
96 pages. Rated 4.0 over 232,200 reviews on Goodreads. - The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker’s Guide, #1) (1979), Douglas Adams
193 pages. Rated 4.2 over 1,402,600 reviews on Goodreads. - Ficciones (1944), Jorge Luis Borges
174 pages. Rated 4.5 over 45,800 reviews on Goodreads. - Twelfth Night (1601), William Shakespeare
220 pages. Rated 4.0 over 151,200 reviews on Goodreads. - Roots (1976), Alex Haley
The Saga of an American Family
729 pages. Rated 4.4 over 140,200 reviews on Goodreads. - Selected Stories of Anton Chekhov (1903), Anton Chekhov
467 pages. Rated 4.4 over 29,000 reviews on Goodreads. - Shōgun (Asian Saga, #1) (1975), James Clavell
1,152 pages. Rated 4.4 over 140,000 reviews on Goodreads. - Cat’s Cradle (1963), Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
306 pages. Rated 4.2 over 334,900 reviews on Goodreads. - Through the Looking-Glass (Alice’s Adventures, #2) (1871), Lewis Carroll
228 pages. Rated 4.1 over 113,300 reviews on Goodreads. - Macbeth (1606), William Shakespeare
349 pages. Rated 3.9 over 637,400 reviews on Goodreads. - The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1831), Victor Hugo
510 pages. Rated 4.0 over 161,900 reviews on Goodreads. - Siddhartha (1922), Hermann Hesse
152 pages. Rated 4.0 over 542,800 reviews on Goodreads. - I, Claudius (Claudius, #1) (1934), Robert Graves
468 pages. Rated 4.3 over 50,900 reviews on Goodreads. - Watchmen (1987), Alan Moore
416 pages. Rated 4.4 over 472,500 reviews on Goodreads. - The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Chronicles of Narnia, #2) (1952), C.S. Lewis
248 pages. Rated 4.1 over 377,900 reviews on Goodreads. - The Iliad (-720), Homer
683 pages. Rated 3.9 over 336,000 reviews on Goodreads. - The Thorn Birds (1977), Colleen McCullough
692 pages. Rated 4.2 over 302,200 reviews on Goodreads. - David Copperfield (1849), Charles Dickens
882 pages. Rated 4.0 over 191,400 reviews on Goodreads. - Brave New World (1932), Aldous Huxley
288 pages. Rated 4.0 over 1,412,600 reviews on Goodreads. - His Last Bow (Sherlock Holmes, #8) (1917), Arthur Conan Doyle
256 pages. Rated 4.3 over 34,600 reviews on Goodreads. - The Complete Poems (1820), John Keats
416 pages. Rated 4.3 over 20,700 reviews on Goodreads. - Stoner (1965), John Williams
278 pages. Rated 4.3 over 89,700 reviews on Goodreads. - The Scarlet Pimpernel (1905), Emmuska Orczy
182 pages. Rated 4.1 over 118,000 reviews on Goodreads. - The Pillars of the Earth (Kingsbridge, #1) (1989), Ken Follett
973 pages. Rated 4.3 over 616,000 reviews on Goodreads. - Flowers for Algernon (1966), Daniel Keyes
216 pages. Rated 4.1 over 469,100 reviews on Goodreads. - The Pilgrim’s Progress (1678), John Bunyan
324 pages. Rated 4.0 over 100,600 reviews on Goodreads. - A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1) (1996), George R.R. Martin
835 pages. Rated 4.5 over 1,966,500 reviews on Goodreads. - The Stand (1990), Stephen King
1,153 pages. Rated 4.3 over 579,800 reviews on Goodreads. - Othello (1603), William Shakespeare
314 pages. Rated 3.9 over 299,600 reviews on Goodreads. - Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883), Friedrich Nietzsche
327 pages. Rated 4.1 over 101,200 reviews on Goodreads.
Enjoyed this list of the best fiction books of all time? You might also like…
II. Best Books Of All Time
These are the overall best books to read (by type).
III. Best Nonfiction Books (A-Z)
These are the best nonfiction books to read (by topic).
IV. Best Fiction Books (A-Z)
These are the best fiction books to read (by genre).
Or, you can read all my book recommendations.
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