Reading lists

All Reading Lists

Not another list of the most hyped books. Every reading list here is personal — built around what I actually read, what stayed with me, and what I would genuinely recommend. Organised by year, genre, theme, and author so you can find what you need without the noise.

This is a reading list for people who don’t want to be overwhelmed by all the available titles and options. I hope these reading lists with good books to read can give you some guidance in what to read next.

126 lists and guides, plus a page for every year since 1920

Browse by year

Best Books by Year

The books I keep thinking about, year by year: fiction, memoir and nonfiction.

202620252024202320222021202020192018201720162015

Also by year

Best fiction of 2025Best fiction of 2024Best nonfiction of 2024Book recommendations 2023Book recommendations 2022Book recommendations 2021
Every year from 1920 to 2026 → ↑ Back to the top

Browse by genre

Genre Reading Lists

Start here if you know what kind of book you want.

Best Fiction Books of All TimeBest Nonfiction BooksBest-Selling Books of All TimeBest-Selling Nonfiction of All TimeBest Memoirs and BiographiesThe Best Celebrity MemoirsBest Investigative JournalismThe Best Gonzo Journalism BooksThe Best Gonzo WritersBest True Crime BooksBest Oral History BooksBest Science BooksBest Philosophy BooksBest Business BooksBest Essays to ReadPersonal Essays, for When You Want Something RealBest Short Story CollectionsBest Absurdist BooksThe Best Banned BooksBest Nonfiction About CultsErotic Stories by WomenAuthors Who Wrote Under Pseudonyms
↑ Back to the top

Browse by theme

Books by Theme and Topic

Looking for something specific? These lists are built around a feeling, a question or a subject.

Psychology and inner life

Best Psychology BooksBooks About Mental HealthBooks on Understanding TraumaBest Attachment Style BooksBooks for Emotional IntelligenceBooks About IdentityBooks About Memory LossSpirituality and Humanity

Relationships and emotions

Books About LoveBooks About Obsessive LoveBooks About RelationshipsBooks About FriendshipBooks About SistersBooks About BrothersBooks About Family SecretsBooks About EstrangementBooks About ForgivenessBooks About GriefBooks About DeathBooks About HopeBooks About ResilienceBooks About Obsession

Thinking and communicating

Books for Critical ThinkingBooks for Decision MakingBooks on CommunicationNonviolent CommunicationBooks on Lying and Secrets

Creativity, work and self-development

Best Books on WritingBest Books on ScreenwritingBest Self-Improvement BooksBooks About AmbitionBooks About DisciplineBooks About SleepBest Books on Parenting

History, society and the world

Holocaust Survivor BooksBooks About Women in WarConspiracy Theory BooksBooks on the Menendez BrothersBooks on FameBooks About HollywoodBooks About Child Stardom

For women

Best Books for WomenBooks Every Woman Should ReadSelf-Help Books for WomenBooks by Female Authors
↑ Back to the top

Browse by country

Writers by Country

Where a writer comes from, and what that does to the books.

Best American AuthorsBooks by American AuthorsBest African American AuthorsBest British AuthorsBest Irish AuthorsBest Canadian AuthorsBest French AuthorsBest German AuthorsBest Russian AuthorsBest Indian AuthorsBooks by Asian Authors
All authors by country → ↑ Back to the top

Browse by prize

Literary Prizes

Every winner, and the ones worth reading.

The Booker PrizeThe International BookerThe Pulitzer PrizeThe National Book AwardThe Women’s Prize for FictionThe Women’s Prize for Non-FictionThe Nobel Prize in LiteratureThe Prix GoncourtThe Booker Prize 2026
Every prize, with the calendar → ↑ Back to the top

If you liked…

Books Like…

Loved a book and want something similar? Start here.

Books Like The Great GatsbyBooks Like EducatedBooks Like The ChoiceBooks Like Poor ThingsBooks Like LolitaBooks Like Bad BloodBooks Like Lord of the FliesBooks Like Man’s Search for MeaningBooks Like The Body Keeps the ScoreBooks Like The Power of NowBooks Like I Am MalalaBooks Like Letters to a Young Poet
Every Books Like list → ↑ Back to the top

Browse by author

Books by Author

Writers I have read and return to, each with a page of their own.

Alasdair GrayAlan WattsAnthony BourdainCarol DweckEckhart TolleEdith EgerEsther PerelF. Scott FitzgeraldHunter S. ThompsonKurt VonnegutLouis TherouxMalala YousafzaiMarcus AureliusMichelle ObamaOprah WinfreyRainer Maria RilkeShirley JacksonSteven PressfieldViktor FranklVirginia WoolfWilliam Golding
All author guides, A to Z → ↑ Back to the top

Frequently Asked Questions

How many reading lists are on lisanneswart.com?

This page links to 126 lists and guides, plus a separate list for every year from 1920 to 2026. They are grouped by year, genre, theme, country, prize and author.

How are the reading lists chosen?

Every list is personal: built around what I actually read, what stayed with me, and what I would genuinely recommend, rather than around what is most hyped.

Where should I start?

If you know the kind of book you want, start with the genre lists. If you are after a feeling or a question, the theme lists are built for that. And if you loved one book, the Books Like lists start from there.

Keep exploring

By yearBest Books by YearEvery year from 1920 to 2026. PrizesLiterary PrizesEvery winner, and the ones worth reading. DirectoryAuthorsEvery author guide, with the full body of work. If you loved one writerAuthors LikeFind the next writer after the one you finished.

From the bookshelf

Hand-picked, not algorithmically sorted — books worth your time.

Browse every book review, reading list and recommendation on the full bookshelf.

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