The best books by genre, era and decade

The best books in every genre, era and decade, from our ranking of 2,819 books. Start with the Must-Read 50.

Genres

• The best fantasy books 461 ranked
• The best science fiction books 313 ranked
• The best mysteries and thrillers 555 ranked
• The best horror books 86 ranked
• The best romances 233 ranked
• The best historical novels 116 ranked
• The best literary novels 309 ranked
• The best young adult books 222 ranked
• The best memoirs and biographies 290 ranked
• The best history books 198 ranked
• The best science and ideas books 119 ranked
• The best self-help and business books 85 ranked
• The best humor books 35 ranked
• The best politics books 44 ranked

Eras

• The best new books 481 ranked
• The best modern books 1,575 ranked
• The best classic books 763 ranked

Decades

• The best books of the 1900s 20 ranked
• The best books of the 1920s 36 ranked
• The best books of the 1930s 41 ranked
• The best books of the 1940s 50 ranked
• The best books of the 1950s 75 ranked
• The best books of the 1960s 92 ranked
• The best books of the 1970s 131 ranked
• The best books of the 1980s 202 ranked
• The best books of the 1990s 273 ranked
• The best books of the 2000s 491 ranked
• The best books of the 2010s 737 ranked
• The best books of the 2020s 555 ranked

Recent years

• The best books of 2020 74 ranked
• The best books of 2021 106 ranked
• The best books of 2022 86 ranked
• The best books of 2023 84 ranked
• The best books of 2024 74 ranked
• The best books of 2025 101 ranked
• The best books of 2026 30 ranked