50 Books to Read Before You Die

This is one of the 759 lists we use to generate our main The Greatest Books list.

About this list

Barnes and Noble, 55 Books

Barnes and Noble's selection of the 50 most essential books.

This list was originally published in 2015 and was added to this site over 11 years ago.

View: List Grid Table

Cover of 'The Lord Of The Rings' by J. R. R. Tolkien

The Lord Of The Rings

J. R. R. Tolkien

Cover of 'Nineteen Eighty Four' by George Orwell

Nineteen Eighty Four

Cover of 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice

Cover of 'The Grapes of Wrath' by John Steinbeck

The Grapes of Wrath

Cover of 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird

Cover of 'Jane Eyre' by Charlotte Brontë

Jane Eyre

Charlotte Brontë

Cover of 'Wuthering Heights' by Emily Brontë

Wuthering Heights

Cover of 'A Passage to India' by E. M. Forster

A Passage to India

Cover of 'Lord of the Flies' by William Golding

Lord of the Flies

William Golding

Cover of 'Hamlet' by William Shakespeare

Hamlet

William Shakespeare

Cover of 'A Bend in the River' by V. S. Naipaul

A Bend in the River

Cover of 'The Great Gatsby' by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Cover of 'The Catcher in the Rye' by J. D. Salinger

The Catcher in the Rye

Cover of 'The Bell Jar' by Sylvia Plath

The Bell Jar

Cover of 'Brave New World' by Aldous Huxley

Brave New World

Cover of 'The Diary of a Young Girl' by Anne Frank

The Diary of a Young Girl

Cover of 'Don Quixote' by Miguel de Cervantes

Don Quixote

Miguel de Cervantes

Cover of 'The Bible' by Unknown

The Bible

Cover of 'The Canterbury Tales' by Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales

Geoffrey Chaucer

Cover of 'Ulysses' by James Joyce

Ulysses

Cover of 'The Quiet American' by Graham Greene

The Quiet American

Cover of 'Birdsong' by Sebastian Faulks

Birdsong

Sebastian Faulks

Cover of 'Money' by Martin Amis

Money

Cover of 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' by J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Cover of 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' by J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Cover of 'Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets' by J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets

Cover of 'Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban' by J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban

Cover of 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' by J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Cover of 'Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone' by J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone

Cover of 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' by J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Cover of 'Moby-Dick' by Herman Melville

Moby-Dick

Herman Melville

Cover of 'The Wind in the Willows' by Kenneth Grahame

The Wind in the Willows

Kenneth Grahame

Cover of 'His Dark Materials' by Philip Pullman

His Dark Materials

Cover of 'Anna Karenina' by Leo Tolstoy

Anna Karenina

Cover of 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Cover of 'Rebecca' by Daphne du Maurier

Rebecca

Daphne du Maurier

Cover of 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time' by Mark Haddon

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

Cover of 'On the Road' by Jack Kerouac

On the Road

Cover of 'Heart of Darkness' by Joseph Conrad

Heart of Darkness

Cover of 'The Way We Live Now' by Anthony Trollope

The Way We Live Now

Anthony Trollope

Cover of 'The Stranger' by Albert Camus

The Stranger

Cover of 'The Color Purple' by Alice Walker

The Color Purple

Cover of 'Life of Pi' by Yann Martel

Life of Pi

Cover of 'Frankenstein' by Mary Shelley

Frankenstein

Cover of 'War of the Worlds' by H. G. Wells

War of the Worlds

Cover of 'Stories of Ernest Hemingway' by Ernest Hemingway

Stories of Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway

Cover of 'Gulliver's Travels' by Jonathan Swift

Gulliver's Travels

Cover of 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens

A Christmas Carol

Charles Dickens

Cover of 'Robinson Crusoe' by Daniel Defoe

Robinson Crusoe

Cover of 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' by Ken Kesey

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Cover of 'Catch-22' by Joseph Heller

Catch-22

Cover of 'The Count of Monte Cristo' by Alexandre Dumas

The Count of Monte Cristo

Alexandre Dumas

Cover of 'Memoirs of a Geisha' by Arthur Golden

Memoirs of a Geisha

Cover of 'The Divine Comedy' by Dante Alighieri

The Divine Comedy

Dante Alighieri

Cover of 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' by Oscar Wilde

The Picture of Dorian Gray