5 Essential "Best Books" Lists: How Many Have You Read?

Movies and TV shows are more easily accessible than ever before. But nothing beats reading a book, does it? Ask any fan of Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings and they will swear by the books, not the screen adaptations.

"What should I read next?" is the most common question. And so, you google for lists of the best books. But "best" is subjective, after all. Finding the right list is important.

You loved the "best of" list challenges on The Greatest Books, but these are even better. Not only are these comprehensive lists, they also have novel ways to find something to read.

1. 200 Most Recommended Books on Reddit

Reddit has a thriving community of bibliophiles at r/books. You can always rely on them or the r/suggestmeabook community to find new books to read.

The best place to start is with this list of the 200 most recommended books on Reddit. It is helpfully broken into categories like thriller, mystery, comedy, history, self-help, and more. Click any category to see its contents, which includes a description of the book and where to get it.

There's also a new site, Takcek, which tracks the most-mentioned books on Reddit. Again, you'll find a massive list of categories, but the best part is you can also see what Redditors are saying about the book.

2. Wired's 18 Essential Geek Books

If you've landed here at MakeUseOf, we can safely assume you have some interest in geek culture. And there is no one more authoritative about it than Wired magazine.

A few years ago, Wired created a list of essential geek books to get anyone started on the road to true geekdom. This includes famous titles like The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to offbeat recommendations like the graphic novel The Watchmen.

After publishing the list, Wired invited readers to submit their own favorites. The result was a new list of essential geek books chosen by Wired readers.

That's 18 geeky books to get you started. And if you've already read those, here's an additional 11 geek books recommended by tech influencers.

3. Guide to the 100 Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books

There are several must-read science fiction books, but NPR went one step beyond and created a list of the 100 best science fiction and fantasy books. But we really love what Cliptank did with that list.

Sci-fi and fantasy is difficult to get into if you're new to it. So Cliptank made a flowchart with the 100 books, so that you can choose what to read next. Make sure you navigate to the center of the chart to start, looking for the image you see above.

Hover the mouse over any book's image to get an instant description. Click it to go directly to its Amazon page. It's brilliant, and best used with the right Kindle for you.

4. Historic Reads Plotted on a Timeline

To gain a better understanding of the world around you, you need to know its past. History is fascinating, whether you access it through books, movies, documentaries, or even educational historical podcasts. If you like books, then Historic Reads is a dream come true.

The site is a curated collection of some of the best books about history, whether it's the history of the universe, of the planet, of mankind, or specific events. All these books are plotted on a chronological timeline, from 3,500 BC to the 1990s.

You can quickly browse categories like military history books, ancient history, modern history, and so on. Again, clicking any book will take you to its Amazon page. Unfortunately, there's no description available in Historic Reads itself.

5. Stephen King's Recommended Books

Horror master Stephen King is one of the most accomplished and respected writers of our generation. His book On Writing is considered a textbook for budding authors. In that, King made a reading list of 92 books.

On the 10th anniversary of On Writing, King updated this list with several new titles he considers essential reading for anyone. There were 82 new books recommended by King.

Since then, King has taken to Twitter to suggest new reads. Aerogramme Writer's Studio put together his 22 new favorites. And then Bookbub updated the list with 16 new books recommended by Stephen King.