My Massive List of Must Read Books (of All Genres!)
A friend recently messaged me on Instagram asking if I had a "must read" list, and it got me thinking about what I would recommended as essential reading. I originally tried to narrow it down to like 20 books total, but I quickly realized I love FAR too many books for that. It's been a fun challenge to pull this list together though-- I think it's such a great way to sift through everything I've read and really highlight my favorites -- the books that have lingered with me, the books I've returned to repeatedly, the books that have forever changed me in some way. Basically, this list includes the books that have impacted me enough that they feel like a small (or big) part of me -- I've read many, MANY more books that I've loved that aren't on these lists, so this is really just the ones that have been specifically meaningful and influential to me.
Please know that it was SO HARD to narrow even these lists to just 10 per genre... I didn't want to overwhelm you TOO much, but I tried to include a variety of styles, topics, authors, and such. If you want to see everything I have read and everything I'm currently reading (and my reviews), you can find them sorted on my Goodreads shelves.
ps-- there are affiliate links here!
If you want to download a printable version of this list to check off books as you read them, click here!
Here is my massive list of must reads:
Faith:
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming by Henri J. M. Nouwen
Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World by Bob Goff
Learning to Walk in the Dark by Barbara Brown Taylor
Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott
Bandersnatch: An Invitation to Explore Your Unconventional Soul by Erika Morrison
Jesus Feminist: An Invitation to Revisit the Bible's View of Women by Sarah Bessey
A Prayer Journal by Flannery O'Connor
The Dream of You: Let Go of Broken Identities and Live the Life You Were Made For by Jo Saxton
Recent Fiction:
The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
This is How it Always Is by Laurie Frankel
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
The Martian by Andy Weir
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
Classic Fiction:
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Personality:
The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile
Better than Before: What I Learned about Making and Breaking Habits-- to Sleep More, Quit Sugar, Procrastinate Less, and Generally Build a Happier Life by Gretchen Rubin
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
Enneagram Transformations by Don Richard Riso
Using the Enneagram in Prayer: A Contemplative Guide by Suzanne Zuercher
The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How to Make Your Life Better (and Other People's Lives Better, Too) by Gretchen Rubin
The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You by Elaine N. Aron
Creativity/Work/Art:
The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks & Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art by Madeleine L'Engle
The Crossroads of Should and Must: Find and Follow Your Passion by Elle Luna
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You about Being Creative by Austin Kleon
Intentional living:
Simple Matters: Living with Less and Ending Up With More by Erin Boyle
The Art of Stillness: Adventures in Going Nowhere by Pico Iyer
Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brene Brown
Vegan Freak: Being Vegan in a Non-Vegan World by Bob Torres
Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver
Chasing Slow: Courage to Journey off the Beaten Path by Erin Loechner
Notes from a Blue Bike: The Art of Living Intentionally in a Chaotic World by Tsh Oxenreider
In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan
Bread and Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table with Recipes by Shauna Niequist
The Myth of Equality: Uncovering the Roots of Injustice and Privilege by Ken Wytsma
Poetry/Prayers:
Leavings: Poems by Wendell Berry
Devotions by Mary Oliver
A Prayer Journal by Flannery O'Connor
Selected Poems by Emily Dickinson
A Small Porch: Sabbath Poems 2014 and 2015 by Wendell Berry
Guerrillas of Grace: Prayers for the Battle by Ted Loder
Flight: Of Butterflies and Robins and Other Winged Dreams by Anne Poarch
Zion by T.J. Jarrett
Rilke's Book of Hours: Love Poems to God by Rainer Maria Rilke
A Cry for Mercy: Prayers from the Genesee by Henri Nouwen
Biographies/Memoirs:
If You Find This Letter: My Journey to Find Purpose Through Hundreds of Letters to Strangers by Hannah Brencher
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Surprised by Oxford: A Memoir by Carolyn Weber
Coming Clean: A Story of Faith by Seth Haines
Wild in the Hollow: On Chasing Desire and Finding the Broken Way Home by Amber C. Haines
Flannery: A Life of Flannery O'Connor by Brad Gooch
If You Feel Too Much: Thoughts on Things Found and Lost and Hoped for by Jamie Tworkowski
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
