OH SWEET AND TERRIBLE WORDS FILL MY SOUL
Back to the List of Ranked Lists

My Top Fifty Favorite Novels

Important to note is that A) this is a favorites list, rather than a what I think are the best list (so the books here are what are emotionally important to me (there's a lot of childhood-significant Rick Riordan in there), as well as the prose, characters, stories, and worldbuilding I simply vibe with); and B) this list WILL be in constant motion (ie, expect the order to wildly change as time goes on and I read new stuff). You have been warned.

For some of these, I kinda stretch the definition of a novel, such as with Beowulf and Homer's works since those aren't really books in our modern sense. Basically any piece of story-based/fictional literature that's longer than like 50 pages, I'm gonna consider a book. Within reason.

All of these are books I enjoyed, though from about place 35 and up are books I LOVE. So just because a book isn't in the top ten doesn't mean I didn't absolutely adore it. I've read a LOT of books.

Also, you may notice there are many books by the same authors on here. I'm gradually fixing that by reading a wider range of book.

But hey, it's a good indication of who my favorite authors are.

  1. Always Coming Home by Ursula K. Le Guin
  2. To Green Angel Tower by Tad Williams
  3. Ulysses by James Joyce
  4. The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
  5. A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin
  6. The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
  7. The Navigator's Children by Tad Williams
  8. The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams
  9. Into the Narrowdark by Tad Williams
  10. The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien
  11. Empire of Grass by Tad Williams
  12. The Witchwood Crown by Tad Williams
  13. A Dance with Dragons by George R. R. Martin
  14. A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin
  15. The House of Hades by Rick Riordan
  16. A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin
  17. Unsong by Scott Alexander (the webnovel version)
  18. The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien
  19. Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
  20. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
  21. The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien
  22. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
  23. A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
  24. Stone of Farewell by Tad Williams
  25. The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
  26. Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
  27. Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson
  28. Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson
  29. The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan
  30. Beowulf by Unknown (translation by Seamus Heaney)
  31. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
  32. The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan
  33. (The) Odyssey by Homer
  34. (The) Iliad by Homer
  35. Dune by Frank Herbert
  36. The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu
  37. The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu
  38. Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
  39. Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson
  40. Brothers of the Wind by Tad Williams
  41. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
  42. Abaddon's Gate by James S. A. Corey
  43. The Heart of What Was Lost by Tad Williams
  44. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini
  45. Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
  46. Cibola Burn by James S. A. Corey
  47. The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan
  48. The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan
  49. Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey
  50. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan