My Top Ten Books of All Time (As of 2024) 

Wow, huge props putting Watership Down on the list. One of my all-time favorite books, and every time I mention it, nobody’s ever heard of it.

I just started binging your channel and was so excited to see, literally immediately after finishing your 7 books in 7 days video, that you posted a new one 30 seconds ago. Wild. New fan

Watership Down! One of my all time faves! So happy to see it acknowledged here.

Oh, thank you for recognizing Watership Down. I read and re-read that book about 4 times! I was around when that first came out. Yeah, I'm THAT old 😂 i bought it with my babysitting money!

I love 1) to kill a mockingbird - harper lee 2) I know why the caged bird sings - maya angelou 3) wrinkle in time- madeline l ' engle 4) something wicked this way comes - bradbury 5) paradise - Toni morrison 6) east of eden - steinbeck 7) beloved - morrison 8)count of Monte Cristo- dumas 9) don Quixote - cervantes 10) Shakespeare Shakespeare Shakespeare ( othello, Richard iv) I know a rather odd list.

So happy you included Prince of Tides on your list. I don’t hear too many people talking about this marvel of a book. I read it many years ago, but still remember how it made me feel when the truth came out finally. I need to reread this masterpiece.

The Lonesome Dove miniseries with Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones is absolutely gorgeous as well. I highly recommend it too.

In all honesty I am so happy to see when you and your wife post a video. I love books so much and just seeing people appreciate the hard work that authors do is just amazing. Hopefully when I publish my book it will be grand. ☺

I specifically bought The Stand bc of your recommendation! Very excited to get into it!

You had me at Gone with the Wind. It is just so good. So exquisite.

Agree with you about THE STAND, but my heart loves 11/22/63. Keep us up to date. You do the best job of talking books without going into minute detail for long periods of time. Love your concise opinions and your enthusiasm!

Iannn!!!!! Insane to see this video man, from one of your first videos being your favourites to now, I’m so thankful I was there along the way watching the channel grow and flourish. I’m so proud to be a fan of yours because I can tell that you truly do care about us. You’re a great individual and I wish your hopes and dreams come true. Anytime I need book talkin I know I count on my favourite brotha Ian!!!!! All the love in the world man to you and ashelyn and god bless you. Can’t wait to see where the channel goes next ❤

Great call on Watership Down….i don’t ever see anyone talk about it. Great book.

The Stand is my favorite book of all time. I read this book before college and became fascinated with nature immunity so now that’s what I do for a living.

I was literally yelling ‘The Stand’ before you announced your #1 spot 😂

Adding many of these to my TBR! Thanks for sharing your enthusiasm for books

Dang, not putting twilight in your top ten is crazy😂🤣

❤📚❤️ Yes, Watership Down a five-star book!

I'm so glad I found you! These were excellent choices. Prince of Tides....such incredible story telling. You are young, but very,very wise.

The Count of Monte Cristo and The Picture of Dorian Gray seem like books you'd like!! I'm in the IB and I loved these two books so much that my extended essay is a comparison of the themes of moral degradation in both these books and relating it to artistic movements that were ongoing while the books were being written!

These all sound like amazing books! Might have to add some to my TBR and doing a reading vlog based off of your top 10 books recs 😊😊😊!

Highly recommend Cutting for Stone for incredibly compelling drama in literary fiction .

My top 5 are... 1. 11/22/63 - Stephen King 2. Words of Radiance - Brandon Sanderson 3. The Ferryman - Justin Cronin 4. Dark Mattet - Blake Crouch 5. Morning Star - Pierce Brown

I literally have only read one of these. You sold me on them though. I will be picking up The Stand next and working my way through the list. I had originally seen your Convince me to read your favorite book video and picked up a couple of those. I absolutely loved the ones I made it through. Can’t wait to see more of your vids but my TBR is getting long now. 😂

This my first time to view your channel, and there is so much crossover with my own list of most memorable/influential reads.

Love your energy & wit - inspirational. Giving me so many ideas. Think I'll have ago at this booktube lark - thank you.

I haven't figured out a top 10 yet, but I think my favourite book of all time is Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (another classic). It is wonderful and feels fresh despite it's age. Highly recommend it!

Putting the stand at the top of my TBR now. I’m a huge fan of King and that’s one that I haven’t tackled yet.

THANK YOU! Someone else who finally has read and loved Gone With The Wind and done a review. I love this video. Thank you for all the reviews. I have a new reading list now.

I completely agree with your number 1 pick! It's wonderful!!

As always I leave your videos adding more books to my TBR! I would love to see you do a video of your top 10 Stephen King Books! Happy reading!🩷☺️

Thanks for the recommendations... My TBR list just expanded to include some novels that I have never heard of.

Great List, love it. Here are my top five of all time: 1. The Stand (Stephen King) 2. Lord of the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkien) 3. War and Peace (Leo Tolstoy) 4. The Secret History (Donna Tartt) 5. 11/22/63 (Stephen King)

Great list! I love The Stand. First read it in high school and recently reread it. It is such an epic book that reads much quicker than its size would suggest.

Based on this list, my guy's gotta check out The Pillars of the Earth and Shogun. Both incredible historical fiction

My favorite book of all time is The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. It was required reading in 6th grade and now at 35, I still think about it every day. Gone with the Wind is also on my top 10! I haven’t made a definitive list but my other all time favs are: catcher in the rye, the invisible life of Addie larue, The Book Thief, Clan of the cave bear (highly recommended), a man called Ove, the giver, Project Hail Mary, & Ready Player one. These books are on my mind 24/7

The algorithm shunted me over to this video, and I really enjoyed it. While we have more or less different tastes in books, we both share massive enthusiasm for reading. So long may you run, and thanks for spreading the message! When we read, we learn.

Yes I have been waiting for your reaction to Gone with the Wind 🤩 since ive seen you holding it in another video. It is one of my favorite classics, I love it so much ❤ I hope Ashley will read it too 🥰

Just what I needed after a long weekend 🎉

Yay, Gone with the Wind!!👋🏻👋🏻

Your list was wonderfully varied with its mix of genres. When you had Watership Down first, you had my undivided attention. It’s one of those books that did for me what Dune did for you, it sparked a love of reading early in my life, and so it changed my life. (That and Flowers for Algernon.) Well done!

Gone with the wind CHANGED MY LIFE (it's also how we found out I needed glasses LOL). I couldn't agree more about the romance - and I love that she makes us love imperfect characters and gives us a romance without a happy ending. I read Dune when I was very young and I need to do a re-read. I literally just bought Prince of TIdes AND Lonesome Dove because of your descriptions. Describing LotR as the "journey of journeys" is perfection. And I have a strong feeling you've also convinced me to read the Stand as well (I've never read ANY Stephen King, so I bet I'm in a for a huge treat). A great video!

That is such a beautiful copy of The Stand too !❤❤❤

Oh as some top books of all time for me Harry Potter the whole series in general cause that re-started my love of fantasy books, A Princess Bride, and A Walk To Remember by Nicolas Sparks. I read the lord of the rings as a teenager and loved it! They were my first fantasy books I ever read. I need to do a re-read as an adult though! Happy reading Ian!!🩷☺️

Good to know that The Stand is a great book. Just pulled it from TBR shelf and will be starting it tomorrow.

I read the Stand in a week during a road trip through Colorado when I was 12. I adore this book- the characters, the chunkiness of the book, everything.

You are timeless and comedic. I enjoyed this review. Thank you my brother.

I have Gone With the Wind but haven’t read it yet but now you are making want to put it higher up on my TBR! I did try to read it when I was like 13 and couldn’t do it but now I’ve read a lot more harder to read classics so I really need to get to it! Also slowly making my way through the Stand!

I'm in the last stretch of 'A Game of Thrones' myself; even having watched the show, that still hasn't taken anything away from how amazing this book is, I hope Martin finishes the series.

YES! Enemy of God is the best Warlord book-confirmed! Derfel was the perfect narrator choice for that series. Hooray for Dune and Lord of the Rings! ❤

Awesome list! LOTR and GOT are my top two favorite books of all time! I’m re reading Lonesome Dove this summer. Also added Gone with the Wind and The Stand to my insanely long TBR 😅

Fantastic video! - now adding Gone with the Wind and Lonesome Dove to my list 🙂

Great top 10. Lots of awesome books mentioned

New to ur channel, love ur list and seems like I found two sleepers- always been a huge fan of Knights and never heard of Enemy of God, I’ll be ordering the trilogy and also never heard of Watership Down. Very refreshing list, love to see a 50 around Xmas, instantly subbing you!

Love your choices!

I just did a video like this recently. I didn’t know you were into Watership down. I haven’t read it but my family is into it!

Pat Conroy is such an amazing author. "Beach Music" is my favorite of his books. Two of my other favorites I think you should check out are "Boy's Life" by Robert McCammon (which someone with great taste already mentioned in the comments) and "The Book of Lost Things" by John Connolly. I am really loving your channel! Thanks for all the great recommendations!

Damn man I just subbed the other day, didn't know you were a fellow howler! Red God hype!!! Also can't wait for Pierce's epic fantasy series he plans on writing when Red Rising wraps up.

New subscriber, somehow spent over an hour watching your videos??? Where'd the time go? Anyway, I'm so glad you've placed LotR high up on your list! And you've convinced me to add a few books to me TBR. Now I'm waiting for you to fall for Sanderson lol. Out of modern fantasy, Sanderson has some of the best characters and story telling I've ever read (in my mind, he's only rivaled by Patrick Rothfuss). And man! The last third of each of his books! You are in for a wild ride.

Ian what a great list!! I hope you add the following to your tbr: The Bloodsworn, The Blacktongue Thief, Boudica: Dreaming the Eagle, Guards! Guards! The Liveship Traders. Of course The Wheel of Time, The Age of Madness & The Witcher too!

Newer reader here and am already hooked on SK. My first novel of his was 11/22/63 and I was told that I was setting the bar pretty high by starting there and that was deff not a lie. What a story! I own The Stand and will have to move it up on my TBR list.

You got a fantastic list! I’ve read most of them and loved them. I’ve heard a lot of great things about Lonesome Dove so I’m definitely giving it a go. I’m currently reading my way through the Saxon Chronicles series by Bernard Cornwell so it’s great to know what I can pick up next by him.

Oh my gosh so happy to hear you put Prince of Tides on the list - read it in high school and it’s stuck with me 10 years later.

Hey Ian! I’m just starting my Booktube channel, and I’m so excited to be a part of this community! Any tips and tricks on how to get started?

Great list! Full of books I love or want to read. I recently reread LOTR for the first time in 20 years. It blew me away all over again. Such amazing books, the writing, the characters, everything. One of my favorite books is Ender’s Game. Highly recommend. I haven’t read The Stand, but speaking of post-apocalyptic novels from the King family, I really enjoyed The Fireman by Joe Hill. It probably wouldn’t make your top 10 list, but still enjoyable.

I have to implore you to read The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. It had a moment and then it died, and I find it so tragic. It's the fastest read but the most impactful read I think I've ever experienced. Another great list! And cool another Stephen King fan! Loving this channel! Adding Watership Down to my TBR.

I have to thank you, not for the books (though you did move some things up on my radar), but for reminding me of a song I hadn't heard in years. "In Lonesome Dove" by Garth. Love your channel!

Thanks for your top ten list! Lonsome Dove and The Prince of Tides are going on my list now :) My Top 5: 5: Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky 4: Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage - Haruki Murakami 3: The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien 2: Suttree - Cormac McCarthy 1: Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes

I have read most of the books on this list. I want to tackle Watership Down again. I rad this book when I was really young(probably 10 or 11) and will reread it this summer! Thanks for the video

Gone with the wind is my absolute favorite book of all time! I didn’t put it down other than when I absolutely HAD to for the ten days I spent reading it. I’m so thankful for that book!!!

Thank you for a great list and video. The book that got me back into reading was Seveneves by Neal Stephenson. I fell in love with reading again and with Audible because of that book. So glad RU-vid recommended your channel to me today. I have Liked and Subscribed.

Awesome choices Ian. I’ve read a few and a few more are on my TBR Stephen King is my favorite too 😊 I’m from Colorado born and raised in Boulder so I love that he sets some of epic stories in places near and dear to me 😉

Love your videos!!📚

I love that you have Gone with the Wind and Lonesome Dove on your list-both are in my top tier, along with Anna Karenina, East of Eden, Wuthering Heights, and Of Human Bondage.

I'm reading Dune because of you! I haven't seen the movies and haven't had any spoilers so I'm going in blind other than what you said :) 25% in and I'm really enjoying it 😊

Great list. I love so many of those books. My top ten: 1. The Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkien 2. ‘Salem’s Lot by Stephen King 3. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas 4. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett 5. Bleak House by Charles Dickens 6. Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy 7. The Secret of Crickley Hall by James Herbert 8. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy 9. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J K Rowling 10. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

I loved Gone With Wind and am so happy that it made it on your list. I have not yet read The Stand by Stephen King but am planning to as I keep hearing from various booktubers to read that book.

The Stand is a great choice. I read it 30 years ago. It’s due for a reread.

Hey Ian! Loved your top ten books of all time list! 📚 It's always interesting to see which books make it into someone's all-time favorites. Your choices were spot on and gave me some new reads to add to my TBR. By the way, I'm 8 years old and a huge book lover! I recently read Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and reviewed it in my new video. Would love to hear your thoughts!

Cheers for list/video bro

Basically all the books on your list I either want to read or have read! LOTR is also my number 2!

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE Watership Down. Re-read every few years. Amazing.

I literally screamed when u showed Watership Down lol it's so rare to see someone talking about it. I absolutely love it! My top 5: 1. The Chrysalids by John Wyndham 2. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde 3. Watership Down by Richard Adams 4. The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham 5. The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins

My top 10: - The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah (life changing) - Daisy Jones & The Six by TJR - The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue - The Romcommers by Catherine Center - Beach Read by Emily Henry - Ignite Me by Taherah Mafi - ACOWAR by SJM - Defy My by Taherah Mafi - ACOMAF by SJM - The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black

I knew The Stand would be your number one. I predicted it before you even started talking about the books lol. I feel like I need to try it now. Hopefully soon.

I don’t think I could make a top ten, but two books that impacted my life that I think about a lot are The Woman Outside My Door by Rachel Ryan and All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers. Probably not your type of books since they’re both thrillers, but I love them.

One of the most discerning & caustic critics of recent times, the late Francis King, also LOVED "Gone With the Wind." Interesting, & convincing, to hear another passionate admirer of it.

If you enjoy Pierce Brown and Bernard Cornwell then I highly recommend anything by Brandon Sanderson. He has the highest rated book on Goodreads history and is one of the most highly rated authors of the current generation. All of my reads from him have been 6/5 reads

So happy to see Red Rising in here, new subscriber :)

80s kid. That Watership Down animation scarred me for life! So much so that I’ve refused to ever read the book, even 40 years later….until now. You’ve convinced me. Maybe it’ll even help with the nightmares 😅

LotR, Dune, Red Rising are all on my top 10 as well! Fantastic list!!! Still need to read the stand!

Yes love the video. I knew the stand would be number one.

Such a great list! The Stand is so dang good and I am in the middle of Golden Son now and Pierce Brown can't miss! Are there any books you have read recently that could make it to this list?

My top ten books of all time would have to be Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by: J.K. Rowling (I remember getting it for a Christmas present from my Grandparents at 13 and still have my grandma's signature in the inside of my paperback copy), Born At Midnight by: C.C Hunter (Paranormal but not as cheesy as Twilight), Fruits Basket by: Natsuki Takaya (manga series), Clockwork Prince by: Cassandra Clare (Love her writing), Glass Houses by: Rachel Caine (Science + Vampires & Romance), Kiki's Delivery Service by: Eiko Kadono (I loved the movie as a kid so when the book got translated to English finally I had to get it), The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by: C.S. Lewis (This world blew me away a kid), Fourth Wing by: Rebecca Yarros (Such a fun read), Matilda by: Roald Daul (I read this book so many times as a kid because it made me feel I wasn't alone with loving to read because usually I was teased with reading books), and the only book on my list that is from my high school required reading is A Child Called "It" by: Dave Pelzer (I read this book and I was in tears because unfortunately child abuse does happen in the world and their stories need to be told to let other kids know that they are not alone). These are my top ten books so far and may eventually change since I have not read every author out there. Happy reading!

I love gone with the wind! I loved the movie growing up...and I finally read the book as an adult. It was amazing.

Nice list!

I agree with you about Prince of Tides!!!!

I’m currently reading my first book by Stephen King and I totally love it! Next, I’ll tackle "The Stand." Thanks for the recommendation ☺️ My list would look like this: 1. Carlos Ruiz Zafón: The Shadow of the Wind 2. Tara Westover: Educated 3. Cheryl Strayed: Wild 4. Jon Krakauer: Into Thin Air 5. J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter These are at least my favorites so far. But I also like the thought that my absolute favorites are still waiting to be discovered by me 🥹💭

I watch top ten lists to learn about new books I might be interested in. This is the first time I've seen a list that included seven books I already own and love, and two books ("Dune" and "Gone With the Wind") that I've always planned on reading eventually. I've reread "Watership Down" and "Lonesome Dove" at least three times each. The one book I've never heard of is by Bernard Cornwell. I'll be buying the trilory as soon as possible. Thanks!!

Hi Ian, first time commenting. I love your channel. Thank you for your hard work. Have you ever read John Jakes' series North and South, it was made into a film series with Patrick Swayze years ago which got me into the books. Its the best series I have ever read. Its a love story between 2 families, 1 based in the North of the US and 1 in the South caught up in the American civil war. Now I'm thinking about it I think its time to read them again. I think you would love them. Sending love from England Edit : Forgot to say Stephen King fan here: My favourite at the minute I think is Bag of Bones