While I think most of us can agree against the idea of a “canon” these days, there are certain books that have proven themselves to be really good, truly that good. These are novels that have burrowed their way into our cultural consciousness, sparking conversations and holding up against time.
Whether they transport us to richly imagined worlds, unravel the multitudes contained within a single psyche, or illuminate harsh sociopolitical realities, these most essential reads seem to exist outside the constraints of time and trends.
Here are ten of our essential reads for adults. From canonical giants to modern marvels, these are the titles that have earned their place among the most indispensable works of adult fiction.
10. Tenth Of December by George Saunders
The only short-story collection on this list, Tenth Of December has everything: dystopian science fiction, dark absurdist comedy, and tender drama. The titular story, the last one in the collection, will have you weeping. This book captures something fundamental to the human experience, reminding us that at the end of the day, kindness is worth more than we can know.
9. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Whenever someone asks me for a book recommendation, this is almost always the first book that comes to mind. Yaa Gyasi’s incredible debut novel follows eight generations of the same family from 18th-century Ghana to the modern-day U.S. The book begins with two sisters, Effia and Esi, Asante girls who live in what is today known as Ghana. In the novel’s opening pages, Esi is sold into slavery while Effia is married to a wealthy white slave trader.
Throughout sixteen chapters, Homegoing traces the lives and lineage of these two characters to shed light on the echoes of slavery in contemporary society. This book should be required reading for anyone looking to understand the Atlantic slave trade and how it continues to impact our world today.
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8. Women Talking by Miriam Toews
Trigger warning: sexual assault
Based on horrifying true events in Bolivia, Women Talking is about the aftermath of a series of brutal rapes that occur in a small, isolated Mennonite community. The women in the colony gather to discuss their response: do nothing, stay and fight, or leave the colony altogether.
While this novel is less concerned with plot than with character (the title is incredibly accurate), it’s a fascinating exploration of faith, spirituality, community, and forgiveness. Once you’re finished, be sure to watch Sarah Polley’s 2022 film adaptation, which won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. (Or check out Toews’s daughter Georgia’s debut novel Hey, Good Luck Out There.)
7. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Okay, let’s get the elephant out of the room: yes, it’s a Western that comes in at roughly 900 pages. But Lonesome Dove is so much more than that: an epic love story, a tender portrait of male friendship, and a gripping adventure set in the wilds of the western U.S.
Winner of the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Lonesome Dove was also adapted into a TV miniseries in 1989 with the likes of Tommy Lee Jones, Diane Lane, and Anjelica Huston. While it might not seem like an exciting read, I promise that once you start this novel, you will not be able to put it down.
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6. Night by Elie Wiesel
Night was, for many people I know, required reading in school. And for good reason: in a mere 116 pages, Wiesel recounts his unbelievably tragic experiences as a young boy in the Auschwitz concentration camp toward the end of World War II.
First published in English in 1960, Night is widely accepted as one of the most important works of Holocaust literature. While it’s an incredibly challenging and painful read, Night is an important reminder of our recent history, and a call to never again repeat our past mistakes.
5. No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood
This much-anticipated debut novel hardly lived up to its name. A finalist for the 2021 Booker Prize, No One Is Talking About This is an extremely readable, stream-of-consciousness look at what it means to be online. Taking inspiration from her own life, Lockwood invites us down an experimental rabbit hole to consider just how the Internet shapes our relationships and our identities.
4. Don’t Call Us Dead by Danez Smith
The singular poetry book on this list, Danez Smith’s 2017 collection is a must-read for even the most skeptical poetry readers. Through conversational, spellbinding writing, Smith explores the implications and realities of contemporary life through the experiences of queerness, of Blackness, and of life as an HIV-positive person.
Smith, who uses they/them pronouns, depicts a world that isn’t always pretty, but which is heartbreakingly real. (I once witnessed them reading their poem “Dinosaurs In The Hood,” and the audience was simultaneously cheering and crying. Incredible.). This book is a must-read for anyone looking to read more poetry or to simply learn more about the world around them.
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3. Notes Of A Native Son by James Baldwin
1955’s Notes Of A Native Son was Baldwin’s first non-fiction book, and is today considered one of the most important autobiographical works ever written. Through ten essays, Baldwin considers ideas of race and nationality, taking readers from Harlem to Paris to Switzerland. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in learning more about race, segregation, or national identity.
2. Beloved by Toni Morrison
Trigger warning: death of a child
Beloved is arguably the most important book I’ve read in the last five years, and certainly the most difficult. Winner of the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the novel tells the heartbreaking story of a formerly enslaved woman who is haunted by the ghost of a child she killed. A devastating, harrowing reminder of our past, Beloved is a book everyone should read once in their lifetime.
1. Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion
If you’ve read any journalism in the last fifty years, you’ve encountered the influence of Joan Didion. Despite her death in 2021, Didion continues to inspire biographers, reviewers, and writers alike.
It all began with Slouching Towards Bethlehem, a collection of journalistic essays about life in California in the 1960s. Through Didion’s eyes, we’re taken on a wild ride through the hippie movement, uncovering surprising truths about what it means to belong. A must-read for anyone interested in journalism, non-fiction, or simple good writing.
And there you have it: ten of our essential books for adults. Happy reading!
