There are so many lists of books you should read. Classics of literature that will make you a well rounded person who can keep up a lively conversation about narrative structure and moral reasoning. And, honestly, you should read all the books on those lists. But if you haven’t already, are you really going to?

This is a slightly different list. Some of these books are also on those lists, but not for the same reasons. These are 35 books that I recommend because they are wonderful. Well written, entertaining, and interesting.

All of them are fiction, all of them are originally in English. Not because non-fiction is bad, but because it’s usually great because of the content and the knowledge it imparts, only occasionally because of the writing. And not because books in translation aren’t wonderful, they are, but when I read them I always get the feeling I’m looking at something through a very slightly foggy glass. Are they wonderful because the original book is wonderful or because the translation is wonderful?

I also only recommend one book by any author. If you like one of them there may well be many books that are just as good or even better written by the same person.

I’ve ordered the list from easiest and most accessible to most challenging and thought provoking. The first three items are, for instance, children’s books. The last is Vladimir Nabokov’s Pale Fire, a book which has a forward recommending that you get two copies and read them side-by-side, which might actually make it a little easier to understand.

1. Dominic
2. Alice Through the Looking Glass
3. The Phantom Tollbooth
4. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
5. Animal Farm
6. Death of a Busybody
7. Dracula
8. Sirens of Titan
9. Psmith in the City
10. Blind Man with a Pistol
11. Little Dorrit
12. Murder on the Orient Express
13. The Maltese Falcon
14. The Haunting of Hill House
15. The Commitments
16. Vanity Fair
17. The Blue Hammer
18. Murder Must Advertise
19. The Big Sleep
20. Not Quite Dead Enough
21. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
22. The Loved One
23. The Friends of Eddie Coyle
24. The Secret Agent
25. The Talented Mr. Ripley
26. Down and Out in Paris and London
27. Mildred Pierce
28. To Kill a Mockingbird
29. The Golden Gizmo
30. The Power and the Glory
31. The Man in the High Castle
32. Pilgrim at Tinkers Creek
33. Moby Dick
34. Tristram Shandy
35. Pale Fire