Similarly to the best TV shows you can't quit watching after just one episode, there are books you can't put down after reading just one chapter. Then the chapter turns into "just a couple more," and there you are, at 3 am with your eyes drowsy, reading the endnotes. For many, it might have been one of the beloved children's books or one of the classic novels that had them gripped but also sowed the seeds of their love for books.
With today's dynamics and overload of responsibilities, many would probably agree that reading for the whole day, perhaps on a weekend or a day off, is an incredible luxury. Hence we usually stick to just a few chapters. However, sometimes you come across books that are hard to put down. Books so tempting that you decide that house chores and sleep can wait. However, unlike your situationship, the best books you can't put down are worth losing sleep for. Perhaps not every night, but every fortnight. Interested to learn what books kept members of the r/books community prisoner, Reddit user jollyflyingcactus asked, "What's a book that was so good/enjoyable that you couldn't put it down?" The thread with just over 1K comments revealed the many gripping books that bookworms couldn't stop reading until the very last page. But beware, these books had people either rushing back to the library to get other parts of the series, had them up reading into the early morning, and some were so enthralled that they had to be reminded to eat. Finishing a book in one sitting is a serious commitment, yet it's a very fulfilling one.
Below, we've compiled some of the picks from the thread, which shared books that you can't put down and must bury yourself in until they’re finished. Whether you're looking for the best books to get back into reading or books you can read in one sitting, you will find plenty of worthy suggestions. If you have read a book from the list and would recommend it to others, make sure to give it an upvote. Also, what was that one book (or more) that held you captive until the very last page? Share it in the comments!
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#21 A Game Of Thrones By George R. R. Martin
"I was in college and my then gf got a copy of this book for $1 from a library sale. I really had very little idea of what it was about. I took it home over Christmas break and sat down to read it one evening. After about 100 pages something really wild happens and in that moment I absolutely had to know what happened. I was enthralled. I sat and read that book cover to cover until after 6am the next morning. I couldn't put it down.
Here's the kicker, I did not know it was a series LOL. When it got near the end I could tell there was no way it was going to wrap up all these plotlines and conspiracies. Little did I know I would still be waiting for the ending a decade and a half later...."
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13points
#22 The Bell Jar By Sylvia Plath
"The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath is the only book I’ve ever read in a day. I started reading and just couldn’t stop. It was like a stranger was inside my head and articulated my thoughts and feelings in a way that was beautiful and tragic. This book was the inner thoughts of a brilliant person with serious mental health issues, but I honestly think it is THE millennial book. It perfectly encapsulates the hopelessness, distrust of authority/tradition, and lack of clarity about what to do with one’s life that characterizes the kids/teens who watched planes destroy buildings on tv, recessions, bailouts, the patriot act, the opioid epidemic, Brock Turner, Breonna Taylor, impeachment, etc..."
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12points
#23 Uprooted By Naomi Novak
alittlebrownbird said: "I love all of Naomi Novik's books!!"
pinetreesandcake replied: "Currently re-reading Uprooted. You've got to read A Deadly Education and subsequent books if you haven't already, also by Novik. So amazing."
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12points
#24 I'll Be Gone In The Dark By Michelle McNamara
"I’ll be Gone in the Dark, Dancer from the Dance, the History of Birth, It Ended Badly: the Thirteen Worst Break-Ups in History, The Secret History of Colors, and Royalty’s Strangest Characters: Extraordinary but True Tales from 2,000 Years of Mad Monarchs and Raving Rulers (I’m on a non-fiction kick)."
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11points
#25 Piranesi By Susanna Clarke
"I loved the World, the descriptions, Piranesi's view on the World. And I was satisfied with the ending, which doesn't happen often to me."
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11points
#26 Never Let Me Go By Kazuo Ishiguro
cy-91 said: "I read it in a day. I just sat in my garden for hours reading it. Still one of my favourite days in recent memory."
pinetreesandcake replied: "Haven't read the book but the movie has been haunting my memory since seeing it. Like in a good way."
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11points
#27 Red Rising By Pierce Brown
mustaphamond_ said: "It is an amazing series. The first book is great but the following books in the series are freakin fantastic. It’s probably my favorite sci-fi series ever and there’s still 2 books left to be released."
bananagoat34replied:"If time is in your way, try the Red Rising audiobook. The first book takes a minute to get into, but you'll want to listen just for the way he reads it."
DudeDeudaruu answered: "Red Rising is kinda like a better hunger games. I definitely recommend."
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11points
#28 The Master And Margarita By Mikhail Bulgakov
"When I first read the book, I could not put the it down, it is incredible. The whole magic and anarchy of the story, the underlying subtle tragedy that seeps in - most of the references I didn't even understand the first time I read it. But it made me curious about the time the book plays in and the author, so I read more about him, and then I reread the book and it was even more incredible."
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11points
#29 Crime And Punishment By Fyodor Dostoyevsky
"It was a book I'll probably read again, understanding the psychology of the main characters described very precisely by the author... the way he represents the reality of human nature ... that was an amazing story, I recommend!"
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11points
#30 The First Fifteen Lives Of Harry August By Claire North
"A lot of good books mention, however one that has been in my mind recently, was the First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, my teenage niece was reading it, I just picked it up as she told me it was pretty good, I went in expecting teen love romance, dam was I impressed, very good work on the kid who wrote it."
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10points
#31 The Man Who Folded Himself By David Gerrold
"The ultimate, absolute package time travel novel. It contains every possible ramification of time travel - every paradox, every twist, every last way time travel could be used or abused, all in one astonishing story. Despite being entertaining, it also serves as the ultimate treatise on every last thing anyone has ever, or will ever, do with the concept of time travel, all in one book. It is the most complete time travel story ever written. Or, that probably ever will be written."
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9points
#32 Cannery Row By John Steinbeck
beththebookgirl said: "One of my favorite books! Entertaining and educational. Fabulous characters."
Jehnage replied: "So little and so much happens and somehow I’m always enthralled like it’s the first time. Can be said for pretty much all Steinbeck books though."
beththebookgirl replied: "Oh, and the party for Doc scenes! The prep work for it, the frogs! Now, I have to reread it. You are correct about Steinbeck. I prefer Steinbeck to Hemingway."
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9points
#33 The Three-Body Problem By Cixin Liu
Ramol0ss said: "Hard sci-fi with some terrifying moments. Read the last 2 books in like 2 weeks."
The_LionTurtle replied: "I just finished the 2nd book in an 11-hour marathon session yesterday and started the 3rd book today. Took me a few weeks to mosey through the 1st book, but the 2nd one had me hooked."
9points
#34 The Da Vinci Code By Dan Brown
"It was my can’t put down book. I can only imagine how this sub feels about brown, cruised through it a couple of days, so that’s my input."
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9points
#35 The Priory Of The Orange Tree By Samantha Shannon
"I’m currently reading it and I can’t put it down. I’m a big fan of multiple POV’s in a story, and each character’s story throughout the book so far has been very interesting. I’m excited to see how they all come together in the end (I’m about halfway through). I also have not read many novels with lgbt representation, specifically wlw representation, and this is the reason why I sought this book out in the first place. Shannon does a very good job depicting a genuine sapphic romance. It’s over 800 pages and my girlfriend has to remind me to eat on the weekends because I’ve been obsessed lol. I’m off to read it right now actually!"
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8points
#36 Tomorrow And Tomorrow And Tomorrow By Gabrielle Zevin
"Most recently it was 'Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow'. I really enjoyed the author's writing style."
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8points
#37 Throne Of Glass By Sarah J. Maas
"I loved the style of the storytelling and the world building. Definitely a fantastic series. Also Harry Potter (lost count of how many times I've read Harry Potter lol)! I was going to say Name of the Wind, but you've already been hooked by it!"
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8points
#38 Lonesome Dove By Larry Mcmurtry
Pickle_12 said: "It was 800 pages."
InvestigatorOdd6150 replied: "Started reading it yesterday and couldn’t put it down, just woke up and about to start back up."
autogeriatric answered: "I was like - ugh, a Western. My friend kept at me to read it and swore I would love it. Loaned me his copy and I was lost to the world until I was finished."
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8points
#39 Ubik By Philip K Dick
"I finished every chapter thinking “just one more chapter” and wanting to know what was going to happen next."
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8points
#40 Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe
"Amazing and a sublime read. Hop on it."
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8points
