2026 Reading Challenge

Listopia > Book Lists Voted on by Rob (23 Lists)



The Pastel City by M. John HarrisonThe Jesus Incident by Frank HerbertThe Dosadi Experiment by Frank HerbertBig Planet by Jack Vance
Most Under-rated Science Fiction
2,075 books — 2,162 voters
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken FollettShōgun by James ClavellLonesome Dove by Larry McMurtryI, Claudius by Robert GravesThe Complete Aubrey/Maturin Novels by Patrick O'Brian
Best Historical Fiction
7,415 books — 25,598 voters

’Salem’s Lot by Stephen KingThe Exorcist by William Peter BlattyIt by Stephen KingThe Turn of the Screw by Henry JamesThe Ruins by Scott Smith
Best Horror Novels
2,085 books — 5,450 voters
Titus Groan by Mervyn PeakeAn Alien Heat by Michael MoorcockPlanet of Adventure by Jack VanceGloriana, or The Unfulfill'd Queen by Michael MoorcockHigh-Rise by J.G. Ballard
Best Outside-the-box Speculative Fiction
883 books — 486 voters

Flashman by George MacDonald FraserThe Long Ships by Frans G. BengtssonWolf of the Steppes by Harold LambMaster & Commander by Patrick O'Brian
Historical Fiction that GUYS like, too!
551 books — 250 voters
I, Claudius by Robert GravesClaudius the God and His Wife Messalina by Robert GravesRubicon by Tom HollandThe Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward GibbonMemoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar
Best Books About Ancient Rome
738 books — 1,084 voters

Blood Feud by Rosemary SutcliffThe Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary SutcliffWarrior Scarlet by Rosemary SutcliffSword at Sunset by Rosemary SutcliffOutcast by Rosemary Sutcliff
Best Loved Rosemary Sutcliff Books
27 books — 37 voters
I, Claudius by Robert GravesFire from Heaven by Mary RenaultThe Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary SutcliffCount Belisarius by Robert GravesSalammbo by Gustave Flaubert
Best Novels Set in the Ancient World
511 books — 421 voters

Helter Skelter by Vincent BugliosiGo Ask Alice by Beatrice SparksThe Happy Hooker by Xaviera HollanderEverything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* [But Were Afr... by David Reuben
Books you read that you weren't supposed to read
148 books — 206 voters
The Portrait of a Lady by Henry JamesA Dance to the Music of Time, Complete Set by Anthony PowellRemembrance of Things Past Volumes 1-3 Box Set by Marcel ProustMoby-Dick or, The Whale by Herman MelvilleBeing and Time by Martin Heidegger
The Best Books You Will Never Read... EVER
102 books — 44 voters

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg LarssonInfinite Jest by David Foster WallaceThe Eye of the World by Robert JordanThe Name of the Wind by Patrick RothfussThe Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
Books You Are Tired Of Hearing About
736 books — 1,012 voters
Tales of the Dying Earth by Jack VanceRed Nails (Conan) by Robert E. HowardElric of Melniboné by Michael MoorcockSwords and Deviltry by Fritz LeiberConan by Robert E. Howard
Best Sword and Sorcery
175 books — 172 voters

Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight V. SwainWriting the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass
Best Books on Writing
798 books — 1,327 voters
The Eagle and the Raven by Pauline Gedge
The Unknown, Hidden Gems of Historical Fiction
2,282 books — 1,255 voters

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward GibbonThe Once and Future King by T.H. WhiteThe Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. ShirerShōgun by James ClavellLonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Big Fat Books Worth the Effort
1,874 books — 6,995 voters
The Well of the Unicorn by Fletcher Pratt
Best Fantasy Books Under the Radar
2,110 books — 1,546 voters

The Iliad by HomerThe Histories by HerodotusD'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'AulaireHistory of the Peloponnesian War by ThucydidesPersian Fire by Tom Holland
Best Books on Ancient Greek History and Literature
356 books — 195 voters
Warriors of the Steppes by Harold LambWolf of the Steppes by Harold Lamb
Best of the Pulps
381 books — 203 voters

Drood by Dan Simmons
Best Victorian Historical Fiction Set In Britain
302 books — 650 voters
The Last of the Wine by Mary RenaultAugustus by John WilliamsExcalibur by Bernard CornwellClaudius the God and His Wife Messalina by Robert GravesFire from Heaven by Mary Renault
Recommended Historical Fiction
3,659 books — 3,594 voters

A Distant Mirror by Barbara W. TuchmanThe Guns of August by Barbara W. TuchmanThe Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward GibbonThe Histories by HerodotusBattle Cry of Freedom by James M. McPherson
Best History Books
3,710 books — 3,743 voters