Great Books Every Home Should Have

Join me for a look at great books you can read this week or anytime. These are books that would be a wonderful addition to any home library.

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October is National Book Month. Books are something I'm very passionate about. I feel they are important to the learning and imagination of, well, everyone. This week, October 5th-11th, is Great Books Week. Being a book lover, this is one I was definitely excited to celebrate.

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It made me think though, what makes a "great book"? Is it only a great book if it reaches #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list? Or maybe only if it was written 200+ years ago? Or is it a book that you find yourself thinking about, even after you have returned it to your shelf? There are so many books to choose from, and if you look you will find the books that you love, treasure, and deem great.

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I've made a few lists of books that are considered great for different ages. Don't feel that these lists limit you to what you can read though. If there is a book that looks interesting on the Middle Grade or YA list, don't feel embarrassed about wanting to read it. Two of my favorite book series are actually written for children and I read them every year. And if your kids are mature enough to read and enjoy books from the adult list (and you approve), that's fine too.

My book lists are not in any certain order. I listed the books as I came across the titles.  Some of these I have not read yet and look forward to reading them in the near future. The ones that I know contain strong language or talk about sensitive subjects and I have put a * beside.

Young Children

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

Winnie-the-Pooh by AA Milne
It's a Tiger! by David LaRochelle
Professor Wormbog in Search for the Zipperump-a-zoo by Mercer Mayer
Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson
Stuart Little by EB White
Have You Filled a Bucket Today? A Guide to Daily Happiness for Kids by Carol McCloud
Imagine a Day by Sarah L Thomson
You Are Special by Max Lucado
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Middle Grade

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Bridge To Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks
The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by EL Konigsburg
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling
Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery
Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Young Adult

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
The Giver by Lois Lowry
The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Once and Future King by TH White
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
Twelfth Night by William Shakespear
Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
Speak * by Laurie Halse Anderson
The Outsiders * by SE Hinton
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
The Princess Bride by William Goldman (S Morgenstern original)

Adult

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
The Time Traveler's Wife * by Audrey Niffenegger
Atonement * by Ian McEwan
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Time and Again by Jack Finney
The Power of One: A Novel * by Bryce Courtenay
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
Dune by Frank Herbert
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

There is my list of great books for you. There are so many more that could have been included. Most of the authors on the list have multiple books that could have made the list. This list will get you started though. Grab a great book, get comfortable, and lose yourself in the story.

I'd love to hear what you are reading and what you consider a great book. You can let me know in the comments below.