37 Unforgettable Books That Readers Say Will Stick With Them Forever

Not all books get to live in your head rent-free.

Note: This post contains mentions of sexual assault, rape, drug addiction, and mental health struggles.

As a self-proclaimed bookworm, there are so many books that I enjoyed but very few that I'd label as "unforgettable."

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With that in mind, I asked the BuzzFeed Community what books they can't get out of their heads, and here's what they shared:

Amatullah Shaw

1. The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Ivy Books

"It’s just WOW. It got me thinking about classics and language for ages after I read it the first time. I still think about how quickly and easily things can spiral, especially for people who have essentially been removed from reality. If it isn’t already considered a classic, it should be."

—Anonymous

"This book constantly shocked me, from every single character interaction to the reason why they did the things they did. One of my favorite books of all time. Totally not what I expected, it’s truly brilliant."

—Anonymous

2. On the Road by Jack Kerouac

Penguin Classics

"Reading it in college in the late '90s at a time when I was away from where I grew up was life-changing. It inspired me to travel, to spend a summer working across the country, and to visit NYC on my own at age 19. This was after growing up in a poor home in rural Oregon and never having done any traveling, so I can safely say that it was [this] book that completely changed how I viewed the world around me. It gave me courage."

—Anonymous

3. The Way I Used to Be by Amber Smith

Margaret K. McElderry Books

"I started reading the book after I got diagnosed with PTSD from my sexual harassment, and reading Eden go through the same emotions and thoughts as me really helped me process what had happened. I couldn’t stop reading it, and while the ending doesn’t reveal how Eden is in the future, it really hit me when she was able to build the confidence to tell her parents. She had to overcome so much and found hope again."

—Anonymous

4. Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

Dutton Books for Young Readers

"I read it as a 14-year-old struggling with severe anxiety, and I didn't feel completely insane because of the main character in this story, who struggles with OCD. It made me feel seen, and I still adore the book."

—Anonymous

5. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

Scribner

"One of the most beautifully written books I’ve ever read. Every word is chosen so deliberately and every sentence woven so perfectly that it is a book that will leave you with a sense of awe at the piece of art you just read."

—Anonymous

6. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Vintage Crime / Black Lizard

"[This] always stuck with me. Great writing and impactful. Terrifying at times. Parts of it read like an Agatha Christie novel in its own modern way. Lisbeth is a likable protagonist who reads as a heroine but is flawed and complex. [There are] visual sexual assault scenes, though at least the victim gets sweet, sweet revenge. Not a book for the faint of heart and was controversial, but some of the best books seem to be."

—thisisfine

7. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

J. B. Lippincott & Co.

"The book does an amazing job at not only showing how racism looks but so many other life lessons. Still resonates with me today, decades after the first time I read it. About once every 10 years, I reread it and continue to be stunned by (1) how relevant it still is and (2) the fact that I continue to learn new things, gain greater insight, with each reading of it."

—rachelleadams

8. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Ecco

"Books don't normally make me cry, but I'll be darned if a book about an octopus helping draw people together and heal their wounds didn't make me a weepy mess."

—Anonymous

9. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Scholastic Press

"Just the first one. [Catching Fire and Mockingjay] were good, but I struggle to remember any particular specific moment from them except one in Mockingjay (if you’ve read it, you KNOW the one). The first one, though? Almost the entire sequence of events lives rent-free in my head. Collins created a world that’s vibrant and unforgettable even in its bleariest moments. I’ve reread that first book probably more times than I have the other two combined, it’s so good."

—Anonymous

10. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Square Fish

"Omg I cannot recommend enough. I read it when I was kind of going through a hard time mental health-wise, and that book was so powerful. 10/10. Laurie is a literary queen!"

—moonlitrat

11. The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien

Mariner Books

"I first read it over 20 years ago, and it has stuck with me ever since. Traditionally, I am not a fan of either war stories or short stories, but the writing is so captivating. It is a thought-provoking work, making you consider the things you carry in your own life."

—maggief46cd35565

12. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Atria Books

" [This] is one of my top books ever. Could not put it down. I loved every word of this book. It's the story of an aging Hollywood star who finally allows her story to be told by a young journalist. Each section on the husbands and the underlying love stories is compelling, interesting, and helps you understand who Evelyn is. Plus, the twist at the end really got me. I was not expecting it!"

—bethvincent1992

13. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

Grove Weidenfeld

"So damn funny. I had to stop so many times to just laugh out loud at it. So many unique characters, and their stories leave you wondering how they are all going to get tied together, but they do and in such a comedic way. It begs for a movie to be made, but the main character of Ignatius would require the absolute right actor like Jack Black mixed with Zach Galifianakis and a little bit of Bill Murray."

—jamesc420ce9ec1

14. The Last Watch and the sequel The Exiled Fleet by J.S. Dewes

Tor Books

"One of the best sci-fi series I’ve read. It follows a military group tasked with guarding the edge of the universe from threats to humanity, but then the universe begins to collapse, and they essentially learn that all is not what they thought. It’s actioned packed, and there is an overlying mystery about some of the characters that is so suspenseful that I can’t wait for the third book to come out."

—hovanmolly

15. Someone Who Isn't Me by Geoff Rickly

Rose Books

"The novel follows Geoff as he attempts to get clean from a heroin addiction, undergoing treatment in Mexico using ibogaine, and provides an insight into the visions he experienced during this experimental treatment. It's written as a novel rather than a memoir, so that details can be toyed with, and it's not meant to be 100% accurate. But it's still very deep, very expressive, and a rollercoaster from start to finish as we, the readers, come to understand what Geoff was going through."

—padawanryan

Amatullah Shaw

16. Glamorama by Bret Easton Ellis

Vintage

"Got to a portion of this book where I literally threw it across the room and said, 'Nah, fuck that!' Granted, Ellis already writes about rich, white people doing terrible things to each other, but this took it to an extreme that I wasn't prepared for and wanted no part of."

—Anonymous

17. Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller

Fig Tree

"Super interesting premise about a man who kidnaps his daughter and goes to live in the middle of nowhere in this rundown shack. He’s convinced that the world has ended and tells his daughter (who is only, like, 10 or so at the start) that there’s nothing past the hills but a void. And it goes about telling the story of the years that they spent living there and everything, struggling to survive and learning how to live in what’s left of the world. 

And then she finds another person living in the woods surrounding their house, and he convinces her that the world didn’t really end and that she has to kill her father to get away. They end up falling in love, and there’s a sex scene, of course, after which she and the man go to her house and murder the father. Incredibly interesting plot and well-written, and then the last chapter just ruined it for me.

SPOILER: Turns out she was an unreliable narrator, and the other person there didn’t really exist. Instead of falling in love and getting pregnant with this random guy’s child, the father raped her when she was sleeping, and then she bashed his head in (which I applaud)…like, such a good book, and then the author is like, 'It was incest all along.'"

—Anonymous

18. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

"As for YA books I read as a pre-teen, I probably would read it now and think it was garbage, but I never quite forgot about the Uglies series. Totally fucked me up at, like, 13–14, and I sometimes still think of it."

—thisisfine

19. The entire Fifty Shades series by E. L. James

Bloom Books

"...straight trash. The writing was on par with a middle school English class. They were truly, TRULY terrible, and I only kept reading them to make sure they were as awful as I thought they were. I don't get how that garbage was made into a movie."

—selindsey630

20. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

Harper Perennial Modern Classics

"Might sound harsh, but this book was pointless. As a 'sequel' to To Kill a Mockingbird, I had high hopes of what we would make of Scout, Jem, and Atticus, but it felt so, so flat. And Atticus is racist now, which negates everything that happened in To Kill a Mockingbird. If you liked To Kill a Mockingbird, don't waste your time with this one."

—Amatullah Shaw

21. Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk

Vintage

"Destroyed me. One of the few books I wish I had never read as certain scenes have lingered in my brain for decades."

—Anonymous

Amatullah Shaw

22. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Vintage Books / Random House

"I had to read it for a creative writing class a few years ago, and although I only read it once, its impact on me is still devastating. It is easily the most beautiful yet tragic book I have ever read. I remember crying throughout the last two chapters and SOBBING at the end. I held the book and cried for, like, HOURS, which is so crazy 'cause it was the first book outside of, like, Stephen King that I read outside of my YA and kids books, and it was way more and way deeper than I expected. 

I tell everyone and their mother that if they love really good and original stories, especially ones that make you feel anything and make you reflect, they HAVE to read this book. The movie was eh, they changed a lot of things in it that I felt were assets to the story, but if you just read the book, you will not be disappointed. Ishiguro is easily one of the best writers of our time."

—theicebox720

23. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

Anchor

"The most beautiful, heart-wrenching story I have ever read. It brought me to tears, and made me believe that love appears in our life in many different forms, and that you are worthy of it no matter how damaged you are."

—Anonymous

24. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Riverhead Books

"I cried the last 100–150 pages of this book. It's amazing, depressing, fills you with disgust and hope all at the same time. It's worth a read. You won't regret it!"

—blatzisgood

25. House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

Pantheon

"It's a wild ride, and you feel as if you can see into a man's mind as he suffers through D.I.D. The author finds a way to explain everything so well without ever actually explaining it.

I will never forget how I felt after reaching the end. All I could do is think, 'What the hell did I just read?' It left me shaken."

—smellyprincess136

" [This] is so far the only book that’s truly stayed with me years after I’ve read it. It’s two stories in one, and it has so much style that it pulls you in to the deepest pit and doesn’t let you go. As the tagline goes, this book truly isn’t for you, and it will captivate anyone who reads it. Even after years of rereading the book, I still notice so many different things and small details! 

And, most importantly of all, what was truly going in with the House on Ash Tree Lane? House of Leaves is my go-to recommendation when someone is looking for something different or a challenge; and everyone I’ve recommended this to has loved the book as much as I do."

—datmang010

26. Room by Emma Donoghue

Pan Macmillan

"I have read hundreds of books in my life, and SPOILER: When Jack jumps from the truck, I literally YELLED OUT LOUD FOR HIM TO RUN. It was late at night, and I was alone, and I was crying uncontrollably in anticipation of his escape. I have never had a reaction to a book like that in my life."

—Anonymous

27. They Both Die at the End and The First to Die at the End by Adam Silvera

Quill Tree Books

"If you haven’t read them, I strongly suggest you do if the books you enjoy are romantic, heartbreaking, gay romances. I could barely contain my tears in reading both of them. They are such beautifully written books and are SO heartbreaking. You’ll fall in love with the characters only for them to die at the end of the book. One of the worst parts is, you know they’re gonna die, but you can almost forget it while you’re reading."

—nancyholcombe

28. The Measure by Nikki Erlick

William Morrow

"I listened to the audiobook and spent the last 30 minutes sobbing at my kitchen table."

—Anonymous

29. Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca

Weirdpunk Books

"If this were any other prompt, I would say something else, but when we’re talking about unforgettable? I think about this book at least once a week, and as someone who has read 1,000+ books, that’s saying something. It’s gory, it’s gross, and it’s just generally disgusting. Just writing about it I’m cringing in on myself. It’s a good book, don’t get me wrong, I read it in a hour, but it’s brutally strange. 

If you ever consider reading it, keep in mind, SPOILER: The main character eats a slice of maggot-infested meat. Good luck to those who decide to brave it, and I’m sorry to those who already have."

—wendyhaddon

30. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Penguin Classics

"There's a lot I think the film/TV adaptations can't really get across because so much of the book happens inside the characters' heads. It's one of a few books that have actually given me chills reading them, and I feel like the horror aspects are just vague enough that you wonder if the ghosts are real or if it's just a symptom of the main character's state of mind.

It's a lot less in your face about the scares, which I think made it stick with me more than a lot of other horror books do."

—torbielillies

31. For Esme with Love and Squalor by J. D. Salinger

Penguin Books

"Every time I reread it, I get shivers down my spine as I realize my f-a-c-u-l-t-i-e-s are also no longer intact. 🤍"

—marcelswhalemask

32. We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

Serpent's Tail

"I knew somewhat how it was going to end, but the parts I wasn't expecting hit hard."

—xa08zo09ma10

33. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

Global Publishers

"A sort of undercover detective fictional novel that portrays the horrible conditions of the meat packing industry and the unbearable circumstances endured by working class immigrants. The book inspired the eventual creation of the Food and Drug Administration. Brilliant writing, it riled me up and took weeks to wind down after finishing it."

—staciz2

34. The Hot Zone by Richard Preston

Anchor

"I literally just finished this a few days ago, and I have never read anything more terrifying. The first few pages immediately draw you in, and you constantly cycle through feelings of fear, shock, disgust, and panic. I haven't read too many nonfiction books outside of school, but this will undoubtedly stick with me. I honestly had no idea of just how bad Ebola can be." 

—Amatullah Shaw

35. Desperation by Stephen King

Viking

"[This] is the only book that has ever had me genuinely paranoid and scared while reading it."

—jessethecowgirl

36. Stoner by John Williams

NYRB Classics

"When I finished the last page, I was crying my eyes out. A silent, slow story about one insignificant man and his mediocre life. Beautiful."

—Anonymous

37. The Stand by Stephen King

Hodder & Stoughton

"When I read it at 20 years old, I could not put it down. Stayed up and didn’t even try to sleep until I was finished. Then it kept me up hours after. Mr. King’s literary gift is that he can create a world that pulls off of each person's own imagination. It scared the bejesus out of me. I just read it again after 46 years, and I still had nightmares. Boy does it hold up."

—Anonymous

Note: Submissions have been edited for length and clarity.

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 (HOPE), which routes the caller to their nearest sexual assault service provider. You can also search for your local center here. 

The National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline is 1-888-950-6264 (NAMI) and provides information and referral services; GoodTherapy.org is an association of mental health professionals from more than 25 countries who support efforts to reduce harm in therapy.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, you can call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) and find more resources here.

Now it's your turn. Drop a book that's stuck with you (for better or worse) in the comments below.