Skip to Main Content (Press Enter)
📝 Quiz: What Book Should You Read Next?
📝 Quiz: What Book Should You Read Next?
  • New Stories to Listen to
    New Stories to Listen to
    Learn More >

  • New Releases
    New Releases
    Learn More >

  • Books To Read if You Love
    Books To Read if You Love "The Devil Wears Prada"
    Read More >
  • <
    Books>
  • Popular
  • New & Noteworthy
  • Bestsellers
  • Graphic Novels & Manga
  • The Must-Read Books of 2025
  • Popular Books in Spanish
  • Coming Soon
  • Fiction
  • Classics
  • Romance
  • Literary Fiction
  • Mystery & Thriller
  • Science Fiction
  • Spanish Language Fiction
  • Nonfiction
  • Biographies & Memoirs
  • Wellness
  • Cookbooks
  • History
  • Spanish Language Nonfiction
  • Series
  • A Thursday Murder Club
  • Rebel Blue Ranch
  • Robert Langdon
  • A Song of Ice and Fire
  • Penguin Classics
  • <
    View All>
  • <
    Kids>
  • Popular
  • New & Noteworthy
  • Bestsellers
  • Award Winners
  • The Parenting Book Guide
  • Kids' Corner
  • Books for Middle Graders
  • Trending Series
  • Who Was?
  • Magic Tree House
  • The Last Kids on Earth
  • Mad Libs
  • Planet Omar
  • Beloved Characters
  • The World of Eric Carle
  • Bluey
  • Llama Llama
  • Dr. Seuss
  • Junie B. Jones
  • Peter Rabbit
  • Categories
  • Board Books
  • Picture Books
  • Guided Reading Levels
  • Middle Grade
  • Graphic Novels
  • <
    View All>
  • <

    Popular

  • Trending
  • Trending This Week
  • Romantasy Books To Start Reading Now
  • Page-Turning Series To Start Now
  • Books to Cope With Anxiety
  • Popular Large Print Books
  • Anti-Racist Resources
  • Staff Picks
  • Romance
  • Mystery & Thriller
  • Fiction
  • Memoir & Fiction
  • Features & Interviews
  • Emma Brodie Interview
  • James Ellroy Interview
  • Nicola Yoon Interview
  • Qian Julie Wang Interview
  • Deepak Chopra Essay
  • How Can I Get Published?
  • For Book Clubs
  • Reese's Book Club
  • Oprah’s Book Club
  • Guide: Tell Me Everything
  • Guide: James
  • <
  • <
    Authors & Events>
  • Our Authors
  • Michelle Obama
  • Han Kang
  • Emily Henry
  • Dan Brown
  • Colson Whitehead
  • In Their Own Words
  • Tayari Jones
  • Patrick Radden Keefe
  • Phoebe Robinson
  • Emma Brodie
  • Ta-Nehisi Coates
  • Laura Hankin
  • <
    View All>
  • <
    Recommendations>
  • Book Lists
  • The Best Celebrity Book Club Picks of The Year
  • Western Romance Novels
  • Insightful Therapy Books To Read This Year
  • Historical Fiction With Female Protagonists
  • Best Thrillers of All Time
  • Manga and Graphic Novels
  • Articles
  • The Best Books To Read Based on Your Mood
  • Start Reading Happy Place
  • How to Make Reading a Habit with James Clear
  • How Can I Get Published?
  • Why Reading Is Good for Your Health
  • 10 Facts About Taylor Swift
  • <
    View All>
  • <
    Audio>
  • Popular
  • New Releases
  • Award Winners
  • Coming Soon
  • Featured
  • Memoirs Read by the Author
  • Our Most Soothing Narrators
  • Press Play for Inspiration
  • Audiobooks You Just Can't Pause
  • Listen With the Whole Family
  • <
    View All>
cart
Penguin Random House

Books

Popular


New & Noteworthy

Bestsellers

Graphic Novels & Manga

The Must-Read Books of 2025

Popular Books in Spanish

Coming Soon

Fiction


Classics

Romance

Literary Fiction

Mystery & Thriller

Science Fiction

Spanish Language Fiction

Nonfiction


Biographies & Memoirs

Wellness

Cookbooks

History

Spanish Language Nonfiction

View All >

Series


A Thursday Murder Club

Rebel Blue Ranch

Robert Langdon

A Song of Ice and Fire

Penguin Classics

View All >

New Releases
New Releases
Learn More >
close menu

Kids

Popular


New & Noteworthy

Bestsellers

Award Winners

The Parenting Book Guide

Kids' Corner

Books for Middle Graders

Trending Series


Who Was?

Magic Tree House

The Last Kids on Earth

Mad Libs

Planet Omar

View All >

Beloved Characters


The World of Eric Carle

Bluey

Llama Llama

Dr. Seuss

Junie B. Jones

Peter Rabbit

Categories


Board Books

Picture Books

Guided Reading Levels

Middle Grade

Graphic Novels

View All >

What Type of Reader Is Your Child? Take the Quiz!
What Type of Reader Is Your Child? Take the Quiz!
Learn More >
close menu

Popular

Trending


Trending This Week

Romantasy Books To Start Reading Now

Page-Turning Series To Start Now

Books to Cope With Anxiety

Popular Large Print Books

Anti-Racist Resources

Staff Picks


Romance

Mystery & Thriller

Fiction

Memoir & Fiction

Features & Interviews


Emma Brodie Interview

James Ellroy Interview

Nicola Yoon Interview

Qian Julie Wang Interview

Deepak Chopra Essay

How Can I Get Published?

For Book Clubs


Reese's Book Club

Oprah’s Book Club

Guide: Tell Me Everything

Guide: James

Books Bans Are on the Rise in America
Books Bans Are on the Rise in America
Learn More >
close menu

Authors & Events

Our Authors


Michelle Obama

Han Kang

Emily Henry

Dan Brown

Colson Whitehead

View All >

In Their Own Words


Tayari Jones

Patrick Radden Keefe

Phoebe Robinson

Emma Brodie

Ta-Nehisi Coates

Laura Hankin

How To Read More This Year
How To Read More This Year
Learn More >
Join Our Authors for Upcoming Events
Join Our Authors for Upcoming Events
Learn More >
close menu

Recommendations

Book Lists


The Best Celebrity Book Club Picks of The Year

Western Romance Novels

Insightful Therapy Books To Read This Year

Historical Fiction With Female Protagonists

Best Thrillers of All Time

Manga and Graphic Novels

Articles


The Best Books To Read Based on Your Mood

Start Reading Happy Place

How to Make Reading a Habit with James Clear

How Can I Get Published?

Why Reading Is Good for Your Health

10 Facts About Taylor Swift

Browse All Our Lists, Essays, and Interviews
Browse All Our Lists, Essays, and Interviews
See What We’re Reading >
Books To Read if You Love
Books To Read if You Love "The Devil Wears Prada"
Read More >
close menu

Audio

Popular


New Releases

Award Winners

Coming Soon

View All >

Featured


Memoirs Read by the Author

Our Most Soothing Narrators

Press Play for Inspiration

Audiobooks You Just Can't Pause

Listen With the Whole Family

View All >

New Stories to Listen to
New Stories to Listen to
Learn More >
10 Audiobook Originals You Need To Hear
10 Audiobook Originals You Need To Hear
Learn More >
close menu
search
Penguin Random House Penguin Random House
cart
search
close search
close search
mobile banner image
The ReadDown

American Classic Literature Everyone Should Read

by Editorial Staff Published on April 20, 2018

There are some books that have inspired, moved, and shaped generations of readers. These classic works perfectly highlight the American experience, which makes it one of the things that truly unite us across all 50 states. Don’t miss out on these amazing reads!

  1. 1
    Another Country Book Cover Picture
    Add Another Country to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Another Country

    by James Baldwin

    From one of the most important American novelists of the twentieth century — a novel of sexual, racial, political, artistic passions, set in Greenwich Village, Harlem, and France. Stunning for its emotional intensity and haunting sensuality, this book depicts men and women, blacks and whites, stripped of their masks of gender and race by love and hatred at the most elemental and sublime.
    Another Country Book Cover Picture
    Add Another Country to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $18.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  2. 2
    The Call of the Wild & White Fang Book Cover Picture
    Add The Call of the Wild & White Fang to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    The Call of the Wild & White Fang

    by Jack London

    Jack London’s two most beloved tales of survival in Alaska were inspired by his experiences in the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush. Both novels grippingly dramatize the harshness of the natural world and what lies beneath the thin veneer of human civilization.
    The Call of the Wild & White Fang Book Cover Picture
    Add The Call of the Wild & White Fang to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $10.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  3. 3
    The Weary Blues; Not Without Laughter; The Ways of White Folks Book Cover Picture
    Add The Weary Blues; Not Without Laughter; The Ways of White Folks to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    The Weary Blues; Not Without Laughter; The Ways of White Folks

    by Langston Hughes

    One of the most important writers to emerge from the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes may be best known as a poet, but he was also a brilliant storyteller, blending elements of blues and jazz, speech and song, into a triumphant and wholly original idiom. This compendium comprises Hughes’s debut poetry collection, The Weary Blues, which catapulted him into literary stardom; his award-winning debut novel, Not Without Laughter, published in 1930 to critical raves; and his 1933 collection of short stories The Ways of White Folks.
    The Weary Blues; Not Without Laughter; The Ways of White Folks Book Cover Picture
    Add The Weary Blues; Not Without Laughter; The Ways of White Folks to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Hardcover
    $35.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  4. 4
    1984 Book Cover Picture
    Add 1984 to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    1984

    by George Orwell

    “The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” Written 75 years ago, 1984 was George Orwell’s chilling prophecy about the future. And while 1984 has come and gone, his dystopian vision of a government that will do anything to control the narrative is timelier than ever …
    1984 Book Cover Picture
    Add 1984 to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $19.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  5. 5
    Beloved (Pulitzer Prize Winner) Book Cover Picture
    Add Beloved (Pulitzer Prize Winner) to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Beloved (Pulitzer Prize Winner)

    by Toni Morrison

    Sethe was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. Sethe has too many memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened. And Sethe’s new home is haunted by the ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved. This “powerful, mesmerizing story” (People) is an unflinching look into the abyss of slavery, from the acclaimed Nobel Prize winner.
    Beloved (Pulitzer Prize Winner) Book Cover Picture
    Add Beloved (Pulitzer Prize Winner) to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $18.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  6. 6
    The Hundred Secret Senses Book Cover Picture
    Add The Hundred Secret Senses to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    The Hundred Secret Senses

    by Amy Tan

    The “wisest and most captivating novel” (Boston Globe) from the author of the bestselling The Joy Luck Club and The Backyard Bird Chronicles. Set in San Francisco and in a remote village of Southwestern China, Amy Tan’s The Hundred Secret Senses is a tale of American assumptions shaken by Chinese ghosts and broadened with hope. With her characteristic wisdom, grace, and humor, Tan conjures up a story of the inheritance of love, its secrets and senses, its illusions and truths.
    The Hundred Secret Senses Book Cover Picture
    Add The Hundred Secret Senses to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $19.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  7. 7
    The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Book Cover Picture
    Add The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

    by Mark Haddon

    A modern classic — both poignant and funny — about a boy with autism who sets out to solve the murder of a neighbor’s dog and discovers unexpected truths about himself and the world.
    The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Book Cover Picture
    Add The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $16.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  8. 8
    Little Women Book Cover Picture
    Add Little Women to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Little Women

    by Louisa May Alcott

    The beloved story of the March girls is a classic American feminist novel, reflecting the tension between cultural obligation and artistic and personal freedom. The charming story of these four “little women” and their wise and patient mother Marmee enduring hardships and enjoying adventures in Civil War New England was an instant success when first published in 1868 and has been adored for generations.
    Little Women Book Cover Picture
    Add Little Women to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $17.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  9. 9
    Americanah Book Cover Picture
    Add Americanah to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Americanah

    by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

    From the award-winning author of We Should All Be Feminists and Half of a Yellow Sun, a modern classic about star-crossed lovers that explores questions of race and being Black in America — and the search for what it means to call a place home.
    Americanah Book Cover Picture
    Add Americanah to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $19.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  10. 10
    The Age of Innocence Book Cover Picture
    Add The Age of Innocence to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    The Age of Innocence

    by Edith Wharton

    Edith Wharton’s acclaimed novel of love, duty, and half-known truths in Gilded Age New York society. Written in 1920, Edith Wharton’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a time and place long gone by — 1870s New York City — beautifully captures the complexities of passion, independence, and fulfillment, and how painfully hard it can be for individuals to truly see one another and their place in the world.
    The Age of Innocence Book Cover Picture
    Add The Age of Innocence to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $11.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  11. 11
    America Is in the Heart Book Cover Picture
    Add America Is in the Heart to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    America Is in the Heart

    by Carlos Bulosan

    A 1946 Filipino American social classic about the United States in the 1930s from the perspective of a Filipino migrant laborer who endures racial violence and struggles with the paradox of the American dream.
    America Is in the Heart Book Cover Picture
    Add America Is in the Heart to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $18.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  12. 12
    East Goes West Book Cover Picture
    Add East Goes West to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    East Goes West

    by Younghill Kang

    Having fled Japanese-occupied Korea for the gleaming promise of the United States with nothing but four dollars and a suitcase full of Shakespeare to his name, the young, idealistic Chungpa Han arrives in a New York teeming with expatriates, businessmen, students, scholars, and indigents. Part picaresque adventure, part shrewd social commentary, East Goes West casts a sharply satirical eye on the demands and perils of assimilation. It is a masterpiece not only of Asian American literature but also of American literature.
    East Goes West Book Cover Picture
    Add East Goes West to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $19.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  13. 13
    The Godfather Book Cover Picture
    Add The Godfather to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    The Godfather

    by Mario Puzo

    With its brilliant and brutal portrayal of the Corleone family, The Godfather burned its way into our national consciousness. This unforgettable saga of crime and corruption, passion and loyalty continues to stand the test of time, as the definitive novel of the Mafia underworld.
    The Godfather Book Cover Picture
    Add The Godfather to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $20.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  14. 14
    The Underground Railroad (Pulitzer Prize Winner) Book Cover Picture
    Add The Underground Railroad (Pulitzer Prize Winner) to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    The Underground Railroad (Pulitzer Prize Winner)

    by Colson Whitehead

    In Colson Whitehead’s ingenious conception, the Underground Railroad is no mere metaphor: Engineers and conductors operate a secret network of actual tracks and tunnels beneath the Southern soil. As Whitehead brilliantly re-creates the terrors of the antebellum era, he weaves in the saga of our nation, from the brutal abduction of Africans to the unfulfilled promises of the present day. The Underground Railroad is both the gripping tale of one woman’s will to escape the horrors of bondage — and a powerful meditation on the history we all share.
    The Underground Railroad (Pulitzer Prize Winner) Book Cover Picture
    Add The Underground Railroad (Pulitzer Prize Winner) to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $20.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  15. 15
    The Grapes of Wrath Book Cover Picture
    Add The Grapes of Wrath to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    The Grapes of Wrath

    by John Steinbeck

    First published in 1939, Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression chronicles the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s and tells the story of one Oklahoma farm family, the Joads — driven from their homestead and forced to travel west to the promised land of California. At once a naturalistic epic, captivity narrative, road novel, and transcendental gospel, Steinbeck’s powerful landmark novel is perhaps the most American of American Classics.
    The Grapes of Wrath Book Cover Picture
    Add The Grapes of Wrath to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $19.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  16. 16
    Dune: Deluxe Trade Paperback Edition Book Cover Picture
    Add Dune: Deluxe Trade Paperback Edition to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Dune: Deluxe Trade Paperback Edition

    by Frank Herbert

    In the far future, on a remote planet, an epic adventure awaits. Here is the first novel of Frank Herbert’s magnificent Dune saga — a triumph of the imagination and one of the bestselling science fiction series of all time. A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism, and politics, Dune won the first Nebula Award, shared the Hugo Award, and formed the basis of what is undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.
    Dune: Deluxe Trade Paperback Edition Book Cover Picture
    Add Dune: Deluxe Trade Paperback Edition to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $25.00

    Preorder from:

  17. 17
    The Color Purple (Movie Tie-In) Book Cover Picture
    Add The Color Purple (Movie Tie-In) to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    The Color Purple (Movie Tie-In)

    by Alice Walker

    A powerful cultural touchstone of modern American literature, The Color Purple depicts the lives of African American women in early-twentieth-century rural Georgia. Separated as girls, sisters Celie and Nettie sustain their loyalty to and hope in each other across time, distance, and silence. Through a series of letters spanning nearly thirty years, first from Celie to God, then from the sisters to each other, the novel draws readers into a rich and memorable portrayal of Black women — their pain and struggle, companionship and growth, resilience and bravery.
    The Color Purple (Movie Tie-In) Book Cover Picture
    Add The Color Purple (Movie Tie-In) to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $18.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  18. 18
    The Clan of the Cave Bear Book Cover Picture
    Add The Clan of the Cave Bear to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    The Clan of the Cave Bear

    by Jean M. Auel

    Through Jean M. Auel’s magnificent storytelling we are taken back to the dawn of modern humans, and with a girl named Ayla we are swept up in the harsh and beautiful Ice Age world they shared with the ones who called themselves the Clan of the Cave Bear. This novel of awesome beauty and power is a moving saga about people, relationships, and the boundaries of love.
    The Clan of the Cave Bear Book Cover Picture
    Add The Clan of the Cave Bear to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Mass Market Paperback
    $10.99

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  19. 19
    The Great Gatsby Book Cover Picture
    Add The Great Gatsby to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    The Great Gatsby

    by F. Scott Fitzgerald

    Young, handsome, and fabulously rich, Jay Gatsby seems to have everything. But at his mansion east of New York City, where the party never seems to end, one thing will always be out of reach: The married Daisy Buchanan, whose house is visible from Gatsby’s just across the bay. A brilliant evocation of the Roaring Twenties and a satire of a postwar America obsessed with wealth and status, The Great Gatsby in a novel whose power remains undiminished after a century.
    The Great Gatsby Book Cover Picture
    Add The Great Gatsby to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $18.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  • Share:
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on X
  • Pin it
  • SMS
  • Email

More to Explore

See all

Connect

Sign up for news about books, authors, and more from Penguin Random House

global.penguinrandomhouse.com

© 2026 Penguin Random House

  • About Us
  • Our Story
  • Our People
  • Locations
  • Management
  • Social Impact
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers
  • Imprints
  • Quick Links
  • Partnerships
  • Media Queries
  • Influencers
  • Company Reads
  • PenguinRandomHouse.biz
  • Email Preferences
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • CA Privacy Policy
  • Do Not Sell My Personal Info
  • Affiliate Program Disclosure
  • Avoid Publishing Scams
  • Anthropic FAQ
  • Help
  • Publishing Process
  • FAQ
  • Shopping & Shipping FAQ
  • For Educators
  • Subrights
  • Permissions
  • Estate Information

Connect

Sign up for news about books, authors, and more from Penguin Random House

global.penguinrandomhouse.com

© 2026 Penguin Random House

Visit other sites in the Penguin Random House Network

Raise kids who love to read

Brightly

Raise kids who love to read

Out of Print

Out of Print

Shirts, totes, socks, and more for book lovers

An online magazine for today’s home cook

TASTE

An online magazine for today’s home cook

Today's Top Books

Today's Top Books

Want to know what people are actually reading right now?

Wonderbly

Wonderbly

Personalized books for kids and adults

×
My Account
Sign In Create An Account
Hi,
Member Since

Account Overview Recommendations Orders Account Details Email Preferences Bookshelf

Success!

Your account has been created. Upload book purchases, access your personalized book recommendations, and more from here.