The best novels, according to hackers
122 novels were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and November 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 15 earn the Hacker Approved badge.
Top picks
The three most recommended novels with the badge. Each figure is 2 people. RecommendsCriticizes One comment
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
39 recommend, 9 criticize, 81% approval
Ranked 1 of 122 by recommenders
Enjoyable, page-turning read
Dostoevsky's psychological crime novel is praised for its gripping murder scene and its themes of ego and justice. Critics find the prose dense and long-winded.
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The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
28 recommend, 8 criticize, 78% approval
Ranked 2 of 122 by recommenders
Favorite or great book
Readers praise its vivid characters, psychological depth and enjoyable reading; the length, many names and slow pace are the common complaints.
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Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
26 recommend, 5 criticize, 84% approval
Ranked 3 of 122 by recommenders
Prophetic about media and entertainment
People praise its idiosyncratic voice, prophetic take on media and rewarding structure, but its length and difficulty make it a big time commitment that some never finish.
We may earn a commission. It never changes the order.
We may earn a commission. It never changes the order.
All 122 novels, ranked
Select a column heading to sort. Approval share is recommenders out of everyone who gave an opinion; the tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs. Months counts the months, out of 13, in which someone recommended it.
| Rank | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crime and Punishmentby Fiódor Dostoievski | 39 | 9 | 81% | 6 | — | Approved |
| 2 | The Brothers Karamazovby Fiódor Dostoievski | 28 | 8 | 78% | 5 | — | Approved |
| 3 | Infinite Jestby David Foster Wallace | 26 | 5 | 84% | 9 | 10 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| 4 | The Great Gatsbyby F. Scott Fitzgerald | 24 | 9 | 73% | 6 | — | Approved |
| 5 | Atlas Shruggedby Ayn Rand and Sophie Bastide-Foltz and Adrian Rand | 23 | 31 | 43% | 7 | — | — |
| Tied 6 | Moby-Dickby Herman Melville | 22 | 9 | 71% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Tied 6 | The Count of Monte Cristoby Alexandre Dumas | 22 | 6 | 79% | 7 | 3 yrs3 owners | Approved |
| 8 | Blood Meridianby Cormac McCarthy | 17 | 3 | 85% | 8 | — | Approved |
| 9 | Invisible Citiesby Italo Calvino | 16 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 10 | The Grapes of Wrathby John Steinbeck | 15 | 2 | 88% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Tied 10 | The Strangerby Albert Camus | 15 | 1 | 94% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Tied 10 | Lonesome Doveby Larry McMurtry | 15 | 1 | 94% | 4 | — | Approved |
| 13 | On the Roadby Jack Kerouac | 14 | 11 | 56% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 14 | Raby qntm | 13 | 2 | 87% | 4 | — | Approved |
| Tied 14 | Adventures of Huckleberry Finnby Mark Twain | 13 | 1 | 93% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 16 | Pride and Prejudiceby Jane Austen | 11 | 1 | 92% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Tied 16 | Pale Fireby Vladimir Nabokov | 11 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Tied 16 | War and Peaceby Лев Толстой | 11 | 5 | 69% | 4 | — | Approved |
| Tied 19 | Anna Kareninaby Leo Tolstoy | 10 | 1 | 91% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Tied 19 | The Picture of Dorian Grayby Oscar Wilde | 10 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 21 | The Godfatherby Mario Puzo | 9 | 5 | 64% | 6 | — | — |
| Tied 21 | Catch-22by Joseph Heller | 9 | 2 | 82% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 23 | Siddharthaby Hermann Hesse | 8 | 1 | 89% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 23 | Stonerby John Williams | 8 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 23 | The Idiotby Fiódor Dostoievski | 8 | 3 | 73% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 26 | In Search of Lost Timeby Marcel Proust | 7 | 0 | 100% | 7 | — | — |
| Tied 26 | Ulyssesby James Joyce | 7 | 4 | 64% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 26 | Ishmaelby Daniel Quinn | 7 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 26 | The Master and Margaritaby Михаил Афанасьевич Булгаков | 7 | 2 | 78% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 26 | East of Edenby John Steinbeck | 7 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 31 | Replayby Ken Grimwood | 6 | 2 | 75% | 7 | — | — |
| Tied 31 | All Quiet on the Western Frontby Erich Maria Remarque | 6 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | — |
| Tied 31 | The Circleby Dave Eggers | 6 | 3 | 67% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 31 | Orbitalby Samantha Harvey | 6 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 31 | Station Elevenby Emily St. John Mandel | 6 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 31 | Lord of the Fliesby William Golding | 6 | 8 | 43% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 31 | The Plagueby Albert Camus | 6 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 31 | Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agencyby Douglas Adams | 6 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 31 | Tom Sawyerby Mark Twain | 6 | 3 | 67% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 40 | The Fountainheadby Ayn Rand | 5 | 5 | 50% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 40 | Slaughterhouse-Fiveby Kurt Vonnegut | 5 | 1 | 83% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 40 | No Country for Old Menby Cormac McCarthy | 5 | 1 | 83% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 40 | Empire of the Sunby J. G. Ballard | 5 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 40 | Mother Nightby Kurt Vonnegut and Victor Bevine and Avirama Golan | 5 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 40 | Cat's Cradleby Kurt Vonnegut and Martí Sales Sariola | 5 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 40 | Middlemarchby George Eliot | 5 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 40 | Don Quixoteby Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra | 5 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 40 | Concrete Islandby J. G. Ballard | 5 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 40 | Foucault's Pendulumby Umberto Eco | 5 | 1 | 83% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 40 | Shogunby James Clavell | 5 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 40 | All the Pretty Horsesby Cormac McCarthy | 5 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 40 | The Magic Mountainby Thomas Mann | 5 | 2 | 71% | 1 | — | — |
| Tied 53 | Steppenwolfby Hermann Hesse | 4 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 53 | Lolitaby Vladimir Nabokov | 4 | 1 | 80% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 53 | The Secret Historyby Donna Tartt | 4 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 53 | Gnomonby Nick Harkaway | 4 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 53 | Zodiacby Neal Stephenson | 4 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 53 | A Gentleman in Moscowby Amor Towles | 4 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 53 | Kafka on the Shoreby 村上春樹 | 4 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 53 | Microserfsby Douglas Coupland | 4 | 1 | 80% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 53 | Timeby Stephen Baxter | 4 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 53 | Things Fall Apartby Chinua Achebe | 4 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 53 | Finnegans Wakeby James Joyce | 4 | 2 | 67% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 53 | Red Plentyby Francis Spufford | 4 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 53 | The First Fifteen Lives of Harry Augustby Claire North | 4 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 53 | Jennifer Governmentby Max Barry | 4 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 53 | 1Q84by 村上春樹 | 4 | 1 | 80% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 53 | One Hundred Years of Solitudeby Gabriel García Márquez | 4 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 53 | Erewhonby Samuel Butler | 4 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 53 | Correctionby Thomas Bernhard | 4 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 53 | On the Calculation of Volumeby Solvej Balle | 4 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
| Tied 53 | If on a Winter's Night a Travelerby Italo Calvino | 4 | 1 | 80% | 1 | — | — |
| Tied 53 | The Annotated Aliceby Lewis Carroll | 4 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | The Glass Bead Gameby Hermann Hesse | 3 | 2 | 60% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | A Confederacy of Duncesby John Kennedy Toole | 3 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | American Psychoby Bret Easton Ellis and Mariano Antolín Rato | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | The Catcher in the Ryeby J. D. Salinger and Shao jia yun | 3 | 1 | 75% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | Sense and Sensibilityby Jane Austen | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | The Bell Jarby Sylvia Plath | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | The Screwtape Lettersby C. S. Lewis | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | Lincoln in the Bardoby George Saunders and Amir Tsukerman | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | Super-Cannesby J. G. Ballard | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | The Unbearable Lightness of Beingby Milan Kundera | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | Martin Edenby Jack London | 3 | 1 | 75% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | The Raw Shark Textsby Steven Hall | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | The Book of Disquietby Fernando Pessoa | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | The Shepherd's Crownby Terry Pratchett and Manuel Viciano Delibano and Paul Kidby and Laura Ellen Andersen | 3 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | Bleak Houseby Charles Dickens | 3 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | Luminousby Greg Egan | 3 | 1 | 75% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | Hocus Pocusby Kurt Vonnegut | 3 | 1 | 75% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | Woodcuttersby Thomas Bernhard | 3 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | Demon Copperheadby Barbara Kingsolver | 3 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | 2666by Roberto Bolaño | 3 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | A Hero of Our Timeby Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov | 3 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | The Goldfinchby Donna Tartt and Katia Benovich | 3 | 2 | 60% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | The Wakeby Paul Kingsnorth | 3 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | The Overstoryby Richard Powers | 3 | 1 | 75% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | The Bugby Ellen Ullman | 3 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | Pachinkoby Min Jin Lee | 3 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | Bluebeardby Kurt Vonnegut | 3 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | Demianby Hermann Hesse | 3 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | My Brilliant Friendby Elena Ferrante | 3 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | The Dharma Bumsby Jack Kerouac | 3 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | Jayber Crowby Wendell Berry | 3 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | Rebeccaby Daphne du Maurier | 3 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | The Crow Roadby Iain Banks | 3 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | Exit Partyby Emily St. John Mandel | 3 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
| Tied 74 | The Dog Starsby Peter Heller | 3 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
| Tied 109 | The Leopardby Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa | 2 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 109 | Suttreeby Cormac McCarthy | 2 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 109 | The Postmortalby Drew Magary | 2 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 109 | Great Expectationsby Charles Dickens | 2 | 2 | 50% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 109 | Growth of the Soilby Knut Hamsun and William John Alexander Worster | 2 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 109 | Shadow Ticketby Thomas Pynchon | 2 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 109 | Die Wandby Marlen Haushofer | 2 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 109 | Capitalby John Lanchester | 2 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 109 | Oliver Twistby Charles Dickens | 2 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 109 | The Monkby Matthew Gregory Lewis | 2 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 109 | Gravity's Rainbowby Thomas Pynchon | 2 | 1 | 67% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 109 | Illusionsby Richard Bach | 2 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 109 | Vinelandby Thomas Pynchon | 2 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 109 | Little Womenby Louisa May Alcott | 2 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
How we rank
Rank is the number of separate people who recommend a product in a Hacker News comment over the past year. Someone who praises the same novel in five threads counts once.
The badge goes to novels that at least 10 people recommend, with recommenders outnumbering critics at least 2 to 1, recommended in at least 4 of the 13 months.
Rankings are never for sale. We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. It never changes the order.