Discover new books on Goodreads
Meet your next favorite book
Sign in with Facebook
A list of books whose book designs or inherent literary structure pushed limits at the time of their publication, or whose book designs are well-known for their incredible artistry.
Score
A book’s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book.
| 1 |
|
House of Leaves
by
Mark Z. Danielewski (Goodreads Author)
4.09 avg rating — 197,978 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 2 |
|
S.
by
3.85 avg rating — 28,641 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 3 |
|
Cloud Atlas
by
4.01 avg rating — 266,370 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 4 |
|
If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler
by
4.02 avg rating — 110,806 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 5 |
|
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
by
Jonathan Safran Foer (Goodreads Author)
3.97 avg rating — 434,247 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 6 |
|
Tree of Codes
by
Jonathan Safran Foer (Goodreads Author)
3.84 avg rating — 3,794 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 7 |
|
Night Film
by
Marisha Pessl (Goodreads Author)
3.78 avg rating — 95,480 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 8 |
|
Pale Fire
by
4.17 avg rating — 57,138 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 9 |
|
Griffin & Sabine (Griffin & Sabine #1)
by
4.03 avg rating — 76,244 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 10 |
|
The Raw Shark Texts
by
Steven Hall (Goodreads Author)
3.83 avg rating — 21,592 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 11 |
|
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
by
3.89 avg rating — 1,587,813 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 12 |
|
Invisible Cities
by
4.10 avg rating — 96,266 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 13 |
|
Ulysses
by
3.76 avg rating — 137,230 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 14 |
|
The Book Thief
by
Markus Zusak (Goodreads Author)
4.39 avg rating — 2,852,717 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 15 |
|
Illuminae (The Illuminae Files, #1)
by
Amie Kaufman (Goodreads Author)
4.24 avg rating — 160,788 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 16 |
|
Only Revolutions
by
Mark Z. Danielewski (Goodreads Author)
3.23 avg rating — 5,865 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 17 |
|
The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet
by
3.88 avg rating — 8,739 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 18 |
|
Dracula
by
4.02 avg rating — 1,459,255 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 19 |
|
Ella Minnow Pea
by
3.94 avg rating — 57,798 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 20 |
|
Wreck This Journal
by
Keri Smith (Goodreads Author)
4.10 avg rating — 15,043 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 21 |
|
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
by
4.22 avg rating — 189,204 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 22 |
|
Hopscotch
by
4.20 avg rating — 48,610 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 23 |
|
Building Stories
by
4.33 avg rating — 7,374 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 24 |
|
A Clockwork Orange
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 764,935 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 25 |
|
Kafka on the Shore
by
4.12 avg rating — 543,062 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 26 |
|
Dictionary of the Khazars
by
4.17 avg rating — 7,574 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 27 |
|
The Fifty Year Sword
by
Mark Z. Danielewski (Goodreads Author)
3.59 avg rating — 6,178 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 28 |
|
The Neverending Story
by
4.18 avg rating — 219,553 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 29 |
|
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman
by
3.73 avg rating — 22,973 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 30 |
|
The Princess Bride
by
4.27 avg rating — 944,622 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 31 |
|
Bats of the Republic: An Illuminated Novel
by
Zachary Thomas Dodson (Goodreads Author)
3.52 avg rating — 2,422 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 32 |
|
A Visit from the Goon Squad
by
Jennifer Egan (Goodreads Author)
3.70 avg rating — 248,117 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 33 |
|
The Sound and the Fury
by
3.86 avg rating — 195,065 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 34 |
|
The Lover's Dictionary
by
David Levithan (Goodreads Author)
3.86 avg rating — 47,870 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 35 |
|
Nox
by
4.37 avg rating — 4,002 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 36 |
|
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore (Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, #1)
by
Robin Sloan (Goodreads Author)
3.72 avg rating — 215,689 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 37 |
|
Everything is Illuminated
by
Jonathan Safran Foer (Goodreads Author)
3.89 avg rating — 183,599 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 38 |
|
One Rainy Day in May (The Familiar, #1)
by
Mark Z. Danielewski (Goodreads Author)
3.65 avg rating — 4,202 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 39 |
|
Mrs. Dalloway
by
3.78 avg rating — 353,065 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 40 |
|
POENA DAMNI: THE TRILOGY (3-Book Box Set)
by
4.68 avg rating — 91 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 41 |
|
The People of Paper
by
4.07 avg rating — 5,457 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 42 |
|
Wittgenstein’s Mistress
by
3.92 avg rating — 7,255 ratings
score: 840,
and
9 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 43 |
|
A Very Minor Prophet
by
James Bernard Frost (Goodreads Author)
3.95 avg rating — 114 ratings
score: 771,
and
8 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 44 |
|
The Strange Library
by
3.55 avg rating — 69,174 ratings
score: 767,
and
8 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 45 |
|
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide: Five Complete Novels and One Story (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1-5)
by
4.38 avg rating — 337,232 ratings
score: 750,
and
8 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 46 |
|
A Humument: A Treated Victorian Novel
by
4.34 avg rating — 1,000 ratings
score: 675,
and
7 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 47 |
|
Codex Seraphinianus. Ein Orbis Pictus des Universums der Phantasie.
by
4.50 avg rating — 3,876 ratings
score: 670,
and
7 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 48 |
|
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
by
Neil Gaiman (Goodreads Author)
4.01 avg rating — 655,540 ratings
score: 654,
and
7 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 49 |
|
Sabine's Notebook (Griffin & Sabine #2)
by
4.19 avg rating — 11,225 ratings
score: 648,
and
7 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 50 |
|
The New York Trilogy (New York Trilogy, #1-3)
by
3.86 avg rating — 86,244 ratings
score: 646,
and
7 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 51 |
|
Autobiography of Red
by
4.25 avg rating — 35,900 ratings
score: 643,
and
7 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 52 |
|
Z213: EXIT
by
4.27 avg rating — 242 ratings
score: 592,
and
6 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 53 |
|
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Hercule Poirot, #4)
by
4.26 avg rating — 340,738 ratings
score: 568,
and
6 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 54 |
|
Slade House
by
3.81 avg rating — 69,359 ratings
score: 567,
and
6 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 55 |
|
A Greater Monster
by
David David Katzman (Goodreads Author)
3.64 avg rating — 170 ratings
score: 561,
and
6 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 56 |
|
The Sorrows of Young Werther
by
3.69 avg rating — 153,527 ratings
score: 554,
and
6 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 57 |
|
Foucault’s Pendulum
by
3.91 avg rating — 74,607 ratings
score: 536,
and
6 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 58 |
|
THE FIRST DEATH (Poena Damni #3)
by
4.55 avg rating — 167 ratings
score: 495,
and
5 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 59 |
|
Woman's World
by
4.01 avg rating — 596 ratings
score: 493,
and
5 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 60 |
|
How to be Both
by
3.66 avg rating — 27,354 ratings
score: 487,
and
5 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 61 |
|
The Unfortunates
by
3.87 avg rating — 1,149 ratings
score: 485,
and
5 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 62 |
|
City of Saints and Madmen (Ambergris, #1)
by
Jeff Vandermeer (Goodreads Author)
3.87 avg rating — 8,065 ratings
score: 480,
and
5 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 63 |
|
Finnegans Wake
by
3.68 avg rating — 13,572 ratings
score: 478,
and
5 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 64 |
|
Composition No. 1
by
3.51 avg rating — 86 ratings
score: 476,
and
5 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 65 |
|
The Tattooed Map
by
3.74 avg rating — 1,238 ratings
score: 472,
and
5 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 66 |
|
As I Lay Dying
by
3.72 avg rating — 185,817 ratings
score: 470,
and
5 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 67 |
|
Wonderstruck
by
4.16 avg rating — 59,636 ratings
score: 468,
and
5 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 67 |
|
Peter Pan
by
4.03 avg rating — 372,706 ratings
score: 468,
and
5 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 69 |
|
Life: A User's Manual
by
4.18 avg rating — 10,066 ratings
score: 464,
and
5 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 70 |
|
The Dark Tower (The Dark Tower, #7)
by
Stephen King (Goodreads Author)
4.29 avg rating — 188,524 ratings
score: 458,
and
5 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 71 |
|
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
by
3.99 avg rating — 432,686 ratings
score: 455,
and
5 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 72 |
|
Six Characters in Search of an Author
by
3.83 avg rating — 22,425 ratings
score: 446,
and
5 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 73 |
|
The Decameron
by
3.88 avg rating — 43,347 ratings
score: 436,
and
5 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 74 |
|
We of the Forsaken World...
by
Kiran Bhat (Goodreads Author)
4.21 avg rating — 1,315 ratings
score: 400,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 75 |
|
Here
by
Richard McGuire (Author/Illustrator)
4.18 avg rating — 17,229 ratings
score: 398,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 76 |
|
With the People from the Bridge (Poena Damni Book 2)
by
4.56 avg rating — 104 ratings
score: 397,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 77 |
|
A Life In Books: The Rise and Fall of Bleu Mobley
by
Warren Lehrer (Goodreads Author)
3.90 avg rating — 61 ratings
score: 394,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 78 |
|
Multiple Choice
by
Alejandro Zambra (Goodreads Author)
3.89 avg rating — 6,741 ratings
score: 391,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 79 |
|
The French Lieutenant’s Woman
by
3.88 avg rating — 55,397 ratings
score: 380,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 79 |
|
Landscape Painted with Tea
by
4.01 avg rating — 1,770 ratings
score: 380,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 81 |
|
The Bone Clocks
by
3.85 avg rating — 100,148 ratings
score: 377,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 82 |
|
Be Here Now
by
4.34 avg rating — 43,154 ratings
score: 376,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 83 |
|
The Golden Mean (Griffin & Sabine #3)
by
4.16 avg rating — 9,952 ratings
score: 375,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 84 |
|
This Is Not a Novel
by
4.02 avg rating — 1,594 ratings
score: 371,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 85 |
|
The Waves
by
4.14 avg rating — 52,984 ratings
score: 368,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 86 |
|
Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life
by
3.95 avg rating — 7,241 ratings
score: 346,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 87 |
|
I am an Island
by
Jonathan Culver (Goodreads Author)
3.80 avg rating — 25 ratings
score: 300,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 87 |
|
My Dirty California
by
Jason Mosberg (Goodreads Author)
3.93 avg rating — 330 ratings
score: 300,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 89 |
|
The Exquisite Book: 100 Artists Play a Collaborative Game (Julia Rothman x Chronicle Books)
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 205 ratings
score: 299,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 90 |
|
Moby-Dick in Pictures: One Drawing for Every Page
by
4.28 avg rating — 360 ratings
score: 298,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 90 |
|
Eunoia
by
4.04 avg rating — 1,777 ratings
score: 298,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 90 |
|
JPod
by
Douglas Coupland (Goodreads Author)
3.71 avg rating — 20,314 ratings
score: 298,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 90 |
|
The Mind
by
John Fitzgerald (Goodreads Author)
4.67 avg rating — 21 ratings
score: 298,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 94 |
|
The Road to London
by
Adriano Bulla (Goodreads Author)
3.92 avg rating — 40 ratings
score: 297,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 95 |
|
Cane
by
3.82 avg rating — 11,515 ratings
score: 296,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 96 |
|
The White Hotel
by
3.85 avg rating — 5,132 ratings
score: 295,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 97 |
|
Radi Os
by
4.17 avg rating — 295 ratings
score: 294,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 98 |
|
Super
by
Aaron Dietz (Goodreads Author)
4.22 avg rating — 59 ratings
score: 293,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 98 |
|
Newspaper Blackout
by
Austin Kleon (Goodreads Author)
3.92 avg rating — 2,459 ratings
score: 293,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 98 |
|
Go Ask Alice
by
Beatrice Sparks (as "Anonymous")
3.74 avg rating — 291,117 ratings
score: 293,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
305 books ·
550 voters ·
list created October 5th, 2010
by Aaron Dietz (votes) .
Comments Showing 1-12 of 12 (12 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Sharon
(new)
Jan 20, 2014 11:00AM
Why isn't the book Night Fim on this list? It should definitely be added!
reply
|
flag
Night Film? Agreed, it looks terrific! I haven't read it yet, but I've added it to the list. You can add books, too, and/or vote for them/others to move them up in the order. Thanks for mentioning Night Film!
I haven't actually read these books yet, but they certainly have intriguing design. There's Tristano, a novel that is printed in different order every copy, and also 10,000 Ghost Stories.It doesn't look like Tristano is all that well received, but that's not a criteria, is it?
Well received or actually being good is not a criteria--I imagine this to be a list of books pushing boundaries and often those are failed experiments (in terms of final impact) yet still great opportunities for others to study them and learn from them. Thanks for the comment!
I'm not sure "The Road" really pushed boundaries, at least at the time it was published. Maybe it would have in the 19th century. What does it do besides not use quotation marks for dialogue?
Thanks, Lobstergirl, I haven't read it myself. Do you recommend I remove it?
Yes, I don't really think it's innovative in terms of design or structure. It's a good book though.
Yeah, I've been very much meaning to read it, but...being already familiar with the story it's hard to get excited about it. Thanks for the tip! I'll remove it from the list.
Oh, looks like the joke's on me--I can only remove the books I voted for, which probably still only removes the vote I contributed. So it looks like this book is here to stay. Working on an experimental fiction course, though, and I'll definitely remove it from the list of works for students. Thanks again!
Not sure that Eating animals by Jonathan Safran Foer belongs on this list... I haven't read it though, so perhaps it does.
You definitely can add all the comics from Marc Antoine Mathieu like the Julius Corentin Acquefaques series.Unflattening from Nick Sousanis , which is a phD thesis on comics in form of a comic book, my preferred one.
Un cadeau , which is a comic book you unfold that is destructible
Anyone can add books to this list.
How to Vote
To vote on existing books from the list, beside each book there is a link vote for this book clicking it will add that book to your votes.
To vote on books not in the list or books you couldn't find in the list, you can click on the tab add books to this list and then choose from your books, or simply search.
