Big Books of 2026

Listopia > Illness Book Lists

The Stand by Stephen KingThe Hot Zone by Richard PrestonWorld War Z by Max BrooksThe Plague by Albert CamusThe Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton
Books for a Pandemic
698 books — 577 voters
The Bell Jar by Sylvia PlathDarkness Visible by William StyronThe Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen ChboskyThe Noonday Demon by Andrew SolomonThe Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
Books Worth Reading on Depression (fiction and nonfiction)
465 books — 543 voters

The Bell Jar by Sylvia PlathGirl, Interrupted by Susanna KaysenAn Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield JamisonThe Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins GilmanDarkness Visible by William Styron
Memoirs of Madness
294 books — 375 voters
The Fault in Our Stars by John GreenMe Before You by Jojo MoyesSeduce Me at Sunrise by Lisa KleypasOn the Island by Tracey Garvis GravesMy Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
In Sickness and in Health: Romance Novels that deal with Illness
342 books — 246 voters

The Stand by Stephen KingWorld War Z by Max BrooksThe Andromeda Strain by Michael CrichtonThe Hot Zone by Richard PrestonI Am Legend and Other Stories by Richard Matheson
Best Fiction Books About Diseases or Viruses
168 books — 234 voters
And the Band Played On by Randy ShiltsTell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka BruntBorrowed Time by Paul MonetteThe Great Believers by Rebecca MakkaiMillennium Approaches by Tony Kushner
Best Books about HIV/AIDS (Fiction and Non-Fiction)
339 books — 231 voters

Zero at the Bone by Jane SevilleKeeping Promise Rock by Amy LaneFinding Zach by Rowan SpeedwellDance With Me by Heidi CullinanMexican Heat by Laura Baumbach
Best Gay Couple In Health and In Sickness
354 books — 222 voters
The Bell Jar by Sylvia PlathGirl, Interrupted by Susanna KaysenAn Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield JamisonThe Prince of Tides by Pat ConroyThe Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Manic depression and bi-polar illness in literature
169 books — 199 voters

Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan30 Years Behind Bars by Karen GedneyA Thousand Naked Strangers by Kevin HazzardComplications by Atul GawandeCall the Midwife by Jennifer Worth
Compelling Medical Memoirs
371 books — 161 voters
Speak by Laurie Halse AndersonA Walk Between Raindrops by Amalie JahnThe Program by Suzanne YoungThe Bell Jar by Sylvia PlathThe Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Best Mental Health Books for Teens
149 books — 158 voters

The Bad Guy by Celia AaronBlack Lies by Alessandra TorreMy Torin by K. WebsterEleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail HoneymanGrayson by Lisa Eugene
Heroes with mental illness
274 books — 154 voters
The Fault in Our Stars by John GreenMy Sister's Keeper by Jodi PicoultLycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses by Kristen O'NealMontpelier Tomorrow by Marylee MacDonaldMe Before You by Jojo Moyes
Best Characters with a Chronic or Terminal Illness
154 books — 149 voters

Never Seduce a Scot by Maya BanksSeduce Me at Sunrise by Lisa KleypasAgain the Magic by Lisa KleypasGarrett by Sawyer BennettWithout MAlice by Amesbury Clarke
Romances with Chronically Ill/Disabled Heroines
215 books — 145 voters
How to Be Sick by Toni BernhardAn Ordinary Day by Karen HaberbergSick and Tired of Feeling Sick and Tired by Paul J. DonoghueLife Disrupted by Laurie EdwardsOn Learning to Heal by Ed Cohen
Firsthand Accounts of Living with Chronic, Invisible Illness(es)
329 books — 125 voters

The Stand by Stephen KingI Am Legend and Other Stories by Richard MathesonDoomsday Book by Connie WillisThe Andromeda Strain by Michael CrichtonYear of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks
Fiction About Epidemics
131 books — 112 voters
The Book Thief by Markus ZusakThe Help by Kathryn StockettThe Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz ZafónCirce by Madeline MillerOutlander by Diana Gabaldon
Best Books To Read When You're Ill with Corona Virus Or Self-Isolating
331 books — 102 voters

Accidental Demons by Clare EdgeI'm Squirrely! by Brenda LochingerWhen Will I Feel Better? by Robin Prince MonroeTaking Diabetes to School by Kim GosselinHow to Be Human by Florida Frenz
Books for Children with Chronic Illness
136 books — 67 voters
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse AndersonThe Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson BurnettChasing Secrets by Gennifer CholdenkoAt the Sign of the Sugared Plum by Mary HooperA Death-Struck Year by Makiia Lucier
YA & Middle Grade Epidemics/Pandemics
244 books — 61 voters

The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer AshleyNever Seduce a Scot by Maya BanksWhen Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa JamesFrom Lukov with Love by Mariana ZapataHonor's Splendour by Julie Garwood
Best Injured or Ill Heroine With Hero Angst
173 books — 60 voters
Cancer Crossings by Tim WendelAll of Us Warriors by Rebecca Whitehead MunnThe Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha MukherjeeThe Removable Root Cause of Cancers and other Chronic Diseases by Paul OlaYou Can't Drive Your Car to Your Own Funeral by Ann Marie Hancock
Best Nonfiction Books about Cancer
75 books — 59 voters

Uprooted by Peter J. BoniAdapt and Plan for the New Abnormal of the COVID-19 Coronavir... by Gleb TsipurskyPro Truth by Gleb TsipurskyThe Blindspots Between Us by Gleb TsipurskyNever Go With Your Gut by Gleb Tsipursky
✘Favorite Self-Help✘
13 books — 50 voters
Coming To Terms With Type 1 Diabetes by Debbie YoungThe Removable Root Cause of Cancers and other Chronic Diseases by Paul OlaNeedles by Andie DominickBreakthrough by Thea CooperThe Sudden Star by Pamela Sargent
Diabetes
70 books — 45 voters

The Cost of Hope by Amanda BennettCancer Schmancer by Fran DrescherIt's Probably Nothing...* by Micki MyersCrazy Sexy Cancer Tips by Kris CarrThe Cancer Survivors Club by Chris Geiger
Funny Books About Cancer
35 books — 43 voters
Gut by Giulia EndersThe Removable Root Cause of Cancers and other Chronic Diseases by Paul OlaWired to Eat by Robb WolfAdrenal Fatigue by James L. WilsonA Mind of Your Own by Kelly Brogan
Functional Medicine
62 books — 41 voters

The Stand by Stephen KingThe Andromeda Strain by Michael CrichtonDoomsday Book by Connie WillisThe Hot Zone by Richard PrestonStation Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Best Popular Pandemic Books on Goodreads
96 books — 32 voters
The Removable Root Cause of Cancers and other Chronic Diseases by Paul OlaHealthcare From The Trenches by Alejandro BadiaHow We Do Harm by Otis Webb BrawleyWhen Breath Becomes Air by Paul KalanithiThe Obesity Code by Jason Fung
Medical Reads
204 books — 29 voters

Everything Is Tuberculosis by John GreenThe Magic Mountain by Thomas MannBreathing Room by Marsha HaylesQueen of Hearts by Martha BrooksThe Year of My Indian Prince by Ella Thorp Ellis
Tuberculosis
43 books — 25 voters
Spillover by David QuammenThe Great Influenza by John M. BarryAnd the Band Played On by Randy ShiltsGet Well Soon by Jennifer WrightPandemic by Sonia Shah
Pandemics and Epidemics (nonfiction)
124 books — 14 voters

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