2026 Reading Challenge

Listopia > Jail Book Lists

The Green Mile by Stephen KingDifferent Seasons by Stephen KingPapillon by Henri CharrièreThe Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre DumasIn Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Prison Books
525 books — 245 voters
Hold by Zannie AdamsHard Time by Cara McKennaProtection by S.A. ReidCold by Brandon ShireUnPrison by Yamila Abraham
Prison Romance
158 books — 200 voters

Mackenzie's Mountain by Linda HowardLady Luck by Kristen AshleyPerfect by Judith McNaughtThe Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer AshleyMorning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer
Guilty Verdict - Hero Or Heroine Accused Or Convicted of Crime They Didn't Commit
211 books — 107 voters
Straight Boy by Alessandra HazardThe Freshman by Louise CollinsBrute by Kim FieldingProtection by S.A. ReidPsychopath by Louise Collins
Best Gay Prison Romances
86 books — 83 voters

Technological Slavery by Theodore John KaczynskiAnti-Tech Revolution by Theodore John KaczynskiIndustrial Society and Its Future by Theodore John KaczynskiPapillon by Henri CharrièreThe Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Authors who have spent time in jail/prison
269 books — 75 voters
Perfect Chemistry by Simone ElkelesSnitch by Allison van DiepenStreet Pharm by Allison van DiepenThe Rose That Grew From Concrete by Tupac ShakurCrank by Ellen Hopkins
Books for Incarcerated Youth
99 books — 47 voters

Hard Time by Cara McKennaLady Luck by Kristen AshleyOne Summer by Karen RobardsJackson Rule by Dinah McCallMackenzie's Mountain by Linda Howard
Jailhouse: Contemporary Romance Hero Just Out of Prison
62 books — 38 voters
30 Years Behind Bars by Karen GedneyPapillon by Henri CharrièreJust Mercy by Bryan StevensonA Tree with My Name on It by Victress HitchcockFreeman's Challenge by Robin Bernstein
Prison Stories Non-Fiction
131 books — 34 voters

The New Jim Crow by Michelle AlexanderThe Rage of Innocence by Kristin HenningJust Mercy by Bryan StevensonAbolition For The People by Colin KaepernickN*gga Theory by Jody Armour
Books That Demonstrate the Ongoing Need for Prison Reform
41 books — 33 voters
White Oleander by Janet FitchTable 21 by T. Rafael CiminoHarry Sue by Sue StauffacherAmber Was Brave, Essie Was Smart by Vera B. WilliamsDiary of a Freedom Writer by Darrius Garrett
Incarcerated Parents
83 books — 30 voters

This Heart of Mine by Brenda NovakThree Nights before Christmas by Kat LathamUnforgiven by Elizabeth FinnUnsuitable by Samantha TowleThe Bad Penny by Susan Fox
Prison Blues: Romance Heroine Just Out of Prison
30 books — 24 voters
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre DumasHoles by Louis SacharRita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen KingA Tale of Two Cities by Charles DickensLes Misérables by Victor Hugo
Locked up - Books set in fictional prisons
54 books — 19 voters

The Stranger Beside Me by Ann RuleHelter Skelter by Vincent BugliosiUntil the Twelfth of Never by Bella StumboDevil's Knot by Mara LeverittColumbine by Dave Cullen
Best Nonfiction True Crime Novels About Crimes 1900 Onward
45 books — 18 voters
The Texan's Wager by Jodi ThomasThe Perils of Pleasure by Julie Anne LongShanna by Kathleen E. WoodiwissWhen a Texan Gambles by Jodi ThomasThe Wives of Bowie Stone by Maggie Osborne
Saved from the Noose Romance
46 books — 18 voters

The Drug Users Bible by Dominic Milton TrottThe Drug Users Bible [Extended Edition] by Dominic Milton TrottDIARY OF AN INTERNATIONAL CALL GIRL by Isabella PaxIgnorance is not Bliss by Susan Segovia-MunozOrange Is the New Black by Piper Kerman
Substance abuse and addiction
20 books — 16 voters
The Graybar Hotel by Curtis DawkinsCherry by Nico WalkerLetter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr.Conversations With Myself by Nelson MandelaOur Lady of the Flowers by Jean Genet
Task 20 #ReadHarder 2019
106 books — 16 voters

Night in Eden by Candice ProctorTo Have and To Hold by Patricia GaffneyHold by Claire KentUnlocking Her Innocence by Lynne GrahamLothaire by Kresley Cole
Heroine had been in prison
29 books — 14 voters
A Hunted Man by Jaime ReeseA Worthy Man by Jaime ReeseStrays by Garrett LeighWhat It Looks Like by Matthew J. MetzgerA Better Man by Jaime Reese
Gay Romance: Hero Spent Time in Prison
39 books — 13 voters

Marching Powder by Rusty YoungMidnight Express by Billy HayesStolen Lives by Malika OufkirThe Damage Done by Warren FellowsPapillon by Henri Charrière
Books about being in prison in a foreign country
25 books — 10 voters
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria RemarqueRabbit-Proof Fence by Doris PilkingtonValentine Joe by Rebecca StevensSalt to the Sea by Ruta SepetysBetween Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
All wired up
33 books — 8 voters

Prisoner by Annika MartinHard Time by Cara McKennaAll Chained Up by Sophie JordanSlammer by Tabatha VargoInmate by Lynn Powers
Prison Setting Contemporary Romance
6 books — 5 voters
Texas Gulag by Gary BrownThe Broad Arrow by Oliné KeeseDry guillotine by René BelbenoitAmong the Broad-Arrow Men; a plain account of English prison ... by B.2.15Prison paintings by Michael Quanne
Funtime
197 books — 3 voters

Alias Grace by Margaret AtwoodThe Man in the Iron Mask by Alexandre DumasAffinity by Sarah WatersResistance Women by Jennifer ChiaveriniTrue History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey
Prisons in Historical Fiction
14 books — 3 voters
Divergent by Veronica RothThe Graveyard Book by Neil GaimanInside the Dark Underbelly of Rikers Island by Robin K. MillerThe Stand by Stephen KingAllegiant by Veronica Roth
best books a must read
7 books — 2 voters

Far Apart, Close in Heart by Becky BirthaMilo Imagines the World by Matt de la PeñaWhy Is My Daddy In Jail by Pamela J. TomlinsonMy Daddy's In Jail by Anthony CurcioMy Daddy is in Jail by Phyllis Martin Hopp
Parents in Prison - Picture books for kids
12 books — 2 voters
Rogues by Patrick Radden KeefePromise Boys by Nick BrooksThe Good for Nothings by Danielle BanasThe Prisoner of Snowflake Falls by John LekichInside by Julia Jarman
Mugshots on the Cover
19 books — 2 voters

Colours of the Cage by Arun FerreiraFrom Bihar to Tihar by Kanhaiya KumarCaptive Imagination by Varavara RaoEveryday Life in a Prison by Mahuya BandyopadhyayWhy Do You Fear My Way So Much? Poems and Letters from Prison by G.N. Saibaba
Voices from Prison – South Asia
68 books — 2 voters
The Man Who Outgrew His Prison Cell by Joe LoyaOrange Is the New Black by Piper KermanMy Bloody Life by Reymundo SánchezIt Calls You Back by Luis J. RodríguezMexicans on Death Row by Ricardo Ampudia
Mexican-American Prison Memoir
30 books — 2 voters

Visiting Day by Jacqueline WoodsonSomething Happened to My Dad by Ann HazzardThe Night Dad Went to Jail by Melissa HigginsWhat Do I Say About That? by Julia CookFar Apart, Close in Heart by Becky Birtha
Family Books of Children with Relatives in Prison
51 books — 2 voters
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le GuinThe Howling Man by Charles BeaumontThe Executioner Box by Matt HiltonUnder The Hospital by Mike Edward EvansMeddling Kids by Edgar Cantero
Evil Forces Awakened by Meddling Humans in Fiction
46 books — 1 voter

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