2026 Reading Challenge

Listopia > Poverty Book Lists

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper LeeA People’s History of the United States by Howard ZinnThe Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret AtwoodThe Color Purple by Alice WalkerNickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
Social Justice: Books on Racism, Sexism, and Class
2,129 books — 1,536 voters
Sheever's Journal, Diary of a Poison Master by K. RitzOne Dark Window by Rachel GilligThe Butcher of the Forest by Premee MohamedVictor's Blessing by Barbara SontheimerWicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan
Anything You Really Liked
2,559 books — 897 voters

The Shock Doctrine by Naomi KleinA People’s History of the United States by Howard ZinnNickel and Dimed by Barbara EhrenreichThe Diary of a Young Girl by Anne FrankBury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown
Essential Non-Fiction Reading Re: Human Rights
622 books — 417 voters
The Things They Carried by Tim O'BrienA Gracious Enemy & After the War Volume Two by Michael G. KramerMagenta by John Payton FodenConfederates by Thomas KeneallyAfter Dunkirk by Lee Jackson
Plight of a Nation
1,147 books — 400 voters

The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le GuinAnarchism and Other Essays by Emma GoldmanV for Vendetta by Alan MooreChomsky On Anarchism by Noam ChomskyThe Conquest of Bread by Pyotr Kropotkin
Anarchist books
470 books — 372 voters
The Shock Doctrine by Naomi KleinThe New Jim Crow by Michelle AlexanderDark Money by Jane MayerManufacturing Consent by Edward S. HermanUnderstanding Power by Noam Chomsky
Corruption, Plutocracy, Oligarchy, Kleptocracy, Corporatocracy — The Problem (nonfiction)
711 books — 175 voters

Oliver Twist by Charles DickensThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark TwainOf Mice and Men by John SteinbeckLes Misérables by Victor HugoThe Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Underclass
375 books — 131 voters
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara EhrenreichEvicted by Matthew DesmondJourney to the West by Biao WangMaid by Stephanie LandThe Working Poor by David K. Shipler
Books on Poverty and Inequality
218 books — 117 voters

Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud by Scott StevensGarbage Bag Suitcase by Shenandoah ChefaloThis Childhood of Mine by Laura Meer BarkleyA Child Called "It" by Dave PelzerThe Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Social Work/Human Service Books
270 books — 104 voters
The Book Thief by Markus ZusakJohn Henry the Friendly Giant by Cynthia Romaker FullmerOliver Twist by Charles DickensThe Help by Kathryn Stockett1984 by George Orwell
Literature Concerning Social Injustice and Human Suffering (Fiction Only)
196 books — 84 voters

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. ButlerWild Seed by Octavia E. ButlerHalf of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieParable of the Talents by Octavia E. ButlerDawn by Octavia E. Butler
Books by Black Authors That Don't Feature Slavery, Colonialism, Racism, or Poverty
193 books — 78 voters
Development as Freedom by Amartya SenThe Bottom Billion by Paul CollierWhy Nations Fail by Daron AcemoğluPoor Economics by Abhijit V. BanerjeeMountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder
International Development Book Club
119 books — 78 voters

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. MontgomeryHarry Potter Series Box Set by J.K. RowlingThe Bad Beginning by Lemony SnicketSky Ghosts by Alexandra EngellmannThe Forsaken by R.J. Craddock
Awesome Orphans
161 books — 76 voters
Tithing and Giving by J.A. CoxFrom Buddha to Jesus by Steve CioccolantiWhy Pro-Life? by Randy AlcornHumility by C.J. MahaneyRadical by David Platt
Christian Engagement in Culture
170 books — 59 voters

The Duchess War by Courtney MilanSecrets of a Summer Night by Lisa KleypasSomething Wonderful by Judith McNaughtJane Eyre by Charlotte BrontëThe Admiral's Penniless Bride by Carla Kelly
Impoverished Heroines
132 books — 58 voters
The Irresistible Revolution by Shane ClaiborneSex, Economy, Freedom, and Community by Wendell BerryCommon Prayer by Shane ClaiborneLet Justice Roll Down by John M. PerkinsNew Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton
Books for Ordinary Radicals
64 books — 45 voters

Can't Get There from Here by Todd StrasserPaper Things by Jennifer Richard JacobsonWhere I Live by Brenda RufenerHold Fast by Blue BalliettRunaway by Wendelin Van Draanen
Homelessness in Children's Fiction
114 books — 39 voters
The Syrian Virgin by Zack LoveAnissa's Redemption by Zack LoveJane Eyre by Charlotte BrontëThe Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre DumasFar from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
Best Books on Hope and Courage
37 books — 32 voters

Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover by Sarah MacLeanThe Lady Thief of Belgravia by Allison GreyA Lily Among Thorns by Rose LernerClaiming the Courtesan by Anna CampbellThe Emperor's Conspiracy by Michelle Diener
Ladies of the Underworld in Historical Romance
30 books — 31 voters
Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la PeñaThe Table Where Rich People Sit by Byrd BaylorA Chair for My Mother by Vera B. WilliamsThose Shoes by Maribeth BoeltsEach Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson
Picture Books About Poverty & Material Wealth
143 books — 28 voters

A Place at the Nayarit by Natalia MolinaBetween the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi CoatesA People’s History of the United States by Howard ZinnNickel and Dimed by Barbara EhrenreichHillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance
Nonfiction Books for and about the American Working Class
141 books — 24 voters
Oliver Twist by Charles DickensA Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty SmithAngela’s Ashes by Frank McCourtThe Glass Castle by Jeannette WallsWhere the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Books Involving Lower Class Families
299 books — 24 voters

The Suffragette Scandal by Courtney MilanThe Duchess War by Courtney MilanGideon's Children by Howard G. FranklinOnce Upon a Lie by Michael R. FrenchPainted Faces by L.H. Cosway
Fight for Your Rights: Civil Rights in Romance Novels
108 books — 22 voters
The Grapes of Wrath by John SteinbeckNickel and Dimed by Barbara EhrenreichThe Glass Castle by Jeannette WallsThe Working Poor by David K. ShiplerA Framework for Understanding Poverty by Ruby K. Payne
Poverty Concepts Resource List
21 books — 19 voters

Morning Glory by LaVyrle SpencerBone Deep by Bonnie DeeKyland by Mia SheridanOff Campus by Amy Jo CousinsSecondary Colors by Aubrey Brenner
Broke Romance Heroes
21 books — 18 voters
Oliver Twist by Charles DickensDavid Copperfield by Charles DickensThe Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan AikenWorkhouse Lass by Una HorneVictorian Workhouse by Pamela Oldfield
Victorian Workhouses/Poorhouses
31 books — 12 voters

Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Three Stories by Truman CapoteMidnight Cowboy by James Leo HerlihyAn Eye For Others by Tom McDonoughCittà in fiamme by Garth Risk HallbergPunk Avenue by Phil Marcade
Rock Bottom in New York
26 books — 11 voters
Why Nations Fail by Daron AcemoğluThe Company Valuation Playbook by Charles SunnucksThe Intelligent Investor by Benjamin GrahamToo Big to Fail by Andrew Ross SorkinUniversity of Berkshire Hathaway by Daniel Pecaut
Economist - Buttonwood: The Best Books On Finance and Economics
18 books — 11 voters

Annihilation of Caste by B.R. AmbedkarWho were the Shudras? by B.R. AmbedkarThe Buddha and his Dhamma by Aakash Singh RathoreCastes in India by B.R. AmbedkarThe Untouchables by B.R. Ambedkar
Ambedkar
95 books — 6 voters
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara EhrenreichThe Soul of Capitalism by William GreiderMountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy KidderBreaking Free by Abby SherHalf the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof
Guilt-Inducing Books
16 books — 3 voters

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