The ‘best book of all time’ has been named by readers (stock photo) (Image: d3sign via Getty Images)
There are some books that sit on your shelf for months, and others that demand to be finished in a single sitting. If you’ve been searching for the latter, you may have just found your next great read.
Whether you’re a lifelong reader who burns through novels every week or someone trying to fall back in love with books after a long break, finding the right title at the right time can make all the difference. The trouble is, with so many options out there, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed – or to keep returning to the same familiar authors out of habit.
That’s where a recent Reddit thread has proved remarkably useful. One user asked fellow booklovers to share the titles that had truly gripped them, asking specifically for the kind of books that take over your life. The response was overwhelming, with more than 400 recommendations flooding in. And one novel stood head and shoulders above the rest.
The original poster set out exactly what they were after, saying: “What’s a book you couldn’t put down? Need something addictive. Looking for my next obsession. Not just a ‘good book’. I mean the kind that hijacks your brain, where you’re thinking about it at work and sneaking pages in when you shouldn’t. Doesn’t matter what genre, I just want to be consumed by it. What’s the book that did that to you?”
One of the most popular suggestions was East of Eden by John Steinbeck.
Published in 1952, the novel is widely considered Steinbeck’s most ambitious and sweeping work. The author himself called it his magnum opus, or his greatest achievement, and it’s not hard to see why readers agree.
The reaction from those who’ve read it speaks for itself. One commenter wrote: “I just finished reading this a month ago. It was so good, and it’s stayed with me, I think about it all the time.”
Another simply said: “Reading this right now. So good!” A third was even more emphatic: “Best book of all time!”
When one reader asked whether the novel was “really sad”, as they’d heard that from other sources, they were reassured that while it does contain emotional moments, that is far from all it is.
At its heart, East of Eden is a family saga that spans generations, charting the intertwined lives of two families: the Trasks and the Hamiltons. The story draws heavily on Steinbeck’s own roots, as the Hamilton family is thought to be based on the author’s real-life grandfather, Samuel Hamilton, and a young Steinbeck even appears briefly as a minor character within the narrative.
The bulk of the story takes place in California’s Salinas Valley, covering the period from the turn of the 20th century through to the end of World War I. The novel’s opening fourteen chapters, however, venture further back in time and further east, set in Connecticut and Massachusetts against the backdrop of the American Civil War in the 1800s. These early sections lay the groundwork for the central character, Adam Trask, his brother Charles, and their father, Cyrus.
More recommended ‘addictive’ books
If East of Eden doesn’t appeal to you, or if you’ve already read it, the Reddit thread attracted more than 400 responses brimming with alternative suggestions for equally captivating novels. Here are some of the most popular recommendations:
- Nobody’s Girl by Virginia Giuffre
- Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
- The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett
- Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
- Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
- World War Z by Max Brooks
- We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
- Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
- Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb
- Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
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