Top Ten Books Of All Time!!!

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:00]Hi, my name is Jake and I [music] and a bookish drummer.

[00:00:09][music] [music] So, for today's video, it's going to be a special topic. I'm going to be talking about my top 10 books of all time. Now, I believe I've done this video once in the past, maybe twice, but I've at least done it once, like when I first started my channel years and years ago. And will the list be different? It will be a little different. However, some of my like top tier books like top five isn't going to change that much, but there will be some changes. And with the caveat that for my rule, my new rule for the top 10 books, I have to have read these books at least twice. I have to have reread them at least once because about a year ago, or maybe even more than a year ago, I did a video called, "Are these books top 10 worthy?" And I wanted to go back and reread a bunch of books to see like which books still held up, which books would be implemented into my top 10. But a year has gone by or more, and I haven't really done that that much, if at all. So, my new rule for now is that I have to have read uh my top 10 books at least twice, if not more. So, my top 10 are all books that I have reread at least once. And it's a pretty concise list now that I've narrowed it down to that. But if I start rereading some of my all-time favorites, it might get a bit dicey again. So, with all that being said, let's go ahead and jump right into it.

[00:01:59][music] Before I get into the actual top 10 list, however, I will go over some books that I have reread at least once that just barely missed the cut from the top 10. There's a few of my all-time favorite fantasy books and series such as Age of Myth, the first book in Legends of the First Empire by Michael J. Sullivan. Just missed the cut. Same thing with 12 Kings in Sherai. This would honestly probably be number 11 uh by Bradley Pibolio, the first book in the Song of Shattered Sands series. And also a book that I recently just reread again was The Last Wish by Andre Subkovsky or Sword of Destiny. I always flip-flop which one I like more, but just some of the best fantasy books ever written. Also, a book that used to be in my top 10 list. I think I included it in my video when I did it years ago. The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradberry or The October Country by Ray Bradberry. Both probably 1 A, 1B. Which one is better? I don't know. But I love me some Ray Bradberry. Pains me to not have them in the top 10, but I think these books I my my top 10 books I enjoy just a bit more.

[00:03:11]And then on the horror side, a book that I've reread, I think, three times now is My Heart is a Chainsaw by Steven Graham Jones. One of my all-time favorite horror books and horror characters of Jade. And yeah, just missed the cut. And then I can talk about very briefly some books that I have not reread. I've only read them once, but these are still some of my all-time favorite books that I would love to go back and reread eventually. We have The Picture of Dorian Gay by Oscar Wild, my all-time favorite classic. We have The Last Word by Taylor Adams, one of the most bonkers thrillers I've ever read. We have Tinder is the Flesh by Augustina Batria. One of the craziest, most disturbing horror books I've ever read. A very recent read that I'll probably take me a while to go back and reread. When the Wolf Comes Home by Nat Casty, one of my new favorite horror books. This one will probably be reread soon, maybe.

[00:04:04]I don't know. But Then She Was Gone by Lisa Juel. My all-time favorite thriller writer. Pains me to not have her in the top 10 list somewhere. So, might be rereading this one soon. Another one of my all-time favorite kind of crime thriller books is Black Top Wasteland by S. Cosby. Definitely my favorite by S.

[00:04:22]Cosby. Again, this next one also pains me that it's not in the top 10, but I've only read it once, so it's going to have to be reread if it wants to get bumped up. Imaginary Friend by Steven Chabbosski. One of, if not my favorite horror book of all time. But with these new rules, I've only read it once, so I need to get going on it. A book that I'm very interested to see if I'll like it just as much the second time as much as I did the first time. Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Heruki Makami. I recently just reread After Dark and I liked that even more on a reread. So, if I like this more on a reread, I'm sure it could potentially jump up into the top 10 spot. And again, another favorite horror novel, Just Like Home by Sarah Gaye. This book blew me away a couple of years ago, but I need to reread it for it to be eligible. All right, now we're jumping into the top 10 list, and I am going to rank these. So, this is going to be 10 to number one.

[00:05:16]So, starting with number 10. And this is a book that I recently just reread a few weeks ago in April during Battle of the Bands Readathon. So, this just is now eligible. And that would of course be Daisy Jones in the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reed. My all-time favorite Taylor Jenkins Reed books. Given most of her books four and a half or five stars, but this was the one that I first started with and it just blew me away. If you guys don't know, it's all about this fictional band named Daisy Jones in the Six. And the audio book for this is superb because it's basically just a long form interview with all of the members of the band and the people that were surrounding the band, their spouses, girlfriends here, everybody.

[00:05:59]And it's just really well done. Every character kind of gets their own narrator or audiobook person. And it's it's just so well done. And Taylor Jenkins Reed is the master of blending comedy and drama. There's a lot of laugh out loud moments in here. There's a lot of tearjerking moments in here. There's band drama. There's great music. There's great camaraderie. There's just a little bit of everything. All the emotions piled into one 9-hour audiobook. And it's so good. And I read this for the first time, I think like five years ago when I first started the channel, and I hadn't reread it since. Um, but I recently just reread it and it reminded me why I love this book so much. So, it had to be on this list. I have now read it twice and will probably be reading it a lot more in the future. So, coming in at the number 10 spot, Daisy Jones and the Six. Coming in at the number nine spot on the list, we're switching over to fantasy now. And that would of course be Kings of the Wild by Nicholas Emmes.

[00:07:00]One of my favorite fantasy books of all time and possibly one of the funniest books that I've ever written. This book is one of the more entertaining fantasy books I've ever read. And with all of that, like I love fantasy and I love humor, but he manages to also sprinkle in a bunch of classic rock references.

[00:07:19]If you guys don't know this first book, it's got the tagline, the boys are back in town. Obviously, a thin Lizzy reference, but basically there's this daughter that goes missing and these guys who used to be kind of in this, you know, barred band, if you will. uh they they're kind of old and tired now, but they get the band back together to go look for this lost daughter. So, that's the premise. Very simple and basically a very simple story, but again, just so much humor, so much camaraderie with the band and a lot of really fun musical references. Obviously, I'm a classic rock junkie and this book specifically has a bunch of 70s classic rock references. the sequel, Bloody Rose, which you guys can't see. It's right here. Uh, this one also does the same thing except with 80s. And the story isn't as good or as funny for me as Kings of the Wild. This is still great.

[00:08:17]But Kings of the Wild, man, the humor, the 70s references, the characters, the humor, just everything works perfectly in this book. And it's one of my all-time favorite fantasy books. So, it comes in at the number nine spot. Kings of the Wild by Nicholas Emmes. Next up, we're switching genres yet again for the first book in a sci-fi trilogy, possibly my favorite trilogy of all time, and that would of course go with Sleeping Giants by Sane Neville. And man, this guy is one of my all-time favorite sci-fi novelists. And the Theis Files, this is the first book in the Theis Files trilogy, possibly my favorite trilogy of all time. Now, that's it's tough to say because there's obviously John Cleaver, which may or may not get mentioned here in a minute, and Poppy War trilogy, but the there's so many great trilogies, but the theme is Files for me personally, works so well as a cohesive trilogy. And this first book, I tend to love first books in series. Um, but yeah, this one I don't want to spoil too much, but basically at the start of the book, this little girl falls into kind of a hole in the ground on top of this giant metallic hand. And all across the world, they're finding giant metallic parts to a body all over the world. And they're trying to figure out why they're there. What are they going to do with them? And it kind of unfolds from there. And the series gets really crazy and chaotic. It's just really cool sci-fi and also like with Daisy Jones in the sixth full cast audio narration. All the characters get their own audiobook narrators and it's told in episttolary style where it's these random files and random journal entries and random news articles and interviews. It's just really well done. Highly recommend the audiobooks if you're going to do this trilogy. It's so well done and one of my all-time favorite sci-fi series and specifically this first book is my favorite. So, had to put it in the top 10 list. So, number eight, Sleeping Giants by Sane Neville. And now we're switching genres yet again for the horror genre. There's going to be a few horror books on this list. And for the number seven spot, I'm going to go with Mr. Monster by Dan Wells. This is book two in the John Cleaver series, the second book in the first John Cleaver trilogy. And again, like like I mentioned, I normally love first books in series, and all of this all the the books in the first trilogy are five stars, but this one is just on another level. The characters, you know, are welldeveloped now, and the the villain in here is one of the best villains I've ever read. so many twists and turns in this series, but specifically in this book in the way that John Clever kind of figures out everything and is able to get out of everything.

[00:11:11]It It's just so good. And the the [sighs] man, I love John Cleaver. But yeah, this is definitely my favorite book in the series and it's my all-time favorite horror series. If you guys don't know, I probably should have said this, but the first book is called I Am Not a Serial Killer. And the main character is John Clever, who's a 15-year-old boy who is a sociopath who is obsessed with learning about serial killers. And he lives in this small town, and all of a sudden, these people start dying in his small town, and he's like, "There might be a serial killer here." So, it starts with that premise, and then it gets even more chaotic.

[00:11:45]Don't can't spoil how, but it it's so good and it ramps up even more in the second book. Mr. Monster, probably the fan favorite of the series in in what I've seen online and I would agree. Mr. Monster is fantastic. My favorite John Cleaver book. It had to be on the list.

[00:12:03]So, number seven, Mr. Monster by Dan Wells. And number six on this list, we're staying with the horror genre.

[00:12:10]Possibly one of my favorite horror books of all time. And that would of course be Baby Teeth by Zoe Stage. Now, this is definitely a horror book. You might even call it more of like a psychological thriller, but basically the premise of this one is you have two altering POVs.

[00:12:27]One is a mother who is dealing with a lot of chronic illness and she's having trouble dealing with her troubled daughter Hannah who is seven years old.

[00:12:38]And then the other POV is Hannah, who happens to be a smidge crazy and wants to hurt or possibly kill her mother. So, this book is wild. It's a lot of fun.

[00:12:51]It's dark, very, very dark and disturbing, but having a seven-year-old antagonist basically that wants to kill her mom and like the clever ways that she tries to go about doing that and then also getting the mom's POV of like, what is happening? What is wrong with my child? It's so good. I know a lot of people read this and it's very stressful for them. Uh, and it's definitely, you know, not to get too personal, but let's just say I I do not want children. And this book Yeah. [laughter] But yeah, this book is just awesome.

[00:13:23]I've read this books, I don't know, at least three or four times. It's just so good every time. And yeah, Hannah is just a little seven-year-old girl that wants to kill her mom. And it's it's fantastic to read. The sequel is great as well. Dear Hannah, but I still love Baby Teeth even more. So, yeah, this had to be on this list. And coming in at number six, Baby Teeth by Zoe Stage. And now we're cracking into the top five here. By genre count, we have three fantasy books. One book that's kind of hard to describe. Thriller, horror, suspense, mystery, kind of everything.

[00:13:59]And then uh actually a middle-grade book. You guys might be able to guess what these books are. This I will say this top five is pretty solidified. Like it could change maybe, but like it's pretty solidified. It's really like six through 10 that's kind of going to go jumping around when I start rereading some of these books, but the top five is pretty secure. Coming in at number five, just cracking the top five, we have The Lies of Lamora by Scott Lynch. Now, I will say the first time I read this book, I did it physically and I had to put it down because I wasn't quite grasping the story. I wasn't quite getting into it, but then it all changed when I got the audio book narrated by Michael Paige. He really brought the characters to life. He brought the humor that I wasn't quite getting just from reading it physically. He brought the humor out and everything clicked into place. I love this book. I love this series. And this book, if you guys don't know, is all about obviously Lamora and his lies. This is all about how Lamora joins the gentleman bastards. And you've got and you definitely have an altering timeline when uh you have the present timeline and then him in the past where he's like an upand cominging thief.

[00:15:18]These are a gang of thieves. They're professionals and that's what they do for a living. And then in the present, they're they're really going after this huge heist. So, this is definitely more of a heist fantasy similar maybe in the veins of Misborn, but this is much better than Misborn. It's so good. And again, I love when books can infuse humor and do it well. Like Kings of the Wild is hilarious, but Liza Lammore is also hilarious. It definitely also has some darker moments and some very sad moments and poignant moments, but really I love the character banter and specifically uh obviously there's Lamora and his friend Jean. Lock and Jean are just probably the best friendship I've ever read. There's obviously, you know, Stephen King has written great friendships and there's been great friendships all around, but Lock and John are just some of the best friends that I've ever read. their relationship throughout all the books are fantastic.

[00:16:19]And yeah, this book again, the first book in a series, has a special place in my heart and it's just so damn good. Uh, but yeah, The Lies of Lamora definitely deserving to be in the top 10 and it comes in at number five on the list.

[00:16:33]This next book is possibly definitely, I should say, definitely my most reread book of all time. I read this book first when I was in middle school, probably about sixth grade. I think I still have the original copy that I bought all the way back then and I've read it at several different points in my life and it's meant something different to me every time that I've reread it. So I'm of course talking about Drums Girls in Dangerous Pie at the number four spot by Jordan Sonlick. And yeah, this book obviously if you guys know me and my channel I am a drummer who loves to read. So having a book with Drums Girls and Dangers Pie. Oh, uh, I read this for the first time in sixth grade, and it was a really fun read, but also very poignant and very sad and depressing, which, you know, you wouldn't really really get from the the cover here. But if you guys want the basic premise, mild spoiler warnings for the very beginning of the book. You got this guy named Steven who's in eighth grade. He's an all steady jazz. He loves to play drums, but his life kind of turns upside down when his little brother is diagnosed with leukemia. And he's really struggling with dealing with that, dealing with school, dealing with seemingly absent parents because the parents are obviously dealing with the little kid, his little brother who has leukemia. So, it's really a coming of age tale where he basically learns like he isn't the center of the universe. He has to think of other people. And it can be frustrating. it. You know, when I when I read it in middle school, you know, it felt different than when I read it as an adult because in middle school, you're just like, "Oh, man. He can't catch a break." But then you read it as an adult, you're like, "Man, little kid's an to deal deal with your crap, man. Your brother has leukemia."

[00:18:20]Um, but yeah, this book, I've reread it probably 10 times by now, and I've read it at different points in my life, and it's just it's so good. I love reading this book. It's very short, obviously.

[00:18:32]It's a middle-grade book and obviously it doesn't help that you got drums throughout the whole book. So, yep, definitely top five worthy and it comes in at the number four spot. Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonlick. And now the top three. Longtime viewers of my channel can probably already guess what these books are, but if you're curious, stay tuned to find out. Number three, we're going to go with an author that I've talked a lot about on my channel extensively, possibly even too much for some people, but of course, I'm talking about The Dead Zone by Stephen King. And this was the book that I mentioned that's kind of hard to categorize in one genre. I don't necessarily think of it as a horror book, although it does have horror elements. It's obviously written by the master of horror or the king of horror.

[00:19:20]Um, but it also has mystery elements. It has suspense, thriller, um, literary, even a little bit of romance. It's got it's got a little bit of everything, which is why I love it so much. And specifically, this is my all-time favorite Stephen King book. So, obviously, I had to put it pretty high in my top 10 list. But one of the reasons why is when I first read this book, it was one of the only King books that when I first started reading King, I hadn't seen the movie, so I wasn't really aware of too much involved in the story. The one of the first King books that I read was The Shining, and I grew up watching that movie. And then, of course, I read Mystery, which I grew up watching, Pet Cemetery, It Kujo. I read all those books that I'd seen the movies for, but reading this one, not having seen Christopher Walkin play Johnny Smith, it was very fresh to me and it was one of those books that when I read it, I could like picture it crystal clear in my mind. That doesn't always happen when I read books, but when I read this book for the first time and when I reread it, it was just like picture perfect in my mind and it was an experience and it's still my favorite Stephen King book to this day. So, it obviously had to be in my top 10 list and for right now it's number three on the list. So, The Dead Zone by Stephen King, number three. And coming in at number two on the list, we're switching to fantasy for these top two picks. So, pretty much narrowing it down here, but stay with me. Number two, we have The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson.

[00:20:55]Stormlight Archive. My second favorite series of all time. Very fitting that it's my second favorite book of all time. This one, I will say, um, I'll tell you a little story. So, you guys probably already know what my number one pick. I won't spoil it for anyone who doesn't, but after I read that book and that series in totality, that fantasy series, I basically went to Barnes & Noble and said, "You know what?

[00:21:20]I'm in the mood for more fantasy. I want to find the biggest, fattest, chunkiest fantasy book and just jump into it." And lo and behold, I got this copy of The Way of Kings. I looked at it and I was like, "Damn, that's pretty thick." And I bought it without knowing who Brandon Sanderson was. I bought it not knowing what the cosmir was, not knowing at all what I was getting into. And man, I fell in love with the world of Roshar. And while the first book that I will mention in a minute here, that fantasy series obviously fantastic, but this one was kind of the first experience I had reading a fantasy book that felt alien, like out of this world, like what is even what what even is this? And the world of Roshar is definitely like that.

[00:22:09]Brandon Sanderson is great with world building and really making you feel like, oh, you're on a different planet.

[00:22:15]Like, this is nuts. And the characters were great. There were some outstanding just moments throughout the book. Really jaw-dropping moments and just really cathartic moments in the end. And it's still my favorite Stormlight Archive book. I know a lot of people say that like, oh, like Way of Kings, Words of Radiance are great, but then it kind of declines and The Wind of Truth, a lot of people had problems with it. I still gave every book five stars, but for me, The Way of Kings, it's it's just so special. Every time I go back to reread the series, when a new book comes out, I always really love The Way of Kings the most. Still, even though the rest of the series is fantastic as well, but Way of Kings is just so damn good. So, it had to come in at the number two spot for me. So, The Way of Kings, Brandon Sanderson, number two on the list. And now we come to the number one spot. A book that I don't think will ever be dethroned from my favorite book of all time. It's been my favorite book basically since I read it years and years ago, and it's remained the same ever since. And the series is my number one favorite series, even though it's not finished. You guys can probably already guess what it is. What? My favorite book of all time number one is A Storm of Swords by George R. Martin.

[00:23:34]My favorite book of all time. So, obviously George R. Martin, my all-time favorite author. A Song of Ice and Fire, my all-time favorite series. And then within that series, A Storm of Swords is my favorite. So, makes sense that A Storm of Swords is my all-time favorite book. And actually, currently, I have started my reread of it. Don't worry, I have reread this book several several times. So, it's it's been counted, you know, like you know, my list here. I've had to have read these books at least twice. I've read this book I don't even know how many times, but it's more than two. I've started my reread. I think I'm a few chapters in. I'm going to try to read it slow, but every time I start a song of ice and fire, I just get sucked in and just have to binge through it like a madman. But yeah, what can I say about a song of ice and fire that I already haven't talked about? Like George is the master of characters and characters are one of the biggest reasons why I fall in love with books, but also books that are in my top 10 usually have great characters and outstanding plot moments that make my jaw drop. And this book is basically nothing but that. It seems like every chapter George is introducing something new, something shocking, killing some characters off or big reveals. Like this is peak a song of ice and fire for me personally. There's just so much jam-packed into this 1100page novel and I don't think it can ever be topped. I don't think anyone will write a book probably other than George if he ever comes out with Winds of Winter or Dream of Spring. those could potentially dethrone this book. But as of right now, Storm of Swords can't be beat. My all-time favorite book. So, number one, A Storm of Swords by George R. Martin.

[00:25:22]All right, so that's my top 10 books of all time. And just a recap, number one favorite, Storm of Swords by my boy George. And number two, The Way of Kings by Brandon Sando. We have The Dead Zone by Stephen King. We have Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnen Blick. We have The Lies of Lamora by Scott Lynch. We have Baby Teeth by Zoe Stage. All these books are falling over now. We have Mr. Monster by Dan Wells.

[00:25:53]We have Sleeping Giants by Sane Neville.

[00:25:57]We have Kings of the Wild by Nicholas Emmes. And Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reed. So that's my top 10 list. It's tentative. This list is always going to be changing now that I have a criteria of I have to have read these books at least twice. I've read these books, all of these books at least twice, if not more. And like I mentioned, some of these other books that I've only read once, if I reread them, they become eligible for the top 10. The problem is, what the hell do I bump out of the top 10 to get these books in? So, it it'll be it'll be a tough task, but it these are my favorite books of all time. So, whether in my top 10 or not, I still love all of them. But what I want you guys to do is to comment down below if you agree or disagree with my books here. Are any of the books that are in my top 10 also in your top 10?

[00:26:50]Comment down below what are your top 10 books of all time? Or if you can't think of 10, just name your favorite book of all time. I would love to read those comments down below. So do that please.

[00:27:02]And of course, thank you guys so much for watching. If you enjoyed this video, please give it a quick thumbs up.

[00:27:07]Subscribe to the channel if you haven't already. Stay subscribed for more content. I try to post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Book a storm Discord down below where we've always got tons of buddy reads and readalongs happening all the damn time, including Storm of Swords because we are in the middle of a song of ice and fire readalong. I have just started this reread and I am enjoying it immensely.

[00:27:29]Patreon down below if you want to go support me there for as little as $1 a month and my Amazon wish list if you'd like to buy me a book. Thank you guys so much for watching. Have a fantastic day.

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