Books Recommended by John Green
You Are an Artist
Assignments to Spark Creation
Sarah Urist Green
Source: "Has been a real balm amid the fear, helping me to pay closer attention while making stuff for and with people I love." - John Green
The Last Summer of Reason
Tahar Djaout
Source: "About a bookstore owner who lives in a country overtaken by extremists who believe that art is evil." - John Green
City of Thorns
Ben Rawlence
Source: "Follows a handful of refugees over the course of many years living in Dadaab refugee camp." - John Green
Anastasia Krupnik (9 books)
Lois Lowry
Source: "[These] books meant so, so much to me when I was a kid--and still do." - John Green
The Golden Rule
Ilene Cooper
Source: "Has been huge to us in talking to Henry about imagining how other people are feeling." - John Green
Counting Descent
Clint Smith
Source: "[To quote the book,] I have always used words to try to convince the world that I am worth something." - John Green
Piecing Me Together
Renée Watson
Source: "Genuinely changed the way I think about the role art plays in human life." - John Green
We Are Okay
Nina LaCour
Source: "A poetic meditation on loss that took me right back to those last days of adolescence." - John Green
My Wife Said You May Want to Marry Me
A Memoir
Jason B. Rosenthal
Source: "Captures the true boundlessness of love and the absolute heartbreak of loss." - John Green
The Man Who Couldn't Stop
OCD and the True Story of a Life Lost in Thought
David Adam
Source: "A good place to start [to learn more about obsessive-compulsive disorder]." - John Green
The Hate U Give
Angie Thomas
Source: "I truly believe will be remembered as a classic of our time." - John Green
Kendra
Coe Booth
Source: "[The author's first book] is more famous. I like this one just as much." - John Green
One of Us
Alice Domurat Dreger
Source: "By far the best nonfiction book ever written about conjoined twins." - John Green
The King Is Always Above the People
Stories
Daniel Alarcón
Source: "His stories still astonish me with their precision and their power." - John Green
Death Comes for the Archbishop
Willa Cather
Source: "Maybe the most important novel about American religion." - John Green
Space Struck
Paige Lewis
Source: "Gives language to the overwhelming anxiety I'm feeling." - John Green
The Optimist's Daughter
Eudora Welty
Source: "The best book by one of the best 20th Century writers." - John Green
Fly on the Wall
How One Girl Saw Everything
E. Lockhart
Source: "Brilliant feminist reworking of Kafka's metamorphosis." - John Green
Ordinary Beast
Poems
Nicole Sealey
Source: "I really need poetry right now, like [this] beautiful book." - John Green
Round Ireland with a Fridge
Tony Hawks
Source: "One of the funniest things I've ever read." - John Green
FAQ
Did John Green recommend all these books?
Not necessarily. This book list has John Green must-read recommendations, but it also has a mix of mentions and suggestions.
How do you know John Green mentioned these books?
Every suggestion made by John Green is validated by our editors. You can find the sources to the recommendations linked next to the books.
Did John Green actually create this list?
No. This reading list was curated by our editors based on confirmed mentions from John Green, the sources are made available under each recommendation.
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