The Penguin books that shaped us

Celebrating 90 years of Penguin Books

Since 1935, Penguin has published books that have defined the world we live in. We’ve asked the experts, from editors and storytellers to musicians, podcasters and influencers, to help us gather the books that have shocked us, comforted us, raised us, and set our imaginations alight. Dive into the reading lists below to get started.

We invited our readers to vote for their favourite titles from each list, and over 10,000 of you participated. Penguin staff also cast their votes to help curate the ultimate Readers' Choice book list.