This list includes 50 Books that start with L, from “Labyrinth Lost” to “Luster”. These titles span contemporary fiction, classics, fantasy, memoir, and literary works often used for reading lists and discovery. Use it for reading lists, library catalogs, teaching, or content creation.
Books that start with L are titles whose first letter is L, across languages and genres. From Laura Ingalls Wilder to Louise Glück, many notable authors share this initial.
Below you’ll find the table with Title, Author, Year, Genre, and Notes.
Title: The book’s full name as commonly published; you use this to identify and search for the work.
Author: The credited writer or creators, useful for distinguishing works with similar titles and finding other books by them.
Year: The original publication year or first edition date, helping you place the book historically and in reading lists.
Genre: The primary category or genres, so you can filter by interest like fiction, memoir, fantasy, or academic.
Notes: Brief context such as awards, series placement, or a distinguishing feature to aid selection and discovery.
Books that start with L
| Title | Author | Year | Genre |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lord of the Flies | William Golding | 1954 | Allegorical Novel, Dystopian Fiction |
| Lolita | Vladimir Nabokov | 1955 | Literary Fiction, Modern Classic |
| Little Women | Louisa May Alcott | 1868 | Coming-of-Age, Classic Fiction |
| Lord of the Rings | J.R.R. Tolkien | 1954 | High Fantasy, Epic |
| Life of Pi | Yann Martel | 2001 | Philosophical Fiction, Adventure |
| Lonesome Dove | Larry McMurtry | 1985 | Epic Western, Historical Fiction |
| Left Hand of Darkness | Ursula K. Le Guin | 1969 | Science Fiction, Feminist Literature |
| Leaves of Grass | Walt Whitman | 1855 | Poetry Collection, American Classic |
| Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | C.S. Lewis | 1950 | Children’s Fantasy, Christian Allegory |
| Love in the Time of Cholera | Gabriel García Márquez | 1985 | Magical Realism, Romance |
| Little Prince | Antoine de Saint-Exupéry | 1943 | Fable, Children’s Literature |
| Lincoln in the Bardo | George Saunders | 2017 | Experimental Fiction, Historical |
| Less | Andrew Sean Greer | 2017 | Satirical Fiction, Comedy |
| Little Fires Everywhere | Celeste Ng | 2017 | Domestic Fiction, Contemporary |
| Lovely Bones | Alice Sebold | 2002 | Supernatural Thriller, Drama |
| Lightning Thief | Rick Riordan | 2005 | Fantasy, Young Adult, Mythology |
| Looking for Alaska | John Green | 2005 | Young Adult, Coming-of-Age |
| Lies of Locke Lamora | Scott Lynch | 2006 | Fantasy, Heist Fiction |
| Long Walk to Freedom | Nelson Mandela | 1994 | Autobiography, Memoir |
| Lord Jim | Joseph Conrad | 1900 | Adventure Novel, Psychological Fiction |
| Lady Chatterley’s Lover | D.H. Lawrence | 1928 | Modernist Novel, Romance |
| Last of the Mohicans | James Fenimore Cooper | 1826 | Historical Fiction, Adventure |
| Labyrinths | Jorge Luis Borges | 1962 | Short Story Collection, Magical Realism |
| Let the Great World Spin | Colum McCann | 2009 | Historical Fiction |
| Long Way Down | Jason Reynolds | 2017 | Novel in Verse, Young Adult |
| Lowland | Jhumpa Lahiri | 2013 | Historical Fiction, Family Saga |
| Leviathan Wakes | James S.A. Corey | 2011 | Science Fiction, Space Opera |
| Lorax | Dr. Seuss | 1971 | Children’s Book, Environmental Fable |
| Light in the Attic | Shel Silverstein | 1981 | Poetry, Children’s Literature |
| Liar’s Poker | Michael Lewis | 1989 | Non-fiction, Finance, Memoir |
| Life After Life | Kate Atkinson | 2013 | Historical Fiction, Speculative Fiction |
| Lincoln Lawyer | Michael Connelly | 2005 | Legal Thriller, Crime Fiction |
| Love Medicine | Louise Erdrich | 1984 | Literary Fiction, Native American Lit |
| Les Liaisons dangereuses | Pierre Choderlos de Laclos | 1782 | Epistolary Novel, French Classic |
| Like Water for Chocolate | Laura Esquivel | 1989 | Magical Realism, Romance |
| Last Picture Show | Larry McMurtry | 1966 | Coming-of-Age, Fiction |
| Long Goodbye | Raymond Chandler | 1953 | Hardboiled Detective Fiction, Noir |
| Little Dorrit | Charles Dickens | 1857 | Classic Fiction, Social Satire |
| Lost World | Arthur Conan Doyle | 1912 | Science Fiction, Adventure Novel |
| Luster | Raven Leilani | 2020 | Contemporary Fiction |
| Legend | Marie Lu | 2011 | Dystopian, Young Adult |
| Last Thing He Told Me | Laura Dave | 2021 | Mystery, Thriller |
| Library at Mount Char | Scott Hawkins | 2015 | Fantasy, Horror |
| Leopard | Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa | 1958 | Historical Fiction, Italian Classic |
| Little Drummer Girl | John le Carré | 1983 | Spy Fiction, Thriller |
| Lost Illusions | Honoré de Balzac | 1843 | Realist Novel, French Classic |
| Last Exit to Brooklyn | Hubert Selby Jr. | 1964 | Transgressive Fiction, Modern Classic |
| Luckiest Girl Alive | Jessica Knoll | 2015 | Mystery, Thriller |
| Let the Circle Be Unbroken | Mildred D. Taylor | 1981 | Young Adult, Historical Fiction |
| Labyrinth Lost | Zoraida Córdova | 2016 | Young Adult, Fantasy |
Descriptions
Lord of the Flies
A group of British schoolboys stranded on an island descends into savagery. Golding’s debut novel and a staple of high school reading lists.
Lolita
A stylistically brilliant and controversial novel about a literature professor’s obsessive, illicit passion for a 12-year-old girl.
Little Women
The beloved story of the four March sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—as they grow up in Civil War-era New England.
Lord of the Rings
An epic fantasy adventure concerning the quest to destroy the One Ring, a powerful and corrupting artifact created by the Dark Lord Sauron.
Life of Pi
Winner of the Man Booker Prize, this novel tells the fantastical story of a boy who survives at sea on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger.
Lonesome Dove
A Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about two retired Texas Rangers who lead a cattle drive from Texas to Montana, defining the modern Western genre.
Left Hand of Darkness
A groundbreaking sci-fi novel exploring an androgynous society, winning both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for its profound look at gender.
Leaves of Grass
A continually revised and expanded collection of poetry that is considered a landmark in American literature, celebrating nature, democracy, and the individual.
Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The first published and best-known book in The Chronicles of Narnia, where four siblings discover the magical world of Narnia through a wardrobe.
Love in the Time of Cholera
A sweeping love story spanning over fifty years between Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza in a Caribbean port city.
Little Prince
A poetic and philosophical tale in which a pilot stranded in the desert meets a young prince who has fallen to Earth from a tiny asteroid.
Lincoln in the Bardo
Winner of the Man Booker Prize, this novel uniquely imagines Abraham Lincoln visiting the grave of his young son in a cemetery populated by ghosts.
Less
A struggling novelist accepts a series of international literary invitations to avoid his ex-boyfriend’s wedding in this Pulitzer Prize-winning book.
Little Fires Everywhere
A bestselling novel that explores the weight of secrets, the nature of art, and the ferocious pull of motherhood in a placid Ohio suburb.
Lovely Bones
Narrated by a teenage girl from heaven after she is murdered, this novel follows her family as they grieve and search for her killer.
Lightning Thief
The first book in the Percy Jackson series, introducing a young boy who discovers he is a demigod, the son of the Greek god Poseidon.
Looking for Alaska
The debut novel from a celebrated YA author, telling the story of a teen’s first love, loss, and search for meaning at a boarding school.
Lies of Locke Lamora
An adventure following a charismatic orphan and his band of thieves, known as the Gentleman Bastards, in a Venice-inspired city.
Long Walk to Freedom
The inspiring autobiography of the anti-apartheid revolutionary and former South African president, detailing his early life, activism, and 27 years in prison.
Lord Jim
A young British seaman seeks to redeem himself after a moment of cowardice at sea, exploring themes of honor, guilt, and morality.
Lady Chatterley’s Lover
A once-banned novel about an affair between an aristocratic woman and her estate’s gamekeeper, known for its explicit exploration of sexuality.
Last of the Mohicans
A classic of American literature set during the French and Indian War, following the frontiersman Natty Bumppo and his Mohican companions.
Labyrinths
A seminal collection of short stories and essays from the Argentine writer, exploring metaphysical and fantastical themes like infinity and identity.
Let the Great World Spin
Winner of the National Book Award, this novel interweaves the lives of various New Yorkers on the day Philippe Petit walked a tightrope between the Twin Towers.
Long Way Down
A critically acclaimed story, told in verse, about a teenage boy’s 60-second elevator ride as he contemplates avenging his brother’s murder.
Lowland
Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, this novel follows two brothers from Calcutta whose lives take dramatically different paths.
Leviathan Wakes
The first novel in The Expanse series, a Hugo Award-nominated work that follows a detective and a rogue ship’s captain in a colonized solar system.
Lorax
A classic picture book with a powerful environmental message, in which the Lorax “speaks for the trees” against corporate greed.
Light in the Attic
A beloved and bestselling collection of whimsical, humorous, and thought-provoking poems and drawings for children.
Liar’s Poker
A semi-autobiographical book that provides an insider’s look at the culture of Wall Street bond traders during the late 1980s.
Life After Life
A novel that follows Ursula Todd as she lives through the turbulent events of the early 20th century again and again, dying and being reborn.
Lincoln Lawyer
The first book in a popular series featuring Mickey Haller, a criminal defense attorney who operates out of the back of his Lincoln Town Car.
Love Medicine
Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, this novel explores the intertwined lives of several Ojibwe families on a North Dakota reservation.
Les Liaisons dangereuses
An 18th-century French novel composed of letters between two rivalrous and libertine aristocrats who conspire to seduce and humiliate others.
Like Water for Chocolate
A novel that blends cooking and passion, telling the story of Tita, whose emotions are infused into the food she prepares for her family.
Last Picture Show
A poignant novel about a group of teenagers growing up in a declining, small Texas town in the early 1950s.
Long Goodbye
Featuring the iconic detective Philip Marlowe, this novel is considered one of the author’s finest works, praised for its complex plot and social commentary.
Little Dorrit
A sprawling novel that satirizes the shortcomings of government and society, centering on a young woman born and raised in a debtors’ prison.
Lost World
Professor Challenger and his expedition discover a plateau in South America where prehistoric creatures, including dinosaurs, still survive.
Luster
A critically acclaimed debut novel about a young Black woman who becomes entangled with a white, middle-aged man in an open marriage.
Legend
The first book in a popular trilogy set in a futuristic, divided United States, following a teen prodigy and a notorious young criminal.
Last Thing He Told Me
A massive bestseller about a woman who forms an unexpected relationship with her teenage stepdaughter while searching for the truth about her missing husband.
Library at Mount Char
A bizarre and imaginative debut novel where a woman who grew up under the tutelage of a godlike, cruel figure must contend for his power.
Leopard
A celebrated Italian novel that chronicles the changes in Sicilian life and society during the 19th-century Risorgimento.
Little Drummer Girl
An English actress is recruited by Israeli intelligence to infiltrate a Palestinian terrorist group in this complex and character-driven espionage novel.
Lost Illusions
A central novel in Balzac’s La Comédie Humaine series, following a young provincial poet who tries to make his name in the literary world of Paris.
Last Exit to Brooklyn
A controversial and gritty collection of interconnected stories depicting the harsh, violent lives of characters in a Brooklyn slum.
Luckiest Girl Alive
A New York Times bestseller about a successful woman whose perfect life unravels when a documentary forces her to confront a dark secret from her past.
Let the Circle Be Unbroken
A sequel to *Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry*, this novel continues the story of the Logan family as they face racism and economic hardship in Mississippi.
Labyrinth Lost
The first book in the Brooklyn Brujas series, featuring a powerful witch who tries to get rid of her magic but accidentally banishes her family to a magical realm.