This list includes 60 Books that start with R, from “R Is for Rocket” to “Running with Scissors”. The selection ranges from children’s picture books to award-winning novels and genre favorites, useful for discovery, teaching, and list-building.
[Books that start with R] are titles that begin with R and span children’s books, genre fiction, and literary novels. A notable example is Daphne du Maurier’s “Rebecca”, which remains a landmark of psychological suspense.
Below you’ll find the table with Title, Author, Year, and Genre.
Title: Shows the book’s published title so you can locate, cite, or add the exact work to your reading list.
Author: Lists the primary author so you can identify creators and find other books by the same writer.
Year: Gives the original publication or first-edition year so you can place the title in historical context.
Genre: Indicates the primary genre so you can filter by interest, assign reading groups, or plan collections.
Books that start with R
| Title | Author | First publication year | Primary genre |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rebecca | Daphne du Maurier | 1938 | Gothic novel |
| Robinson Crusoe | Daniel Defoe | 1719 | Adventure novel |
| Ready Player One | Ernest Cline | 2011 | Science fiction |
| Roots: The Saga of an American Family | Alex Haley | 1976 | Historical fiction |
| Romeo and Juliet | William Shakespeare | 1597 | Tragic play |
| Rabbit, Run | John Updike | 1960 | Literary fiction |
| Ragtime | E. L. Doctorow | 1975 | Historical fiction |
| Room | Emma Donoghue | 2010 | Novel |
| Red Rising | Pierce Brown | 2014 | Science fiction |
| Rendezvous with Rama | Arthur C. Clarke | 1973 | Hard science fiction |
| Running with Scissors | Augusten Burroughs | 2002 | Memoir |
| Redwall | Brian Jacques | 1986 | Children’s fantasy |
| Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry | Mildred D. Taylor | 1976 | Young adult novel |
| Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead | Tom Stoppard | 1966 | Absurdist play |
| Ringworld | Larry Niven | 1970 | Science fiction |
| Red Queen | Victoria Aveyard | 2015 | Young adult fantasy |
| Rules of Civility | Amor Towles | 2011 | Historical fiction |
| Red Mars | Kim Stanley Robinson | 1992 | Hard science fiction |
| Ramona Quimby, Age 8 | Beverly Cleary | 1981 | Children’s fiction |
| Recursion | Blake Crouch | 2019 | Sci-fi thriller |
| Rumpole of the Bailey | John Mortimer | 1978 | Short-story collection |
| Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám | Edward FitzGerald | 1859 | Poetry |
| R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots) | Karel Čapek | 1920 | Science fiction play |
| Roughing It | Mark Twain | 1872 | Memoir |
| Red, White & Royal Blue | Casey McQuiston | 2019 | Romance novel |
| Remarkably Bright Creatures | Shelby Van Pelt | 2022 | Contemporary fiction |
| Rivers of London | Ben Aaronovitch | 2011 | Urban fantasy |
| Rose Madder | Stephen King | 1995 | Horror novel |
| Rhythm of War | Brandon Sanderson | 2020 | Epic fantasy |
| Rasselas | Samuel Johnson | 1759 | Philosophical novel |
| Redshirts | John Scalzi | 2012 | Science fiction |
| Revival | Stephen King | 2014 | Horror novel |
| Radical Candor | Kim Scott | 2017 | Business non-fiction |
| Rage | Bob Woodward | 2020 | Political non-fiction |
| Rules | Cynthia Lord | 2006 | Children’s novel |
| Ruin and Rising | Leigh Bardugo | 2014 | Young adult fantasy |
| Ronja, the Robber’s Daughter | Astrid Lindgren | 1981 | Children’s fantasy |
| Rapture | Carol Ann Duffy | 2005 | Poetry collection |
| Rebel of the Sands | Alwyn Hamilton | 2016 | Young adult fantasy |
| Run, Rose, Run | Dolly Parton, James Patterson | 2022 | Thriller |
| Rock Paper Scissors | Alice Feeney | 2021 | Psychological thriller |
| Rosewater | Tade Thompson | 2016 | Science fiction |
| Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey | Chuck Palahniuk | 2007 | Satirical novel |
| Reflections on the Revolution in France | Edmund Burke | 1790 | Political philosophy |
| Ramona the Pest | Beverly Cleary | 1968 | Children’s fiction |
| Relic | Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child | 1995 | Techno-thriller |
| Riders of the Purple Sage | Zane Grey | 1912 | Western novel |
| Replay | Ken Grimwood | 1986 | Fantasy novel |
| Ratking | Michael Dibdin | 1988 | Crime novel |
| R Is for Rocket | Ray Bradbury | 1962 | Short-story collection |
| Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction | J. D. Salinger | 1963 | Novellas |
| Right Ho, Jeeves | P. G. Wodehouse | 1934 | Humorous novel |
| Random Acts of Senseless Violence | Jack Womack | 1993 | Dystopian fiction |
| Red Sorghum | Mo Yan | 1987 | Historical novel |
| Reality Is Not What It Seems | Carlo Rovelli | 2014 | Popular science |
| Regarding the Pain of Others | Susan Sontag | 2003 | Essay collection |
| Richard III | William Shakespeare | 1593 | Historical play |
| Riot Baby | Tochi Onyebuchi | 2020 | Sci-fi novella |
| Ring Shout | P. Djèlí Clark | 2020 | Fantasy novella |
| Ravelstein | Saul Bellow | 2000 | Novel |
Descriptions
Rebecca
A young bride’s new life is overshadowed by the haunting memory of her husband’s deceased first wife, the mysterious and beautiful Rebecca.
Robinson Crusoe
Considered one of the first English novels, it tells the story of a man shipwrecked on a remote island for 28 years.
Ready Player One
In a bleak future, a teenager escapes into a vast virtual reality world to hunt for an Easter egg that promises immense fortune and power.
Roots: The Saga of an American Family
A groundbreaking novel tracing the author’s family history from his ancestor Kunta Kinte’s capture in Africa to his descendants’ lives in America.
Romeo and Juliet
The timeless tale of two young star-crossed lovers from feuding families in Verona, whose love story ends in tragedy.
Rabbit, Run
The first in a series following Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom, a former high school basketball star who feels trapped in his mundane adult life.
Ragtime
A vivid tapestry of early 20th-century America, weaving together fictional characters with historical figures like Harry Houdini and Henry Ford.
Room
A powerful story told from the perspective of a five-year-old boy held captive with his mother in a single, small room.
Red Rising
In a color-coded society on Mars, a low-caste Red infiltrates the ruling Gold class to bring down the system from within.
Rendezvous with Rama
Astronauts are sent to explore a massive, cylindrical alien starship that enters the solar system, discovering a world of technological wonders.
Running with Scissors
A darkly comedic memoir detailing the author’s bizarre and dysfunctional childhood living with his mother’s eccentric psychiatrist and his family.
Redwall
The first book in a beloved series about the peaceful, anthropomorphic animals of Redwall Abbey defending their home from villainous rats and vermin.
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
A powerful story of a black family in rural Mississippi during the Depression, facing racism and economic hardship with courage and dignity.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
A witty and existentialist play that retells Shakespeare’s *Hamlet* from the bewildered perspective of two minor, ill-fated characters.
Ringworld
A team of explorers investigates a massive, artificially constructed ring orbiting a star, a megastructure with a vast habitable interior.
Red Queen
In a world divided by blood, a common Red girl discovers she has Silver blood abilities, thrusting her into the dangerous world of royalty.
Rules of Civility
In 1938 New York City, a chance encounter in a jazz bar sets a young woman on a year-long journey of social climbing and self-discovery.
Red Mars
The first book in a trilogy chronicling the settlement and terraforming of Mars by the first one hundred colonists over several decades.
Ramona Quimby, Age 8
A classic story following the humorous and relatable adventures of the energetic and imaginative third-grader Ramona Quimby.
Recursion
A neuroscientist and a detective race to stop a phenomenon that allows people to relive their memories, but at the cost of rewriting reality.
Rumpole of the Bailey
A collection of witty legal stories featuring Horace Rumpole, an aging, claret-loving London barrister who always defends the underdog.
Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám
A celebrated translation of quatrains attributed to the 11th-century Persian poet Omar Khayyám, exploring themes of life, love, and destiny.
R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots)
A seminal work of science fiction that introduced the word “robot” to the world, exploring a robot rebellion against their human creators.
Roughing It
A semi-autobiographical travelogue detailing Mark Twain’s humorous adventures in the American West during the 1860s.
Red, White & Royal Blue
The First Son of the United States falls into a secret romance with a British prince, creating a hilarious and heartwarming diplomatic stir.
Remarkably Bright Creatures
A recently widowed woman befriends a giant Pacific octopus at the local aquarium, leading to the discovery of long-held secrets.
Rivers of London
A rookie London police constable is recruited into a small branch of the Met that deals with magic and the supernatural.
Rose Madder
A woman escapes her abusive husband and starts a new life, but her past and a supernatural painting with a dark power threaten her newfound freedom.
Rhythm of War
The fourth book in The Stormlight Archive series, continuing the epic war between humans and the Parshendi on the world of Roshar.
Rasselas
A prince of Abyssinia escapes his utopian prison, the Happy Valley, to explore the world and search for a lasting source of happiness.
Redshirts
A humorous and meta take on sci-fi tropes, where low-ranking crew members on a starship realize they are disposable characters in a TV show.
Revival
A small-town minister obsessed with “secret electricity” after a family tragedy re-enters the life of a boy he once mentored, with terrifying consequences.
Radical Candor
A management guide that outlines a framework for providing effective feedback by caring personally while challenging directly.
Rage
An investigative account of Donald Trump’s presidency, featuring exclusive interviews and insights into his administration’s handling of major crises.
Rules
A young girl tries to teach her autistic brother the rules of social behavior to avoid embarrassment, exploring themes of family and acceptance.
Ruin and Rising
The final book in the Shadow and Bone trilogy, where Alina Starkov must embrace her powers to defeat the Darkling and save Ravka.
Ronja, the Robber’s Daughter
The daughter of a robber chieftain befriends the son of a rival clan, exploring themes of friendship and independence in a mythical forest.
Rapture
A poignant and intimate collection of poems charting the full course of a love affair, from its passionate beginnings to its painful end.
Rebel of the Sands
In a desert nation, a sharpshooting orphan girl with a mysterious past teams up with a fugitive to escape her dead-end town.
Run, Rose, Run
A young singer-songwriter on the run from a dark past arrives in Nashville to pursue her dreams, but her secrets threaten her future.
Rock Paper Scissors
A couple with a strained marriage wins a weekend getaway to a remote Scottish chapel, where secrets and lies unravel with a stunning twist.
Rosewater
In near-future Nigeria, a “sensitive” with psychic powers works for a secret government agency near a mysterious alien biodome.
Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey
A bizarre oral history of a high-school rebel who becomes the patient zero of a rabies-like plague transmitted through car crashes.
Reflections on the Revolution in France
A foundational text of modern conservatism, written as a pamphlet critiquing the French Revolution and its underlying principles.
Ramona the Pest
The spirited and often misunderstood Ramona Quimby navigates the triumphs and tribulations of starting kindergarten with her own unique logic.
Relic
A series of gruesome murders plague a New York museum on the eve of a major exhibition, leading to the discovery of a terrifying creature.
Riders of the Purple Sage
A classic Western tale of a mysterious gunman who comes to the aid of a Mormon rancher being persecuted by her church.
Replay
A 43-year-old man dies and wakes up back in his 18-year-old body, forced to relive his life over and over with all his memories intact.
Ratking
The first in the Aurelio Zen series, where the cynical Italian police detective is sent to Perugia to investigate a high-profile kidnapping.
R Is for Rocket
A collection of science fiction stories for young readers, exploring themes of space travel, childhood wonder, and the future.
Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction
Two novellas focusing on the eccentric Glass family, exploring themes of love, spirituality, and the nature of storytelling.
Right Ho, Jeeves
Bertie Wooster, with the help of his brilliant valet Jeeves, attempts to solve the romantic entanglements of his friends, with comically disastrous results.
Random Acts of Senseless Violence
Told through a 12-year-old girl’s diary, this novel chronicles the harrowing collapse of society in a near-future New York City.
Red Sorghum
A multi-generational saga of a family in rural China, set against the backdrop of war and political upheaval in the 20th century.
Reality Is Not What It Seems
A physicist provides an accessible and poetic journey through the history of physics, from ancient Greece to modern quantum gravity.
Regarding the Pain of Others
A powerful meditation on the representation of war and suffering in photography and media, questioning how we consume images of atrocity.
Richard III
Shakespeare’s masterful portrayal of the brilliant and malevolent Duke of Gloucester and his bloody rise to the English throne.
Riot Baby
A powerful novella about two siblings with extraordinary powers navigating racism, incarceration, and a broken American system.
Ring Shout
In 1922 Georgia, monster hunters use sword and song to fight back against Ku Klux Klan members who are demonic creatures in disguise.
Ravelstein
A fictionalized portrait of the author’s friend, the brilliant and controversial political philosopher Allan Bloom, during the final months of his life.