Mental Floss

BOOKS

Though post-apocalyptic literature is experiencing a recent boom, the genre is anything but new. From a 19th-century tale of catastrophe to a modern-day classic made into a film, these are books you’ll want to add to your reading list.

Chris Wheatley


From moving stories of the Black American experience to imagined worlds of breathtaking vision, here are 13 books that had an influence Gen X—and help shaped the world as we know it today.

Chris Wheatley














In 1971, Grover became the star of The Monster at the End of This Book.

Since it was published in 1971, ‘The Monster at the End of This Book’ has become an iconic entry in the kidlit canon. Here’s what you need to know about the book, which just made a cameo in HBO‘s ‘The Last of Us.’

April Snellings








Add more heft to your TBR pile with these gripping fiction and nonfiction books.

The best Vietnam War books from Tim O’Brien, Viet Thanh Nguyen, and others offer new insights and perspectives into the conflict that you probably never got from history class.

Greg Zapata