Neil Gaiman's Book Recommendations (Updated for 2026)

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1

The Master & Margarita

Mikhail Bulgakov, Diana Burgin, Katherine Tiernan O'Connor

4.4

Mikhail Bulgakov's devastating satire of Soviet life was written during the darkest period of Stalin's regime. Combining two distinct yet interwoven parts—one set in ancient Jerusalem, one in contemporary Moscow—the novel veers from moods of wild theatricality with violent storms, vampire attacks, and a Satanic ball; to such somber scenes as the meeting of Pilate and Yeshua, and the murder of Juda

Recommended by Max Levchin, Neil Gaiman, Andi Dumitrescu, and 5 others.

Neil Gaiman

@Slavinskas_art I love that book. [source]

Max Levchin

Co-founder/PayPal, CEO/Affirm, Investor

One of the finest works of fiction of the last century. [source]

Andi Dumitrescu

If I had to make a more rational choice, I’d go with Ulises or The Master and Margareta, but I think that choice is a bit snobbish. [source]

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2

The Wind in the Willows

Kenneth Grahame, Charles van Sandwyk

4.3

Since 1903, the escapades of Mole, his friend Water Rat, shy Badger, and Toad of Toad Hall have delighted children, and adults, too. Follow the winning foursome through the seasons as they sail the river, get lost in the Wild Wood, take off on a merry adventure in Toad's colorful carriage, and rescue Toad Hall from a band of nasty marauding weasels.

Recommended by Neil Gaiman, M G Leonard, Melvin Burgess, and 1 others.

Neil Gaiman

I think The Wind in the Willows is an excellent candidate for Best Book Ever Written. https://t.co/Uepg8wc1uE [source]

M G Leonard

The characters are alive in my head and I love every single one of them. [source]

Melvin Burgess

It’s the first book I fell in love with. The fiction that I liked when I was young was very much about cosy little adventures with animals. [source]

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3

The Book of the New Sun (The Book of the New Sun #1-4)

Gene Wolfe

4.1

Recently voted the greatest fantasy of all time, after The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun is an extraordinary epic, set a million years in the future, on an Earth transformed in mysterious and wondrous ways, in a time when our present culture is no longer even a memory. Severian, the central character, is a torturer, exiled from his guild after falling in lo

Recommended by Neil Gaiman.

Neil Gaiman

I love that people are reading this article about the magic of Gene Wolfe and the Book of the New Sun https://t.co/rdsa2OBKlw [source]

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4

Who Am I, Again?

Lenny Henry

4.2

In his long-awaited autobiography, Sir Lenny Henry tells the extraordinary story of his early years and sudden rise to fame.

Born soon after his Jamaican parents had arrived in the Midlands, Lenny was raised as one of seven siblings in a boisterous working household, and sent out into the world with his mum's mantra of 'H'integration! H'integration! H'integration!' echoing in his ears.

But 1970s Bri

Recommended by Neil Gaiman.

Neil Gaiman

So @LennyHenry has written a book. I was lucky enough to read an early draft. It's powerful and honest about his life, his family, race and racism. A Proper Book. https://t.co/lK8fZ5f1Ka [source]

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5

To Sir, With Love

E. R. Braithwaite

4.4

This classic schoolroom drama of a black teacher in London's tough East End who triumphs over bigotry and ignorance to change the lives of his students forever was hailed by the "New York Times" as "a book that the reader devours quickly, ponders slowly, and forgets not at all"
With opportunities for black men limited in post-World War II London, Rick Braithwaite, a former Royal Air Force pilot and

Recommended by Neil Gaiman.

Neil Gaiman

I read the book as a child, and it was hugely influential on the way I thought about race from that point on. I was disappointed by the film. And only now I find out about the author and the life. https://t.co/zaKEVcPhez [source]

6

Archer's Goon

Diana Wynne Jones

4.5

Recommended by Neil Gaiman.

Neil Gaiman

I could’ve picked pretty much any Diana Wynne Jones novel. Diana is magnificent author… Archer’s Goon is set in a city very much like Bristol, where she lived. The father is a university professor, just as Diana’s husband Charlie was a university professor. The novel itself involves seven strange entities or demigods who are bound to this town. They cannot leave, although they want to, and they each control a specific thing that happens in the town: crime, perhaps, or technology. One of them, we learn, lives, literally, in the past. A young boy gets to the bottom of what’s going on. It’s a complicated story, as much written for adults as for kids. [source]

7

No Bed for Bacon: Or Shakespeare Sows an Oat

Caryl Brahms, SJ Simon

4.5

Recommended by Neil Gaiman.

Neil Gaiman

While it is not true to say that the film Shakespeare in Love was the film of No Bed for Bacon, it is also true that if you were to try to film No Bed for Bacon, everybody would say, ‘we’ve seen this before and it was called Shakespeare in Love.’ The plot territory is very similar; the themes are similar. [source]

8

The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure

William Goldman

4.4

A Tale of true love and high adventure, pirates, princesses, giants, miracles, fencing, and a frightening assortment of wild beasts - The Princess Bride is a modern storytelling classic.

As Florin and Guilder teeter on the verge of war, the reluctant Princess Buttercup is devastated by the loss of her true love, kidnapped by a mercenary and his henchmen, rescued by a pirate, forced to marry Prince

Recommended by Neil Gaiman and A.r. Moxon (Julius Goat).

Neil Gaiman

Anybody who loved the movie should go read the novel. And anybody who has never heard of the movie, should go read the novel. It’s William Goldman, at his best, writing for the sheer joy of it and that joy manifests on every page. [source]

A.r. Moxon (Julius Goat)

@TByrne75 I think the book of the Princess bride is pretty great actually [source]

9

Psmith

P. G. Wodehouse

4.5

Recommended by Neil Gaiman.

Neil Gaiman

The P in Psmith, you learn, is silent, as in pneumonia or psittacosis. We’ve been speaking about humor and escapism and jeu d’esprit and yet, the Wodehouse book that I’ve selected has more of a social conscience than any other Wodehouse I can think of. It is about crusading, rabblerousing and doing the right thing. Rupert Psmith was always my favorite among Wodehouse creations. He is an etiolated, monocled figure with a dry wit and he’s paired with his friend Mike, who is quite normal. The Psmith series just gets funnier. In this book, Psmith is muckraking in New York tenements. So, it has a social conscience, but it is still a delight. [source]