Reading books has never been easier. Amazon has books available that can be at your door tonight. Kindles contain thousands of stories, so many you’d never even be able to read all the ones on Kindle Unlimited. Audiobooks and more help, too. But which ones should you read? Here are five underrated hits you’ll want to add to the TBR list.

Books You Have to Read as Soon as Possible

5. The Last House on Needless Street

Never has a book ever been so twisty that I had to stop reading it for a moment, and I had to put this one down on like three separate occasions. It is absolutely bonkers in the best way. The Last House on Needless Street is terrifying, funny, heartfelt, and clever.

You cannot possibly imagine where it’s going until the end of the book, and that makes for a fantastic read. It can also only function as a book, which makes it all the more intriguing. It probably won’t be a very good movie or TV show, even though it is supposed to become one, so pick up the book!

4. You Killed Me First

The central mystery in You Killed Me First takes a backseat quickly, which might be a problem most of the time. However, the drama is so rich, it doesn’t even matter. We’re taken into the lives of three suburban women in London, and the tea is piping hot.

The mystery is also pretty good when it takes center stage, with a few shocking revelations helping. By the end, you will have thoroughly enjoyed the wild ride. It’s like Desperate Housewives with a dash of murder. Does it get any more fun?

3. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August‘s premise suggests a hilarious, sci-fi romp through time. It is not that at all. It’s actually a philosophical musing on the nature of life and existence while also exploring the insatiable need to understand who one is and why we’re here. It’s brilliant, and it’s so much deeper than you might expect. By the end of it, you’ll have a greater appreciation for life’s mysteries and their lack of answers.

2. Dark Matter

Is this influenced by the fact that the author is from my town, and I met him and got an autograph? Probably a little bit, but Dark Matter is absolutely exceptional science fiction. It takes a wonderful premise, a machine that allows one to travel the multiverse for slightly different versions of themselves and their world, to explore so many human and natural questions we have. What if I’d done this differently? One character can see what happened and learn to appreciate everything he did do instead of what he didn’t.

1. The Outsider

Can a Stephen King book really be underrated? Either way, The Outsider is. His modern works don’t seem to get the love that older books like The Shining, The Stand, The Long Walk, Salem’s Lot, and others get, but I would posit that he may not have better books than Fairy Tale and The Outsider (both written since 2018), which is his best and one of my favorite books ever. It’s scary, dark, but surprisingly somber and emotional, too. It may not stand out in his library of works, but this is a fantastic King outing.

Conclusion

Books are so important, especially now in an age where media literacy is dying, and literature is changing for the worse. Finding good books to read shouldn’t be hard with the sheer volume of novels available, but it can be hard to cut through the noise. These five books, though, are excellent, and you should read them as soon as possible.