Books That Made Us Cry

By Jason Boog 

What are the books that have brought you to tears?

One reader posed that question at Reddit , generating a massive list of great books from readers. Below, we’ve alphabetized the list and linked to free samples of all the books. Here’s more from the original post:

As much as I love reading it’s rare for a book to bring out emotional reactions in me the way a movie might. So much is there with a film: lighting, the actors and their faces, their voices, the music, the effects, the scenery. All of it together is much more likely to capture a moment in it’s entirety the way a book may be simply unable to. But there are a few books that have actually brought me to tears for one reason or another. I feel it’s a testament to their relate-ability and excellent writing that just a few words on the page could actually elicit a strong emotional response.

Free Samples of Books That Made Us Cry

Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life’s Greatest Lesson by Mitch Albom

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

April Fool’s Day by Bryce Courtenay

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

Old Yeller by Fred Gipson and Steven Polson

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

The Green Mile by Stephen King

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

A Separate Peace by John Knowles

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

Heart’s Delight by Per Nilsson and Tara Chace

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Wonder by R. J. Palacio

A Child Called “It”: One Child’s Courage to Survive by Dave Pelzer

My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult

The Amber Spyglass: His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

The Subtle Knife: His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Night by Elie Wiesel

One With Others by C.D. Wright

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

 

Excellent cassette tape photo via Kumar McMillan.