How many people out there have a Kindle Unlimited subscription they’re paying for, but not using? It is never too late to make the most of it, starting with these best-selling books that are available on the service right now and waiting to be the next novel you can’t put down, or book series you binge.
Below are a mix of classic bestsellers and contemporary juggernauts that are on KU currently. Books on Kindle Unlimited come and go, so readers should take advantage of these masterpieces being easily accessible while they can. This list includes genre thrillers, Pulitzer Prize winners, and literary fiction that deserves a renaissance with modern readers.
Each of these books is a great digital read, and perfect for syncing up the audio version of the novels with, something that is easier than ever these days, and comes in clutch for anyone trying to seriously up their book count for the year.
True Grit
Written By Charles Portis; Published In 1968
True Grit is one of the defining works of Western literature, and an underrated pick for “best 20th century novels” in general. Its legacy has been largely overshadowed by a pair of beloved cinematic adaptations. First, the 1968 John Wayne version, released right on the heels of the novel’s success. Then, there’s the 2010 Coen Brothers True Grit, generally hailed as a more faithful adaptation.
Charles Portis’ True Grit is told from the POV of teenager Mattie Ross, seeking revenge for her father’s senseless killing. To get what she wants, Mattie enlists the help of a Texas Ranger named LaBouef and Marshall “Rooster” Cogburn. In the process they form a posse that becomes a quasi-family unit, though Portis’ novel is a little too hard-edged, yes, too gritty, for a truly happy ending.
True Grit is a short novel that can be read in a day; the Kindle Unlimited version is perfect for a flight, or train ride, or quick beach trip.
The Color Purple
Written By Alice Walker; Published In 1982
The Color Purple is a must-read, and an undisputed masterpiece. It is another novel with multiple adaptations, each of which is praised for capturing the spirit of Alice Walker’s novel, but which can’t replicate the experience of reading it. Walker’s novel takes the form of a series of letters, giving its narration a dramatic weight that helps shape the profound impression The Color Purple leaves on readers.
Walker became the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for The Color Purple; 4 decades later, the book still carries the same weight, and holds the same place of esteem in literary history, no matter how many people have tried to ban the book since its publication.
The Color Purple is currently available on Kindle Unlimited, where it is being discovered by a new generation of readers; for anyone who hasn’t read it, now is the time.
The Handmaid’s Tale
Written By Margaret Atwood; Published In 1985
The Handmaid’s Tale has turned out to be one of the defining works of dystopian fiction of the past 40+ years. Margaret Atwood’s novel about an oppressive, regressive post-American future was lauded at the time of its release in the mid-80s, garnering nominations for the Nebula, Arthur C. Clarke, Prometheus, and Booker Awards, and winning the Los Angeles Times Prize for ’85’s best novel.
Its reputation has grown massively since. That is thanks to the long-running Hulu TV adaptation, but also, unfortunately, because The Handmaid’s Tale has gone from reading like a “worst case scenario” to an ominously prescient look at where the future could be headed.
The Handmaid’s Tale, on the page and on the screen, is one of the most socially relevant novels of the 20th century. It just took a chunk of the 21st century for that to become clear. Now that it is though, no one should sleep on Atwood’s original text.
The Corrections
Written By Jonathan Franzen; Published in 2001
Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections won the 2001 National Book Award and was a finalist for the ’02 Pulitzer Prize. (It lost to Richard Russo’s Empire Falls. Literary nerds who like to relitigate this sort of thing can argue that either The Corrections or Colson Whitehead’s John Henry Days should have won the prize that year.) It is a tale of the terminal phase of the 20th-century American family unit.
A film adaptation languished in development hell for years, and an HBO adaptation similarly never got off the ground; Netflix is seemingly finally making it happen in miniseries form as of 2026. Outside literary fiction circles, and even inside many of those circles, The Corrections hasn’t had the legacy people expected it to in ’01.
Which means today it is bordering on forgotten gem, waiting to be rediscovered. For anyone who loves literary fiction, and wants to know what the literary landscape was like at the turn of the century, The Corrections has to be on your list.
Dungeon Crawler Carl (And Sequels)
Written By Matt Dinniman; Published Starting In 2020
Dungeon Crawler Carl is perhaps the biggest “get” on Kindle Unlimited right now. All eight books in the series right now are currently available with the subscription service, which is huge, because Dungeon Crawler has officially made the jump from cult-hit to mainstream phenomenon.
Since the series kicked off in 2020, the innovative LitRPG has sold tens of millions of books worldwide. It has become a full-blown franchise, expanding into every possible medium, including comics and games, with a screen adaption in development. Everybody is getting on board the Dungeon Crawler Carl train right now.
Which is easy with a Kindle Unlimited subscription. But now that the franchise has exploded in popularity, don’t expect the books’ availability to last forever. Once the term of their current KU deal runs out, it’s likely they won’t be back again for a while.
The Housemaid
Written By Frieda McFadden; Published In 2022
The Housemaid was one of the most talked-about movies of 2025. Before that, it was a smash-hit 2022 novel. Frieda McFadden’s third book spent over a year on the New York Times bestseller list following its release, and dominated Amazon’s top book rankings for nearly two years. It has continued to appear on both lists in the years since, especially with the release of the film version last year.
The Housemaid is the definition of a pageturner thriller, featuring fast and frightening prose with a pulpy twist that propels the book into a pulse-pounding third act.
It is a 10/10 beach read, or the perfect inaugural book for fall and the start of spooky season. But waiting means risking the book going off Kindle Unlimited; while the book is worth buying, it’s also worth pushing to the top of your to-read list if you have Kindle Unlimited.
Fourth Wing (And Sequels)
Written By Rebecca Yarros; Published Starting In 2023
Rebecca Yarros’ Fourth Wing novel and its sequels are another contemporary literary phenomenon. The romantasy series has become a massive succes, particularly on BookTok, where it is one of the biggest books in the platform’s history.
The “Empyrean series,” as Yarros’ books are known it total, is three books so far, all of which are available on Kindle Unlimited. A tie-in short story collection, Threshing Day, is coming later in 2026, with at least two more “Empyrean” novels expected to follow. It’s the perfect time for potential fans to jump in and get caught up.
An eventual TV or movie adaptation will seemingly seal Yarros’ series as one of the biggest of its generation, making it something readers of all genres don’t want to miss out on.