Recs if you like The Pillars of the Earth...

Books that are part of 3 or more quests ✨for easier planning! Initially thought of making this on my shelf, hope the members of pb find this helpful!! (The list is incomplete, I'm working on checking & adding new quest books🙌🏻 thanks for the love ❤️🥹)

Books you will find on any given thrift store shelf in the US, for better or worse 😂 For books in a series or by prolific authors, I’ve only included one book so as not to overwhelm the list.

Suggestions welcome!

I think it goes without saying but just in case… I’m not necessarily recommending these books by having them on this list. (In fact I wouldn’t recommend many of these.) This is for fun!

If we are going to do Qwordy's the Hardest Reading Challenge You'll Ever Do 3.0 - we should probably get some Pagebound badges along the way! I'm specifically going to be adding books from Quests and readalongs that go past the July start date and match at least one of these title prompts: Periodic Table, Familial Terms, Rainbow of Words (also Joseph's coat), Numerical Titles, Titular Counting 5+, Pun in the Title, and First & Last Name in the Title. Recommendations welcome!

books that are part of 3 or more quests, for those readers with a completionist streak within and a personal plague of Too Many Books, Too Little Time.

Do you love collecting tiny shiny objects (badges)? These books will count towards THREE quests, helping you collect all the shiny objects!

Ever felt overwhelmed by Quests? Well, we currently (August 1st 2026) have over 100 of them, totaling 4000+ different books. Ofc you’re overwhelmed.

Whether you’ve already worked through the ones on top, or just want more of a challenge, here I’m giving you a list of every book on Pagebound that’s in 3 Quests. Hopefully you’ll find it helpful. NB: Time limited Quests not included. Too much upkeep, sorry.

Enjoy, and happy questing

A list of Banned or Censored books (from around the world) that I want to read and form my own opinions about...

novels inspired by the Medieval period (though there are a few that are more Renaissance era)

...and I cannot lie.

Mammoth books over 800 pages!

Historical fiction in medieval or early modern settings, from the court of Henry VIII to medieval monasteries.

Pentiment is a 2022 game by Obsidian Entertainment, following a young painter in early 1500 Germany as he reckons with a murder at the abbey he is visiting. For lovers of the late Middle Ages, mysteries, and all the changes we go through as human beings 💫 Contains creator's Josh Sawyer's recommendations and other books with similar themes!

Books to read to get quest badges quicker. The books on this list can be found in 3+ quests (not counting limited-time event badges). Inspired by @AsiminaTriloba. Bring home the Badges!

Books which have video game adaptations or are cited as heavy inspirations for them. I love both books & games as mediums & feel there is more connection between them than oft credited. Obviously, creatives are influenced by innumerable things, but it's awesome when developers, etc. share their inspirations. Please say if there are others you know of!

For the former enjoyer of fantasy, sci-fi, and historical fiction series without the time or obsession to get through three or more books to finish a narrative. These books are majority historical fictions that unfold at an epic scale. Whether through one journey, generations, or centuries, these stories speak to identities (often cultural or of a nation) and to truths larger than themselves.

Please note that any post-Cold War narrative settings exist alongside more historical perspectives.

Both Fiction and Non-fiction books around War Of The Roses and Tudor era.

Feel free to comment additional books! I'm just adding books as I find them.

Gruesome battles? Heavy handed details? Vivid narratives? Not as many women as you would like? From Tolkien to the Arthurian myth to the Plantagenet dynasty, take a deep dive into medieval England. Whether French or Elvish is the language of power, the rugged and epic narratives of this list will either make you want more from the authors or to stop reading about white people entirely.

Believe it or not, authors do write about time periods that aren't World War II

Pentiment is a visual novel done in the captivating style of illuminated manuscripts. Set in the 16th century German village of Tassing and the nearby monastery, it's about an artist charged with solving a murder. It touches on faith, the occult, class conflict, the weight of our decisions, and much more

This is a combination of books recommended by Josh Sawyer and fans as dealing with similar themes to, providing historical context about, or having similar overall vibes to the game Pentiment

A Hay Festival crowd-sourced selection of adult reading recommendations to celebrate the many joys to be found in fiction.