Most Popular Mainstream Books of the 1980s

Discover popular Mainstream books from the 1980s, with reader ratings and new favorites to explore.

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Books in this list

The Name of the Rose

Umberto Eco

Crime Fiction · Historical Fiction · Mainstream · Mystery · Thriller

1983

8.3/10 82 ratings

The Eight #1

The Eight

Katherine Neville

Historical Fiction · Mainstream · Mystery · Thriller

December 27, 1988

7.6/10 42 ratings

Misery

Stephen King

Horror · Psychological Horror · Bram Stoker Award · Movie · Mainstream

1987

7.6/10 112 ratings

Walking on Glass

Iain M. Banks

Science Fiction · Mainstream

1985

7.3/10 29 ratings

The Wasp Factory

Iain M. Banks

Horror · Mainstream

1984

6.7/10 24 ratings

Endangered Species

Gene Wolfe

Fantasy · Horror · Science Fiction · Short Stories · Mainstream

1989

10.0/10 1 ratings

Traveller

Richard Adams

Fantasy · Historical Fiction · Mainstream

July 1988

10.0/10 1 ratings

Cry to Heaven

Anne Rice

Mainstream

1982

10.0/10 1 ratings

The Bridge

Iain M. Banks

Fantasy · Mainstream

1986

9.3/10 4 ratings

The Art of Living and Other Stories

John Champlin Gardner

Short Stories · Mainstream

1981

Fifth Child #1

The Fifth Child

Doris Lessing

Science Fiction · Mainstream

1988

8.0/10 2 ratings

A History of the World in 10½ Chapters

Julian Barnes

Fantasy · Mainstream

1989

8.0/10 1 ratings

Phases of Gravity

Dan Simmons

Mainstream

1989

8.0/10 1 ratings

Cat's Eye

Margaret Atwood

Mainstream

October 1988

8.0/10 1 ratings

The Stories of Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury

Fantasy · Science Fiction · Short Stories · Mainstream

1980

8.0/10 1 ratings

The White Hotel

D. M. Thomas

Fantasy · Mainstream

1981

7.0/10 2 ratings

Moon Palace

Paul Auster

Magical Realism · Mainstream

1989

7.0/10 1 ratings

Empire of the Sun

Empire of the Sun

J. G. Ballard

Mainstream

1984

7.0/10 2 ratings

Ararat

D. M. Thomas

Fantasy · Mainstream

1983

7.0/10 1 ratings

Geek Love

Katherine Dunn

Horror · Mainstream

1989

6.5/10 4 ratings

The Big U

Neal Stephenson

Science Fiction · Mainstream

1984

6.7/10 3 ratings

Swallow

D. M. Thomas

Fantasy · Mainstream

1984

6.0/10 1 ratings

The Girl Who Heard Dragons

Anne McCaffrey

Science Fiction · Short Stories · Mainstream

1989

6.0/10 1 ratings

Memory

Margaret Mahy

Young Adult · Mainstream

1987

6.0/10 1 ratings

Pillar of the Sky

Cecelia Holland

Paleofiction · Historical Fiction · Mainstream

1985

6.0/10 1 ratings

The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me

Roald Dahl

Fantasy · Childrens · Mainstream

1985

6.0/10 1 ratings

A Memory of Murder

Ray Bradbury

Short Stories · Mainstream · Thriller

1983

6.0/10 1 ratings

Stepping from the Shadows

Patricia A. McKillip

Magical Realism · Mainstream

1982

6.0/10 1 ratings

Death Is a Lonely Business

Ray Bradbury

Mainstream · Thriller

1985

5.8/10 9 ratings

The History of Luminous Motion

Scott Bradfield

Fantasy · Mainstream

1989

Glasshouses

Penelope Farmer

Mainstream

1989

Vesper Holly #4

The Jedera Adventure

Lloyd Alexander

Young Adult · Mainstream

1989

The Law in Charity

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

Mainstream

1989

Night Fighters #6

Charlie Don't Live Here Anymore

David Sherman

Mainstream

1989

There I Was

David Sherman

Mainstream

1989

Halfway Man

Wayland Drew

Mainstream

1989