I remember when Amazon was nothing more than an online book retailer. I’m one of those fossils who loves to carve out time to visit my local bookstores, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that many of the books perched on my bookshelf didn’t come from Amazon.
E-reader devices like Amazon’s own Kindle have made reading more accessible than ever before in our increasingly mobile world. Still, I’ll always prefer the experience of cracking open a physical copy of one of my favorite books over reading it off the screen of my Kindle, even if I always end up falling back on good old Ken whenever I go on vacation. Fortunately for old-schoolers like me, Amazon regularly offers top-notch deals on actual books, and the pickings are always better than ever on Prime Day.
The Best Amazon Prime Day book deals
Below is a list of all the best Amazon Prime Day book deals I could find. Each is a sizable mark-down from the book’s usual price, and some cover multi-book series. I don’t know what genre of books you’re into, but many on the list are popular choices that people have probably recommended to you before. If you’ve been putting off reading that one book that all of your friends have been begging you to check out, now might be the perfect time to pick it up.
10. The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
- Price: $102.97 (-54%)
- The perfect trip down memory lane
Calvin and Hobbes is a comic that reminds us we’re all just kids who have gotten older. The imaginative, insightful adventures of a young boy and his stuffed tiger have much to say about childhood innocence and the pieces of ourselves we do and don’t leave behind when we grow up. This boxed set collects every Calvin and Hobbes strip Bill Watterson ever wrote and drew into three hard-cover, fully colored hardcovers tucked into a sturdy case.
9. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Boxed Set
- Price: $16.34 (-55%)
- The ideal way to read Tolkien’s epic saga
Tolkien’s genre-defining Middle-Earth saga may seem difficult to get into, but this boxed set is the perfect way to introduce it to those who haven’t read it. This boxed set includes The Hobbit and all three chapters of the Lord of the Rings saga, tucked in a charmingly detailed slipcase that will look great in any Tolkien-themed collection.
8. The Thrawn Trilogy Boxed Set
- $20.66 (-51%)
- The best introduction to Star Wars: Legends
Amid a lack of new films in the ’90s, The Thrawn trilogy finally – literally – put more Star Wars on the page. It kick-started the franchise’s original Expanded Universe, introducing iconic characters like the titular Grand Admiral and Mara Jade, Luke Skywalker’s red-haired bride-to-be. For years, it was almost impossible for younger Star Wars fans to get their hands on these books. Fortunately, Timothy Zahn’s seminal three-part saga got an epic boxed set re-release as part of “The Essential Legends Collection” initiative, complete with new cover art and a sleek slipcase.
7. Bridgerton Boxed Set
- Price: $33.67 (-56%)
- Embrace this aristocratic romance in style
Netflix’s Bridgerton series has kept calm and taken the world by storm over the last few years, giving the book series that inspired it a second chance at mainstream popularity. This four-book boxed set is an excellent gift for that special someone you’ve been binging the TV show with, one that could give the two of you a reason to re-watch the show while you wait for the next season to drop.
6. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy
- Price: $7.56 (-67%)
- A gateway to a good cry
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse is the literary embodiment of a phrase I don’t think people hear enough these days: “Hey, it’s okay.” This charming tale of a lost boy’s journey to find a new home is an emotional odyssey that will remind even the most cynical readers that it’s okay to lower your guard, let the people you love in, and show yourself a little mercy. I’ve seen a copy of this book in my therapist’s office, and I think it deserves a place in everyone’s home.
5. The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
- Price: 8.75 (-48%)
- A southern gothic thriller with a subversive edge
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires puts a new spin on vampires and Southern literature. When Patricia Cambel invites the devilishly handsome James Harris into her book club, she discovers that he and the city of Charleston aren’t as attractive as she first believed. It’s one part traditional vampire story, one part uncompromising critique of the inequalities rooted in the Deep South’s culture, and it’s as nail-biting as it is cozy.
4. Babel by R.F. Kuang
- Price: $14.94 (-25%)
- A mystery that will make you question everything you read
Babel may not have won a Hugo Award, but it’s still a top-tier fantasy novel. Set in the late 1800s, it follows Robin Swift, a Chinese immigrant and Oxford student who works in the university’s magic-translating “Babel” institute. As his studies progress, however, he slowly realizes his and his fellow students’ role in perpetuating the British Empire’s rule and begins plotting a revolution. A passionate exploration of academia’s role in maintaining and tearing down the status quo, Babel will make you ask all the right questions.
3. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
- Price: $11.23 (-61%)
- A hilarious chemical reaction
Lessons in Chemistry is a delightful tragicomedy cocktail that made me wish I’d paid more attention in chemistry class. After being unjustly fired from her position in a chemistry lab, Elizabeth Zott becomes the hostess of a popular cooking show, using her newfound fame to educate and empower disadvantaged women nationwide. Funny, heartwarming, and full of exciting chemistry facts, this is the perfect weekend read.
2. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
- Price: $13.48 (-25%)
- A beautiful map to a life well-lived
The Midnight Library made me think about my life choices in the best possible way. Nora Seed’s journey through a library that catalogs all the ways her life could’ve been different is a powerful meditation on choice and consequence that made me appreciate things I didn’t before I started reading. As creative as it is profound, The Midnight Library is a must for any science fantasy fan.
1. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Gabrielle Zevin
Everyone’s talking about A Court of Thorns and Roses, and now that I’ve finally read it, I’m happy to join the crowd. We follow Feyre, a young huntress who incurs a powerful Fae’s wrath. Sentenced to spend the rest of her life in the magical realm of Prythian for her crime, Feyre becomes entangled in a web of secrets, danger, and romance that hooked me within the first few pages. The hype behind this one is real, and any fantasy fan owes it to themselves to read the first installment of what is rapidly becoming a very popular fantasy series.
