Lifestyle
15 Most Popular Books Read in Jails
We’ve all seen movies about prisons where inmates spend their time reading books. But what are the most popular books read in real jails?
Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King. The book describes the horrors of prison life and a jaw-dropping escape.
The Jacket (The Star-Rover) by Jack London. Darrell Standing, former agronomy university professor, is jailed for life for murdering his colleague.
De profundis by Oscar Wilde. A letter-confession addressed to Wilde’s close friend Lord Alfred Douglas. Wilde wrote it during his last months of imprisonment in Reading Gaol
Game of Thrones series by George RR Martin. Thanks to its huge popularity on TV (and probably incest scenes), this book is also widely read in jails.
Jack Reacher series by Lee Child. It’s a story about a former Major in the U.S. Army Military Police Corps, Jack Reacher, who takes odd jobs and investigates suspicious and dangerous stuff.
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. The book is based on a true story and describes the life of a bank robber who escapes from jail.
The Real Great Escape by Guy Walters. The story analyzes what really happened to brave men who escaped a German POW camp during the World War II.
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn. The book describes labor camps of the late Stalinist era, written by the dissident writer.
The Brethren by John Grisham. Three judges attempt to install their man in the White House by blackmail and money laundering
Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas. The 19th century classic story about a man who is wrongly imprisoned and wants his revenge.
The Green Mile by Stephen King. A heart-breaking story about the horrors of prison life during the Great Depression.
Birdman of Alcatraz by Thomas E Gaddis. The life of one of the most famous criminals in the history of the U.S., Robert Stroud, in his isolation on Alcatraz Prison Island.
A Life Inside: A Prisoner’s Notebook by Erwin James. The story (or rather a notebook) of a convicted criminal who describes what it is like to be in jail.
Papillon by Henri Charrière. An autobiographical story of a man who escaped from a penal colony and managed to become a celebrity.
In the Penal Colony by Franz Kafka. The story describes a sophisticated torture and execution device that carves the sentence of inmates on their skin before letting them die.
