Despite all our advancements in technology, time travel is one fantasy that remains unmet. The good thing is, we have no shortage of books about the subject, so we can still satisfy our curiosity about how time travel might feel!
In this list, we have compiled the best books about time travel, beginning from the classics and continuing through contemporary hits.
14 Mind-Blowing Books About Time Travel
Check out these books to get your time-travel fix!
1. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Madeleine L’Engle is an expert at creating believable fantasy worlds, and this book is no exception. Meg Murry is a 13-year-old daughter of a scientist.
When her father suddenly disappears, she and her friends hurtle through time and space by a tesseract—the exact thing that her father was studying when he suddenly went missing!
2. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
This is an epic historical fantasy series that skyrocketed to popularity thanks to its TV series adaptation.
The story follows Claire Randal, a nurse in 1946 who is thrown back to 1743 in the Scottish Highlands in the midst of clan wars, where she encounters the passionate Scotsman Jamie Fraser.
3. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Although readers continue to debate about whether Billy Pilgrim, the protagonist, actually travels through time, this story tells about how he is destined to relive the Dresden firebombing during World War II over and over again.
4. Kindred by Octavia Butler
This book tells about Dana, an African American woman who, on her birthday in 1976, gets transported to a different time and place, where she saves Rufus, a white boy in danger of drowning.
But she ends up threatened with death by the boy’s father, and saves her own life by getting back into the present in the nick of time. But what if this is destined to happen over and over?
5. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
This well-loved book follows Henry, whose genetic clock has a strange disorder of resetting at random.
When that happens, he can be hurled forward or backward in his own life timeline, but he has absolutely no control over which period he will land in, nor how long he’ll remain there. Doesn’t that spell a complicated love story?
6. All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai
Instead of the typical time travel adventure, this book looks at one of the greatest “laws” in time travel, that of not changing anything or else it will affect the future.
In this book, the author explores that theory, with Tom making a foolish choice that has ripple effects into his future. What if he could change some decisions he made in the past?
7. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams
In this second book in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series, Arthur, Ford, and Trillian ask to be taken to the nearest restaurant, and they are—but not in the same time in history. What if they find themselves at the same restaurant, but millions of years into the future?
8. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
One of the oldest and most famous time travel books, The Time Machine tells the story of a Victorian scientist known by his code name, “Time Traveler,” who throws himself all the way into 802701 AD.
But when the future proves to be less peaceful than he imagined and his time machine suddenly disappears, he must make quick decisions to survive.
9. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
Offering another strange look at time travel, this book tells the story of Ursula Todd, who is born in 1910 over and over again.
What things would she change, and which ones would she want to retain? This is a melancholic, but ultimately beautiful and hopeful book.
10. Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
Rip Van Winkle, the title of a short story Washington Irving first published in 1819, is a Dutch-American villager who, after a drinking spree, falls asleep and wakes up 20 years into the future. The interesting thing is that the time travel isn’t obvious until much deeper into the story.
11. The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen
This children’s book tells the story of Hannah, a young Jewish girl who’s sick and tired of her family’s Jewish feasts and traditions. But what happens when, during a typical celebration, she gets transported to the Holocaust era?
12. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain
Master storyteller Mark Twain will have you in stitches with this parody of the medieval period through the eyes of a modern-day, ordinary guy.
Despite the comedy, though, Twain throws in interesting insight into some of the traditions and beliefs during that time, particularly in defense of the poor.
13. Bedknob and Broomstick by Mary Norton
In this magical tale, the three Wilson children force the witch-wannabe Miss Price to use her magic to transport them to different places, using the knobs of a bed.
But instead of just traveling to different places, they find themselves going back in time, and even bringing someone back, to boot!
14. Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
This classic series includes so many magical and fantastical elements that it’s difficult to call it only a book about time travel.
But throughout the series, the characters move seamlessly in and out of different time periods. It’s a great introduction to the question of the time-space continuum!
Reading Stories About Time Travel
Reading novels about time travel can not only stir up your imagination, but also give you a glimpse of life different time periods.
If the book transports your characters back into the past, you get the added bonus of seeing history unfold before your eyes. If they fly right into the future, you get a clue into how the author imagines the future could be.
In any case, reading a book is just like traveling, and thankfully, by doing so, we don’t have to worry about accidentally changing something in the past that may have repercussions in our present!
Did you find this post helpful? Let us know in the comments below!
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Yen Cabag is the Blog Writer of TCK Publishing. She is also a homeschooling mom, family coach, and speaker for the Charlotte Mason method, an educational philosophy that places great emphasis on classic literature and the masterpieces in art and music. She has also written several books, both fiction and nonfiction. Her passion is to see the next generation of children become lovers of reading and learning in the midst of short attention spans.
