What books does Keanu Reeves recommend?
Keanu Reeves is best known for The Matrix and John Wick, but he is also a comic creator and novelist, and his book recommendations reveal a serious, literary reader with a taste for Russian novels and dark short fiction. This collection brings together 28 titles from his magazine interviews, a Reddit AMA, and video conversations, overwhelmingly fiction, with strands of philosophy, psychology, and graphic novels. His top pick is Alexandre Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo, which he remembers reading as a kid and describes as the first time he felt that kind of transportation. From there the list moves through The Lord of the Rings, Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov and The Idiot, Cormac McCarthy's The Passenger, and comics from Frank Miller to Osamu Tezuka's Phoenix. Classic literature, existential fiction, and the comics that inspired his own BRZRKR all shape his choices.
Last updated March 2026 · Every recommendation cited to its original source.
byAlexandre Dumas
20031276 Pages(1,144,055)
“I remember reading The Count of Monte Cristo as a kid... and that was probably the first time I felt that kind of transportation.”
— Keanu Reeves
Source: Esquire interview
Read by Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Reid Hoffman and 8 others
The Lord of the Rings
The Fellowship of the Ring / The Two Towers / The Return of the King
byJ.R.R. Tolkien
19541178 Pages(721,705)
“As a kid... We could start with the Lord of the Rings.”
— Keanu Reeves
Source: Fliist transcript / Interviews
Read by Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Jordan Peterson and 4 others
byFyodor Dostoevsky
1880824 Pages“Then we could get into finding as a teenager getting into Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Idiot, Notes from Underground, The Brothers Karamazov.”
— Keanu Reeves
Source: Fliist transcript / Interviews
byFyodor Dostoevsky
1869656 PagesSource: Fliist transcript / Interviews
Read by Keanu Reeves
byFyodor Dostoyevsky
1993176 PagesSource: Fliist transcript / Interviews
byJohn Updike
1996336 Pages“So fantastic. [I find] more truth in the seminal Rabbit series by John Updike.”
— Keanu Reeves
Source: Details Magazine
Read by Keanu Reeves
The Passenger
A Novel
byCormac McCarthy
2022400 Pages“The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy and Stella Maris because that's the companion book. Enjoy!”
— Keanu Reeves
Source: Reddit AMA, 2023
Read by Keanu Reeves
byCormac McCarthy
2022208 Pages“The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy and Stella Maris because that's the companion book. Enjoy!”
— Keanu Reeves
Source: Reddit AMA, 2023
byRichard Powers
2018512 Pages“I'm gonna pick a book that I read recently, Overstory by Richard Powers. Check that book out.”
— Keanu Reeves
Source: Fliist / Video Interview
Read by Keanu Reeves
byMichel Houellebecq
2000272 Pages“[It] made my head explode when I read it.”
— Keanu Reeves
Source: Details Magazine interview
Cloud Atlas
A Novel
byDavid Mitchell
2004509 Pages“That too, yes.”
— Keanu Reeves
Source: Details Magazine interview
Read by Keanu Reeves
Cosmopolis
A Novel
byDon DeLillo
2003209 Pages“Recently I was reading Don Delillo, Cosmopolis.”
— Keanu Reeves
Source: Fliist transcript
Read by Keanu Reeves
Read by Keanu Reeves
The Butcher
A Novel
byAlina Reyes
1995208 Pages“Absolutely. [I'm] never put off by a dash of kink.”
— Keanu Reeves
Source: Details Magazine interview
Read by Keanu Reeves
byM. Ageyev
1998204 Pages“[It] broke my heart... perhaps not break, but somehow a kind of heartache of the loss of innocence… youth… hope?”
— Keanu Reeves
Source: Elle Magazine 'Shelf Life'
Read by Keanu Reeves
The Burrow
Posthumously Published Short Fiction
byFranz Kafka
2017240 Pages“[It] makes me feel seen: 'The Burrow' by Franz Kafka. How a short story can present so affecting and illuminating a rumination is beyond me.”
— Keanu Reeves
Source: Elle Magazine 'Shelf Life'
Read by Keanu Reeves
Kinski Uncut
The Autobiography of Klaus Kinski
byKlaus Kinski
1996336 Pages“Phenomenal, rereadable, permanent-collection type book.”
— Keanu Reeves
Source: Interviews / Personal list
Read by Keanu Reeves
Out of Control
The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems, and the Economic World
byKevin Kelly
1994528 PagesSource: Required reading for The Matrix
Read by Keanu Reeves
Read by Keanu Reeves
Read by Keanu Reeves
Molecular Gastronomy
Exploring the Science of Flavor
byHervé This
2006392 PagesSource: Details Magazine list
Read by Keanu Reeves
Phoenix
Vol. 1: Dawn
byOsamu Tezuka
2003344 Pages“It spans all of time and space... he's Japan's Walt Disney... everything he does is great.”
— Keanu Reeves
Source: YouTube (BRZRKR interview)
Read by Keanu Reeves
byFrank Miller, Geof Darrow
1990136 Pages“I would recommend [Hard Boiled].”
— Keanu Reeves
Source: YouTube (BRZRKR interview)
The Dark Knight Returns
30th Anniversary Edition
byFrank Miller
2016224 Pages“Do some Dark Knight.”
— Keanu Reeves
Source: YouTube (BRZRKR interview)
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Frequently asked questions
What books does Keanu Reeves recommend?
His 28 picks include The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Idiot by Dostoevsky, and The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy.
What is Keanu Reeves's most recommended book?
His top pick is The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. Reeves recalls reading it as a kid, saying it "was probably the first time I felt that kind of transportation."
Where do Keanu Reeves's book recommendations come from?
They are drawn from his interviews with Esquire, Details, and Elle, a 2023 Reddit AMA, and video and event conversations, including talks around his BRZRKR comic series where he shared the graphic novels that inspired him.
Has Keanu Reeves written any books?
Yes. He has co-created five books listed here, including the three BRZRKR comic volumes, the novel The Book of Elsewhere, and the illustrated poetry collection Shadows, marking his celebrated debut as a literary creator.
What genres does Keanu Reeves read most?
His recommendations are overwhelmingly fiction, especially classic and existential literature, with strong philosophy and psychology threads and a run of graphic novels reflecting his own work as a comic creator.
All 28 Books Keanu Reeves Has Recommended
- The Count of Monte Cristo · Alexandre Dumas
- The Lord of the Rings · J.R.R. Tolkien
- The Brothers Karamazov · Fyodor Dostoevsky
- The Idiot · Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Notes from Underground · Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- Rabbit, Run · John Updike
- The Passenger · Cormac McCarthy
- Stella Maris · Cormac McCarthy
- The Overstory · Richard Powers
- The Elementary Particles · Michel Houellebecq
- Cloud Atlas · David Mitchell
- Cosmopolis · Don DeLillo
- A Sport and a Pastime · James Salter
- The Butcher · Alina Reyes
- Novel with Cocaine · M. Ageyev
- The Burrow · Franz Kafka
- Kinski Uncut · Klaus Kinski
- Out of Control · Kevin Kelly
- The Niagara River · Kay Ryan
- Say Uncle · Kay Ryan
- Molecular Gastronomy · Hervé This
- Phoenix · Osamu Tezuka
- Hard Boiled · Frank Miller
- The Dark Knight Returns · Frank Miller
- The Shaolin Cowboy: Start Trek · Geof Darrow
- Hellboy, Vol. 1: Seed of Destruction · Mike Mignola
- Swords and Deviltry · Fritz Leiber
- Dracula · Bram Stoker