Comedian, storyteller, and global thinker—Trevor Noah’s bookshelf is as multidimensional as he is. Known for his sharp wit and deep empathy, Trevor’s book picks don’t just entertain—they challenge, comfort, and invite you to look at life sideways, upside down, and inside out.
Whether he’s laughing through absurdity, unpacking trauma, or reflecting on injustice, the books Trevor recommends often blend humor with heartbreak, beauty with bite, and big ideas with big feels. If you want to read like the host of The Daily Show (and author of Born a Crime), this list is your backstage pass.
Here are three of Trevor’s standout reads—and why they might just end up on your top shelf too.
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More by Roald Dahl
Category: Short Stories, Magical Realism, Literary Whimsy
What It’s About
This isn’t your average Roald Dahl collection. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More features seven stories that range from whimsical to wildly philosophical, with Dahl stepping into adult-oriented themes like greed, giving, deception, and self-discovery.
The title story follows Henry Sugar, a rich man who learns to see without using his eyes—only to discover that what you see isn’t nearly as important as what you do with what you see. Other stories include true tales from Dahl’s own life, a turtle that changes a marriage, and a boy who tries to train a swan.
It’s all strange, sharp, and delightfully Dahl.
Why You Should Read It
If you love fiction that’s clever, surprising, and moral without being preachy, this collection is a gem. Dahl’s stories aren’t just magical—they’re meaningful. They make you laugh at absurdity, pause at humanity, and maybe—just maybe—see yourself a little clearer by the end.
It’s also ideal for busy readers—each story is short, punchy, and perfect for reading between meetings, coffee breaks, or flights across continents.
Trevor Noah’s Take
Trevor Noah has called Henry Sugar’s story “pure joy with a moral center”.
It’s not hard to see why. Dahl’s voice—darkly funny, truth-seeking, and just a little bit rebellious—mirrors Trevor’s own storytelling style.
He’s praised the collection for its ability to blend wonder and wisdom without ever talking down to the reader. In interviews, Trevor has said he appreciates books that “sneak up on you with a lesson,” and Dahl’s stories fit that bill exactly.
Get Book: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More!The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Category: Philosophy, Children’s Classic, Allegory
What It’s About
At first glance, The Little Prince might look like a children’s book. But beneath its whimsical drawings and quiet dialogue lies one of the most profound meditations on life, love, loss, and human nature ever written.
The story follows a stranded aviator who meets a mysterious boy—the Little Prince—who has traveled from a distant asteroid. As the prince recounts his journey through space, meeting strange and symbolic characters along the way, we’re invited to reflect on what we value, how we love, and what it means to truly see with the heart.
Why You Should Read It
This book is short but timeless. Whether you’re 15 or 50, it will speak to something tender and true inside you. It’s about the things that matter—the things we often forget in adulthood: imagination, connection, and vulnerability.It’s especially worth reading if you’ve been feeling disconnected or disillusioned, or if you simply need a gentle reminder that you’re not alone in wondering what it all means.
Trevor Noah’s Take
Trevor has spoken about The Little Prince as a book that “changes with you,” noting that he’s read it several times—each at a different point in his life—and found new meaning every time.
In one interview, he described it as “a soft book with a hard center,” adding that its lessons on ego, loneliness, and perspective are “more relevant than ever in a world full of noise.”
It’s easy to see why a man who’s constantly navigating culture, politics, and identity would be drawn to a story that asks: “What is essential, and who gets to see it?”
Get Book: The Little Prince!Know My Name by Chanel Miller
Category: Memoir, Survivor Testimony, Feminist Literature
What It’s About
Before this book, the world knew Chanel Miller only as “Emily Doe,” the anonymous victim in the Brock Turner sexual assault case. But in Know My Name, she reclaims her story in a searing, lyrical, and unflinching memoir that exposes not only the trauma of assault but the added agony of navigating a justice system that often fails survivors.
With poetic clarity and heartbreaking strength, Miller walks readers through her experience of being silenced, doubted, and dehumanized—and how she fought to rebuild her identity and use her voice to speak truth into power.
Why You Should Read It
This is not an easy read—but it’s an essential one. Know My Name is a masterclass in vulnerability, rage, and reclamation. Miller writes not just for herself but for the countless others who have been unheard, unseen, or unbelieved.
It’s a powerful call to empathy and reform—and a reminder that storytelling is survival.
Trevor Noah’s Take
Trevor has called Know My Name “one of the most important memoirs of our time.” He’s praised Chanel Miller’s writing as “devastatingly beautiful” and has spoken about how her story “forces you to confront your assumptions, your biases, and your silence.”
He’s also used his platform to highlight the importance of listening to survivors, and Know My Name is a book he recommends for anyone who wants to better understand not just sexual violence, but the quiet strength it takes to fight back and be heard.
Surviving the White Gaze by Rebecca Carroll
Category: Memoir, Race & Identity, Transracial Adoption
What It’s About
In Surviving the White Gaze, cultural critic Rebecca Carroll recounts her experience growing up as a Black girl adopted into a white family in rural New Hampshire. Raised by well-meaning white parents, Carroll wrestles with feelings of displacement, isolation, and cultural erasure, especially as her white surroundings fail to recognize the racism and microaggressions shaping her identity.
Her journey is one of reclaiming identity, confronting internalized bias, and ultimately becoming the author of her own narrative—despite years of being told who and what she should be.
Why You Should Read It
This memoir is both deeply personal and politically charged. It offers an unflinching look at what happens when Black identity is filtered through a white lens, especially in the context of family, media, and belonging.
For readers looking to understand racial dynamics through the lens of lived experience, Surviving the White Gaze offers a voice that is sharp, reflective, and searingly honest.
Trevor Noah’s Take
Trevor Noah has spoken about how much he connected with Carroll’s story, particularly the sense of being “both seen and unseen at the same time.” As someone who grew up in apartheid South Africa navigating racial ambiguity, code-switching, and cultural tension, Trevor recognized the emotional weight of Carroll’s experience.
He praised the book for “laying bare the emotional toll of racial dissonance with clarity and compassion,” calling it a must-read for people who want to better understand the long-term impact of racial identity erasure—especially in “progressive” environments.
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Category: Historical Fiction, Diaspora, Generational Trauma
What It’s About
Homegoing is an ambitious, deeply moving novel that traces the family lineages of two half-sisters born in 18th-century Ghana—one married off to a British colonizer, the other sold into slavery and sent to America.
From those two branches, Gyasi tells a sweeping story that spans over 300 years, following their descendants through slavery, war, addiction, systemic racism, and quiet resilience. Each chapter focuses on a different descendant, showing how trauma, survival, and heritage are passed down like inheritance.
Why You Should Read It
Gyasi’s novel is breathtaking in both its scope and intimacy. It offers a powerful, layered portrait of how history lives in the body, in silence, in stories left untold, and how both the African and African-American experience are bound together through pain, resilience, and the pursuit of healing.
If you want to understand the emotional and generational echoes of slavery and colonialism, Homegoing is one of the most vital novels of the 21st century.
Trevor Noah’s Take
Trevor Noah has described Homegoing as “a novel that makes you feel history, not just learn it.”
He was particularly struck by how Gyasi handles generational trauma, saying it reminded him of how apartheid’s legacy still plays out in subtle, painful ways across families in South Africa.
He called the novel “elegant, devastating, and necessary,” and praised Gyasi’s ability to “capture the soul of a people through fragments and still make it feel whole.”
Get Book: Homegoing!Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life by Steve Martin
Category: Memoir, Comedy, Creativity, Showbiz History
What It’s About
In Born Standing Up, comedy legend Steve Martin reflects on his early years in show business—before the fame, before the white suit, before he became a household name.
With sharp wit and surprising vulnerability, Martin traces his journey from awkward teenager with a banjo to sold-out arenas, chronicling the loneliness, grind, and personal cost of chasing—and achieving—success in comedy.
What makes this memoir stand out is its honesty: Martin doesn’t glamorize the hustle. He simply lays it out with humor and humility.
Why You Should Read It
Whether you’re a performer, a creative, or just a fan of stand-up comedy, Born Standing Up offers a masterclass in craft, patience, and reinvention. It’s also a fascinating glimpse into what happens when the performance ends—and what’s left when the spotlight fades.
This isn’t just a “how I made it” story—it’s a quiet meditation on art, solitude, and purpose.
Trevor Noah’s Take
As a comedian who also rose from obscurity, Trevor Noah has long cited Steve Martin as an influence and inspiration.
He’s called Born Standing Up “one of the most honest accounts of life behind the mic,” especially for how it shows the vulnerability behind the laughter.
Trevor has recommended the book to aspiring comics and creatives alike, saying it’s a must-read “if you want to know what it really takes to build something from nothing—bit by bit, joke by joke, night after night.”
Get Book: Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life!Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
Category: Fantasy, Coming-of-Age, Magic & Friendship
What It’s About
The first installment in J.K. Rowling’s legendary series introduces us to Harry Potter, an orphaned boy who discovers on his 11th birthday that he’s a wizard. Whisked away to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry begins a magical journey filled with friendship, mystery, and dark forces lurking just beyond the veil.
But this story isn’t just about spells and potions—it’s about belonging, bravery, and growing up in a world that doesn’t always feel safe.
Why You Should Read It
Even if you somehow missed the Harry Potter wave, this first book is worth picking up for its sheer wonder, tight storytelling, and emotional heart. It taps into the universal feeling of being different—and finding your people anyway.
Perfect for readers of all ages, it reminds us that courage often comes from the most unlikely places—and sometimes, love is the strongest magic of all.
Trevor Noah’s Take
Trevor Noah has openly called Harry Potter one of his favorite series, describing it as “the perfect gateway to reading for young people”—and a series he still revisits as an adult. He credits it for sparking his imagination during difficult years and has joked that “Hogwarts felt more real than my actual school.”
He’s also highlighted how the story’s themes—identity, injustice, and moral courage—resonate deeply for those who’ve felt like outsiders. In classic Trevor style, he once quipped, “I’m still waiting for my letter. Just delayed by apartheid.”
Get Book: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone!Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
Category: Memoir, Politics, Social Justice, African History
What It’s About
This sweeping autobiography tells the story of Nelson Mandela, from his rural childhood to his 27-year imprisonment, and ultimately, to his role in dismantling apartheid and becoming South Africa’s first Black president.
It’s not just a political memoir—it’s a deeply personal chronicle of resilience, reconciliation, and the cost of moral conviction.
Why You Should Read It
If you want to understand the heart and soul of South Africa, this is essential reading. Mandela’s voice is calm, clear, and profoundly human. He details the exhausting pace of change, the emotional toll of prison, and the patience required to forgive your oppressors without forgetting your people.
It’s a book about sacrifice, leadership, and the long game of justice.
Trevor Noah’s Take
Trevor has spoken often about how Mandela shaped his worldview. He grew up in the very world Mandela fought to change, and Long Walk to Freedom helped him understand not just what was happening, but why it mattered so deeply.
He’s said, “Mandela taught me that changing the world doesn’t always mean burning it down. Sometimes, it means holding the line until the world catches up to what’s right.”
Reading Mandela’s journey gave Trevor context for his own—and helped shape the nuanced, empathetic lens through which he views politics and culture.
Get Book: Long Walk to Freedom!But What If We’re Wrong? by Chuck Klosterman
Category: Pop Culture, Philosophy, Speculative Nonfiction
What It’s About
In this brain-bending book, cultural critic Chuck Klosterman poses a simple but provocative question: What if everything we believe now is totally wrong? From rock music to science to literature to politics, Klosterman explores how future generations might look back on us—and laugh, cringe, or just shake their heads.
It’s part speculation, part humor, part cultural philosophy—and it makes you question how certain your certainties really are.
Why You Should Read It
If you love big ideas served with sarcasm and thought experiments, this is a wild ride. Klosterman encourages readers to think less like prophets and more like historians—imagining how the present might be misunderstood tomorrow.
It’s a great read for anyone who enjoys critical thinking, weird what-ifs, and challenging their own assumptions.
Trevor Noah’s Take
Trevor has called this book “equal parts hilarious and unsettling,” praising Klosterman’s ability to ask ridiculous questions that lead to real introspection. As someone who straddles comedy and cultural critique for a living, Trevor resonates with the idea that “truth” is often just the best guess we’ve got at the time.He’s recommended it to fans who want to understand bias, belief, and how easy it is to confuse confidence with correctness.
Get Book: But What If We’re Wrong!The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
Category: Creativity, Self-Discipline, Motivation
What It’s About
Pressfield’s bestselling guide is a rallying cry for artists, writers, entrepreneurs, and dreamers. The War of Art tackles Resistance—that invisible force that keeps us procrastinating, doubting ourselves, or quitting before we begin.
With short, punchy chapters, Pressfield offers a no-nonsense, spiritual-meets-practical look at what it takes to actually sit down and do the work.
Why You Should Read It
Whether you’re creating a novel, a business, or a life you’re proud of, this book is pure fire. It’s ideal for anyone struggling with perfectionism, fear, burnout, or imposter syndrome.
If Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic is the gentle friend who inspires you, The War of Art is the blunt mentor who says, “Stop whining. Sit down. Create.”
Trevor Noah’s Take
Trevor has credited The War of Art as a book that helped him “shut up and show up,” especially in the early days of building a comedy career. He’s mentioned how Pressfield’s concept of Resistance mirrors everything from writer’s block to self-doubt, and how committing to “just doing the work” is what separated the dreamers from the doers.
He once joked, “This book doesn’t have time to hold your hand. It’s too busy helping you pick up the pen.”
Trevor Noah’s Bookshelf Is Where Laughter Meets Truth
Trevor Noah doesn’t just read for pleasure—he reads to understand. To stretch his empathy. To make sense of the absurd, the unjust, and the beautiful mess that is the human experience. His book recommendations reflect a mind that’s just as comfortable analyzing comedy and culture as it is sitting with pain, wrestling with identity, and asking the big questions.
From the magic of Harry Potter to the fire of Know My Name, and the historical weight of Long Walk to Freedom, these titles tell us as much about Trevor as his own memoir does: he’s curious, compassionate, and never afraid to challenge the narrative.
And that’s what makes his reading list so powerful—it doesn’t sit in one genre, one voice, or one worldview. It spans childhood wonder, cultural criticism, creative discipline, and survivor testimony. It’s honest, sharp, human.
So if you’re building your 2025 reading list, Trevor Noah’s bookshelf is a brilliant place to begin. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll think harder—and maybe even write that thing you’ve been putting off.
Which of Trevor’s favorite books are you picking up next?
