“This lingered for weeks after I finished it.”

Note: All submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.

Additional thumbnail credits: NBC / Fox / The WB /Walt DisneyStudios Motion Pictures

SpongeBob SquarePants reads a book with a focused expression

Cover of "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas, showing a stormy sea and a distant castle

Illustration of a book cover for "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck, featuring a man with a pensive expression

Book cover of "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt with a golden emblem and praise from The Times

Book cover of "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier with large red flowers and ornate title text

Cover of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" with title and author Douglas Adams, featuring a cup on a saucer

Cover of "Lonesome Dove" by Larry McMurtry with a cowboy silhouette on a horse

Cover of "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde, featuring a painted portrait of a young man in a white coat

Book cover of "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes featuring a mouse on a maze-patterned background

Cover of "House of Leaves" by Mark Z. Danielewski, featuring a dark doorway with the text overlaid

Book cover of "Piranesi" by Susanna Clarke featuring accolades and a figure on a statue horse

Cover of "A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning" by Lemony Snicket, featuring Count Olaf

Cover of "Cirque Du Freak" by Darren Shan featuring a vampire holding a spider within ornate borders

Cover of "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie, featuring silhouette figures and title text

Book cover of Stephen King's "The Stand" with a person on a vehicle and desolate backdrop

Book cover of "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy, featuring silhouettes of two figures within a fiery shape