Fiction and Literature
The Good Soldier Švejk by Jaroslav Hašek — The great Czech comic novel, following a bumbling soldier through the chaos of World War I. Irreverent, shaggy, and still funny.
The Trial and The Castle by Franz Kafka — Kafka was born in Prague and wrote in German. Both novels carry the atmosphere of Habsburg-era Prague in every page, even though neither explicitly names the city.
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera — Set against the 1968 Prague Spring and its aftermath. Kundera is a divisive figure in Czech literary circles, but this is the novel that put Czech literature on the international map.
I Served the King of England by Bohumil Hrabal — Lighter than Kundera, warmer, and arguably the better writer. Hrabal's novel traces a waiter's life through the upheavals of the 20th century. His Closely Watched Trains (also filmed) is equally good.
History and Non-Fiction
Prague Winter by Madeleine Albright — A memoir exploring Albright's Czech-Jewish family history and the occupation, the war, and the communist takeover. Personal and historically grounded.
...I Never Saw Another Butterfly... — A collection of drawings and poems by children held at the Terezín concentration camp between 1942 and 1944. Devastating and essential.
The Coasts of Bohemia by Derek Sayer — A cultural history of Czechia from the early modern period to 1989. Dense but rewarding for anyone who wants more than the surface.
Travel and Practical
The Rough Guide to the Czech Republic and Lonely Planet Czech Republic are both solid for practical planning. Rick Steves covers Prague well in his Central Europe guide.