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The Greatest Books

all | 2000 | 1990 | 1980 | 1970 | 1950 | 1900 |
1. 1 . In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust

Swann's Way, the first part of A la recherche de temps perdu, Marcel Proust's seven-part
cycle, was published in 1913. In it, Proust introduces the themes that run through the
entire work. The narr...
- Publisher
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2. 2 . Ulysses by James Joyce

Ulysses chronicles the passage of Leopold Bloom through Dublin during an ordinary day,
June 16, 1904. The title parallels and alludes to Odysseus (Latinised into Ulysses), the
hero of Homer's Odyss...
- Wikipedia
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3. 3 . Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

Alonso Quixano, a retired country gentleman in his fifties, lives in an unnamed section of
La Mancha with his niece and a housekeeper. He has become obsessed with books of
chivalry, and believes th...
- Wikipedia
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4. 4 . Moby Dick by Herman Melville

First published in 1851, Melville's masterpiece is, in Elizabeth Hardwick's words, "the
greatest novel in American literature." The saga of Captain Ahab and his monomaniacal
pursuit of the white wh...
- Publisher

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5. 5 . Hamlet by William Shakespeare

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by

William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601. The play, set
in Denmark, recounts how Pri...
- Wikipedia
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6. 6 . War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Epic in scale, War and Peace delineates in graphic detail events leading up to Napoleon's
invasion of Russia, and the impact of the Napoleonic era on Tsarist society, as seen
through the eyes of fi...
- Wikipedia
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7. 7 . The Odyssey by Homer

The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in
part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work traditionally ascribed to Homer. The poem is
fundamental to the m...

- Wikipedia
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8. 8 . The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The novel chronicles an era that Fitzgerald himself dubbed the "Jazz Age". Following the
shock and chaos of World War I, American society enjoyed unprecedented levels of
prosperity during the "roar...
- Wikipedia
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9. 9 . The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri

Belonging in the immortal company of the great works of literature, Dante Alighieri's
poetic masterpiece, The Divine Comedy, is a moving human drama, an unforgettable
visionary journey through the ...
- Publisher
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10. 10 . Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

For daring to peer into the heart of an adulteress and enumerate its contents with profound
dispassion, the author of Madame Bovary was tried for "offenses against morality and
religion." What shoc...
- Publisher
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11. 11 . The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Dostoevsky's last and greatest novel, The Karamazov Brothers, is both a brilliantly told
crime story and a passionate philosophical debate. The dissolute landowner Fyodor
Pavlovich Karamazov is mur...
- Publisher
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12. 12 . One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

One of the 20th century's enduring works, One Hundred Years of Solitude is a widely
beloved and acclaimed novel known throughout the world, and the ultimate achievement
in a Nobel Prizewinning car...
- Publisher
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13. 13 . The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Revered by all of the town's children and dreaded by all of its mothers, Huckleberry Finn
is indisputably the most appealing child-hero in American literature. Unlike the tall-tale,
idyllic worl...
- Publisher
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14. 14 . The Iliad by Homer

The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set in
the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of Ilium by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the
battles and e...
- Wikipedia

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15. 15 . Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

The book is internationally famous for its innovative style and infamous for its
controversial subject: the protagonist and unreliable narrator, middle aged Humbert
Humbert, becomes obsessed and se...
- Wikipedia
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16. 16 . Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Anna Karenina tells of the doomed love affair between the sensuous and rebellious Anna
and the dashing officer, Count Vronsky. Tragedy unfolds as Anna rejects her passionless
marriage and must endu...
- Publisher
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17. 17 . Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

It is a murder story, told from a murder;s point of view, that implicates even the most
innocent reader in its enormities. It is a cat-and-mouse game between a tormented young
killer and a cheerful...

- Publisher
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18. 18 . Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

In 1862 Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a shy Oxford mathematician with a stammer, created
a story about a little girl tumbling down a rabbit hole. Thus began the immortal
adventures of Alice, perhaps th...
- Publisher
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19. 19 . The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

The Sound and the Fury is set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County. The novel centers
on the Compson family, former Southern aristocrats who are struggling to deal with the
dissolution of their fa...
- Wikipedia
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20. 20 . Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

The book is narrated in free indirect speech following the main character Elizabeth
Bennet as she deals with matters of upbringing, marriage, moral rightness and education
in her aristocratic socie...
- Wikipedia
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21. 21 . The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

The Catcher in the Rye is a 1945 novel by J. D. Salinger. Originally published for adults,
the novel has become a common part of high school and college curricula throughout the
English-speaking wo...
- Wikipedia
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22. 22 . Wuthering Heights by Emily Bront

The narrative is non-linear, involving several flashbacks, and two primary narrators: Mr.
Lockwood and Ellen "Nelly" Dean. The novel opens in 1801, with Mr. Lockwood
arriving at Thrushcross Grange,...
- Wikipedia
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23. 23 . Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell

The story follows the life of one seemingly insignificant man, Winston Smith, a civil
servant assigned the task of perpetuating the regime's propaganda by falsifying records
and political literatur...
- Wikipedia
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24. 24 . Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

The story details an incident when Marlow, an Englishman, took a foreign assignment
from a Belgian trading company as a ferry-boat captain in Africa. Although Conrad does
not specify the name of th...
- Wikipedia

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25. 25 . To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

A landmark novel of high modernism, the text, centering on the Ramsay family and their
visits to the Isle of Skye in Scotland between 1910 and 1920, skillfully manipulates
temporality and psycholog...
- Wikipedia
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26. 26 . Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner

Absalom, Absalom! is a Southern Gothic novel by the American author William Faulkner,
first published in 1936. It is a story about three families of the American South, taking
place before, during,...
- Wikipedia
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27. 27 . Middlemarch by George Eliot

Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life is a novel by George Eliot, the pen name of
Mary Anne Evans, later Marian Evans. It is her seventh novel, begun in 1869 and then put
aside during the final i...

- Wikipedia
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28. 28 . The Trial by Franz Kafka

Written in 1914, The Trial is one of the most important novels of the twentieth century:
the terrifying tale of Josef K., a respectable bank officer who is suddenly and inexplicably
arrested and mu...
- Publisher
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29. 29 . One Thousand and One Nights by India/Iran/Iraq/Egypt

One Thousand and One Nights is a collection of Middle Eastern and South Asian stories
and folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in
English as the Arabian Ni...
- Wikipedia
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30. 30 . The Stories of Anton Chekhov by Anton Chekhov

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian short-story writer, playwright and physician,
considered to be one of the greatest short-story writers in the history of world literature.
His career as a dram...
- Wikipedia
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31. 31 . The Red and the Black by Stendhal

Le Rouge et le Noir (The Red and the Black), subtitled Chronique du XIXe sicle
("Chronicle of the 19th century"), is an historical psychological novel in two volumes by
Stendhal, published in 1830...
- Wikipedia
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32. 32 . Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift

From the preeminent prose satirist in the English language, a great classic recounting the
four remarkable journeys of ship's surgeon Lemuel Gulliver. For children it remains an
enchanting fantasy;...
- Publisher
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33. 33 . Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Catch-22 is a satirical, historical novel by the American author Joseph Heller, first
published in 1961. The novel, set during the later stages of World War II from 1943
onwards, is frequently cite...
- Wikipedia
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34. 34 . The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Set during the Great Depression, the novel focuses on a poor family of sharecroppers, the
Joads, driven from their home by drought, economic hardship, and changes in the
agriculture industry. In a ...
- Wikipedia

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35. 35 . Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

The novel addresses many of the social and intellectual issues facing African-Americans
in the early twentieth century, including black nationalism, the relationship between black
identity and Marx...
- Wikipedia
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36. 36 . The Stranger by Albert Camus

Since it was first published in English, in 1946, Albert Camus's extraordinary first novel,
The Stranger (L'Etranger), has had a profound impact on millions of American readers.
Through this story ...
- Publisher
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37. 37 . Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Great Expectations is written in the genre of "bildungsroman" or the style of book that
follows the story of a man or woman in their quest for maturity, usually starting from
childhood and ending i...

- Wikipedia
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38. 38 . The Aeneid by Virgil

The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem written by Virgil in the late 1st century BC (2919 BC)
that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who traveled to Italy, where he became
the ancestor of the...
- Wikipedia
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39. 39 . David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

The story of the abandoned waif who learns to survive through challenging encounters
with distress and misfortune.
- Publisher
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40. 40 . Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

Created from two short stories, "Mrs Dalloway in Bond Street" and the unfinished "The
Prime Minister", the novel's story is of Clarissa's preparations for a party of which she is
to be hostess. Wit...
- Wikipedia
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41. 41 . Beloved by Toni Morrison

Beloved (1987) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison. The
novel, her fifth, is loosely based on the life and legal case of the slave Margaret Garner,
about whom Morrison...
- wikipedia
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42. 42 . The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

With their astonishing diversity of tone and subject matter, The Canterbury Tales have
become one of the touchstones of medieval literature. Translated here into modern
English, these tales of a mo...
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43. 43 . Collected Fiction by Jorge Luis Borges

From his 1935 debut with The Universal History of Iniquity, through his immensely
influential collections Ficciones and The Aleph, these enigmatic, elaborate, imaginative
inventions display Borges'...
- Publisher
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44. 44 . Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

Leaves of Grass (1855) is a poetry collection by the American poet Walt Whitman.
Among the poems in the collection are "Song of Myself," "I Sing the Body Electric," "Out
of the Cradle Endlessly Roc...
- Wikipedia

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45. 45 . Candide by Voltaire

Candide, ou l'Optimisme is a French satire written in 1759 by Voltaire, a philosopher of

the Age of Enlightenment. Candide is characterized by its sarcastic tone and its erratic,
fantastical, an...
- Wikipedia
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46. 46 . Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bront

Jane Eyre is a first-person narrative of the title character, a small, plain-faced, intelligent
and honest English orphan. The novel goes through five distinct stages: Jane's childhood
at Gateshead...
- Wikipedia
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47. 47 . As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

The book is told in stream of consciousness writing style by 15 different narrators in 59

chapters. It is the story of the death of Addie Bundren and her family's questnoble or
selfishto honor he...

- Wikipedia
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48. 48 . The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

The novel explores the lives and values of the so-called "Lost Generation," chronicling
the experiences of Jake Barnes and several acquaintances on their pilgrimage to Pamplona
for the annual San F...
- Wikipedia
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49. 49 . The Complete Stories of Franz Kafka by Franz Kafka

The Complete Stories of Franz Kafka is a compilation of all Kafka's short stories. With
the exception of Kafka's three novels (The Trial, The Castle and Amerika), this collection
includes all of Ka...
- Wikipedia
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50. 50 . Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne

As its title suggests, the book is ostensibly Tristram's narration of his life story. But it is
one of the central jokes of the novel that he cannot explain anything simply, that he must
make expla...
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1 2 3 4 5 Next Last

How is this list generated?

This list is generated from 107 "best of" book lists from a variety of great sources. An algorithm
is used to create a master list based on how many lists a particular book appears on. Some lists
count more than others. I generally trust "best of all time" lists voted by authors and experts over
user-generated lists. On the lists that are actually ranked, the book that is 1st counts a lot more
than the book that's 100th.
If you have any comments, suggestions, or corrections please feel free to e-mail me.

The Lists
If you're interested in the details about how the rankings are generated and which lists are the most important(in my
eyes) please check out the list details page.

1. Top 100 Works in World Literature

The editors of the Norwegian Book Clubs, with the Norwegian Nobel Institute, polled a
panel of 100 authors from 54 countries on what they considered the best and most central
works in world literature. Among the authors polled were Milan Kundera, Doris Lessing,
Seamus Heaney, Salman Rushdie, Wole Soyinka, John Irving, Nadine Gordimer, and

Carlos Fuentes. The list of 100 works appears alphabetically by author. Although the
books were not ranked, the editors revealed that Don Quixote received 50% more votes
than any other book.
Norwegian Book Clubs, with the Norwegian Nobel Institute

2. Biblioteca
38 Argentinean Authors were polled by the Argentinean government for their favorite
books. This is a tally of all books with more than 1 vote.
Argentina

3. El Pais Favorite Books of 100 Spanish Authors

El Pais ran A Poll of 100 Spanish Authors and Their Favorite Books. This is summary of
all the books
El Pais

4. For The Love of Books

Ronald Schwartz polled 115 major writers about their favorite books, and published each
of their ballots in the book For the Love of Books.
For The Love of Books

5. Pour une Bibliothque Idale

"In the early 1950s Raymond Queneau asked several dozen French authors and critics to
list the hundred books they would choose if they had to limit themselves to that number.
He reproduced all their responses in the book Pour une Bibliothque Idale (Gallimard,
1956), along with the overall top 100 list reproduced above."
Raymond Queneau

6. The 25 Favorite Books of 100 Francophone Writers

Tlrama, a weekly French magazine, asked 100s of french authors to list their top 10
favorite books of all time.
Telerama

7. The Ideal Library

100 prominent cultural figures, mostly writers, were polled for their choice of an "ideal
library". The following list is a tally of every book that received at least 2 votes.

Book

8. The Top 10: The Greatest Books of All Time

The Top 10 book chosen by 125 top writers from the book "The Top 10" edited by J.
Peder Zane.
The Top 10 (Book)

9. The Celebrity Reading List

The Gardiner Public Library, from 1988 to 2007, polled various famous figures from all
around the world (writers, artists, filmmakers, politicians, actors, etc.) to ask for their
book recommendations. This list is based on the books that received at least two
mentions.
Gardiner Public Library

10. 100 Life-Changing Books

National Book Award-winning authors got together to select what was, in their opinions,
100 life-changing books.
National Book Award

11. Finest Works of Fiction

In Novels and Novelists, A Guide to the World of Fiction (1980) Seymour-Smith and the
other contributors selected about 55 works of fiction as receiving full marks on the four
criteria used for evaluation: Readability, Characterization, Plot, and Literary Merit. These
represent, for the contributors, the finest works of fiction that have been written.
Martin Seymour-Smith and Editors

12. Great Books of the Western World

Great Books of the Western World is a series of books originally published in the United
States in 1952 by Encyclopdia Britannica Inc. to present the western canon in a single
package of 54 volume...
Great Books Foundation

13. The 100 Best Non-Fiction Books of the Century

The 100 best non-fiction books of all time judged by a panel of historians, authors,
publishers, and experts for the National Review Magazine.
National Review

14. The 50 Best Books of the Century

ISI defined "best" as "volumes of extraordinary reflection and creativity in a traditional
form, which heartens us with the knowledge that fine writing and clear-mindedness are
perennially possible." All the books are non-fiction. The first 5 are ranked, the rest are
alphabetical.
Intercollegiate Studies Institute

15. The Bigger Read List

The English PEN staff compiled a list of the best works not written in the English
language. This list combines their list with the suggestions made by Fred Armentrout,
President of Hong Kong (English-Speaking) PEN.
English PEN

16. The New Lifetime Reading Plan

Clifton Paul "Kip" Fadiman (May 15, 1904 June 20, 1999) was an American
intellectual, author, editor, radio and television personality. The New Lifetime Reading
Plan provides readers with brief, informative and entertaining introductions to more than
130 classics of world literature. From Homer to Hawthorne, Plato to Pascal, and
Shakespeare to Solzhenitsyn, the great writers of Western civilization can be found in its
pages. In addition, this new edition offers a much broader representation of women
authors, such as Charlotte Bront%, Emily Dickinson and Edith Wharton, as well as nonWestern writers such as Confucius, Sun-Tzu, Chinua Achebe, Mishima Yukio and many
others. This fourth edition also features a simpler format that arranges the works
chronologically in five sections (The Ancient World; 300-1600; 1600-1800; and The 20th
Century), making them easier to look up than ever before. It deserves a place in the
libraries of all lovers of literature.
The New Lifetime Reading Plan

17. ZEIT-Bibliothek der 100 Bcher

Die Zeit

18. "Our Readable Century", The Best Books of the 20th Century
Literary publication January Magazine polled writers for their favorite works of 2oth
century fiction. These were the most mentioned books.
January Magazine

19. 110 Best Books: The Perfect Library

From classics and sci-fi to poetry, biographies and books that changed the world we
present the ultimate reading list.
The Telegraph

20. Books That Changed the World: The 50 Most Influential Books in Human History
A 208 page book written in 2009 by Journalist and Author Andrew Taylor. Books from
every field of human creativity and intellectual endeavor - from poetry to politics, from
fiction to philosophy, from theology to anthropology, and from economics to physics
have been selected to create a rounded and satisfying picture of how 50 towering
achievements of the human intellect have built our societies, shaped our values, enhanced
our understanding of the nature of the world, enabled technological advancements, and
reflected our concerns and dilemmas, strengths and failings. In a series of engaging and
lively essays, Andrew Taylor sets each work and its author firmly in historical context,
summarizes the content of the work in question, and explores its wider influence and
legacy. A fascinating and richly informative read.
Book

21. Recommended Books

"Discover which books made a difference in the early lives of the most eminent achievers
of our times."
Academy of Achievement

22. The 16 Greatest Books of All Time

Two book editors for the nyulocal.com present their list of the 16 greatest books of all
time, with a list of runner-ups as well.
NYU Local

23. Vrldsbiblioteket (The World Library)

Vrldsbiblioteket (The World Library) was a Swedish list of the 100 best books in the
world, made in 1991 by the Swedish literary magazine Tidningen Boken. The list was
compiled through votes from members of the Svenska Akademien, Swedish Crime
Writers' Academy, librarian, authors and others. Approximately 30 of the books were
Swedish.
Tidningen Boken

24. 100 Best Books

Michael Sexson, English teacher at Montana State University, in 2000 had his class of 45
students compose a list of the 100 greatest works of literature ever written, in their
collective opinions.
Montana State University

25. "Best Foreign Work of Fiction"

The French literary magazine Transfuge asked a group of francophone writers to pick
their best foreign work of fiction. These are the results.
Transfuge

26. Great Books

A short list of essential works of the Western Canon, as selected scholar Anthony O'Hear.
Anthony O'Hear

27. How to Read and Why

Information is endlessly available to us; where shall wisdom be found?" is the crucial
question with which renowned literary critic Harold Bloom begins this impassioned book
on the pleasures and benefits of reading well. For more than forty years, Bloom has
transformed college students into lifelong readers with his unrivaled love for literature.
Now, at a time when faster and easier electronic media threatens to eclipse the practice of
reading, Bloom draws on his experience as critic, teacher, and prolific reader to plumb the
great books for their sustaining wisdom. - Amazon
Harold Bloom

28. How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Reading List

English professor Thomas C. Foster, at the end of his book, includes a recommended
"reading list".
Thomas C. Foster

29. The 100 Most Influential Books Ever Written

The 100 Most Influential Books Ever Written: The History of Thought from Ancient
Times to Today (1998) is a book of intellectual history written by Martin Seymour-Smith
(19281998), a British poet, critic, and biographer.
Martin Seymour-Smith

30. The Great Books Reader

"In this volume you will be guided by esteemed professors and writers who have selected
excerpts from the most important books in Western Civilization. A brief essay illuminates
each excerpt and puts the work in context. Take your education to the next level by letting
some of the best thinkers of today walk you through the most influential books in history."
Book

31. Best Books Ever

"Whatever it's called we love a list of what we think are the best books of all time so
we've compiled an entirely arbitrary and personal selection of 100 titles below for you to
disagree with."
bookdepository.com

32. Great Books

"Great Books is an hour-long documentary and biography program that aired on The
Learning Channel. The series was a project co-created by Walter Cronkite and former
child actor Jonathan Ward under a deal they had with their company Cronkite-Ward, the
The Discovery Channel, and The Learning Channel. Premiering on September 8, 1993, to
coincide with International Literacy Day, the series took in-depth looks into some of
literature's greatest fictional and nonfictional books and the authors who created them.
The series is mostly narrated by Donald Sutherland." - Wikipedia
The Learning Channel

33. Masterpieces of World Literature

Scholar Frank N. Magills famous literary studies reference book. A selection of over 200
of the greatest works of literature of all time
Frank N. Magill

34. The 100 Greatest Novels of All Time: The List

The list of essential fiction from the past 300 years from Robert McCrum of The
Observer.
The Observer

35. The Graphic Canon

The classic canon of Western civilization meets the artists and illustrators who have
remade reading in the last years of the twentieth century and the first decade of the
twenty-first century in Russ Kick's magisterial, three-volume, full-color The Graphic
Canon, volumes 1, 2, and 3. - Amazon

Book

36. The Greatest 20th Century Novels

Waterstones 1999 poll of the greatest 20th century novels, according to British writers.
This appeared to be the result of muddle in the way questions were put to and answered
by the 47 authors, critics and media personalities who voted in the poll.
Waterstone

37. The Greatest Novel of All Time

Author William Faulkner named Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina" as the single greatest novel of
all time.
William Faulkner

38. The Novel 100: A Ranking of the Greatest Novels of All Time
The list below is from the book The Novel 100: A Ranking of Greatest Novels All Time
(Checkmark Books/Facts On File, Inc.: New York, 2004), written by Daniel S. Burt.
The Novel 100

39. W. Somerset Maughams Ten Greatest Novels of All Time

Maugham's studies of the lives and masterpieces of ten great novelists are outstanding
examples of literary criticism at its finest. Afforded here are some of the formulae of
greatness in the genre, as well as the flaws and heresies which enfeeble it. Written by a
master of fiction, "Ten Novels and Their Authors" is a unique and invaluable guide.
Great Novelists and Their Novels

40. 50 Greatest Books of All Time

A list of the 50 greatest books of all time as determined by a panel of secret judges for
Globe and Mail. The books are not ranked.
Globe and Mail

41. Books That Changed the World

Scholar Robert B. Downs selects the "great works that revolutionized our ideas about the
universe - and ourselves".
Book

42. From Zero to Well-Read in 100 Books

100 books that, in the opinion of Bookriot.com editor-in-chief Jeff O'Neal, one should
read before deeming themselves "well-read".
Jeff O'Neal at Bookriot.com

43. Greatest Prose Works of the 20th Century

Author Vladimir Nabokov's selection of the Top 4 greatest prose works of the 20th
century.
Vladimir Nabokov

44. Koen Book Distributors Top 100 Books of the Past Century
Intended as a companion to the infamous Modern Library ranking of the top 100 books of
the past century, this list represents a different viewpoint--that of the booksellers
themselves. Compiled from the responses of over 150 Koen Book Distributors customers,
the following titles represent the very best in modern literature.
themodernnovel.com

45. The Modern Library | 100 Best Nonfiction

The Modern Library

46. 50 Books That Changed the World

"For centuries, books have been written in an attempt to share knowledge, inspiration, and
discoveries. Sometimes those books make such an impact that they change the way the
world thinks about things. The following books have done just that by providing readers
an education in politics and government, literature, society, academic subjects such as
science and math, and religion."
Open Education Database

47. 50 Books to Read Before You Die

Complex Magazine's selection of 50 must-read books.
Complex

48. 50 Books to (Re-)Read at 50

Your essential short list of novels, nonfiction and biographies Got some time on your
hands? This list of 50 great books is a good way to raise your literary IQ. It's by no means
the "definitive" list, but each of these masterpieces is at least as relevant and powerful
today as when it was written. And they're all still terrific reads.

nextavenue

49. Donald Barthelmes Reading List

81 books recommended by Author Donald Barthelme to his students at the University of
Houston.
Believer Mag

50. In Which These Are the 100 Greatest Novels

ThisRecording.com Editor Alex Carnevale selects his choices for the "100 Greatest
Novels of All Time".
ThisRecording.com

51. Select 100

"This list was compiled by tabulating nominations by UWM faculty, staff and students for
the Select 100. It includes changes which have resulted from nominations received since
the original list was released. We asked you to recommend books which you have found
to be so useful and important that no one could consider himself/herself an educated or
enlightened person without having read them. This is your cumulative response."
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

52. The 100 Best Books in the World

German bookseller website AbeBooks.de makes their selection for the "100 greatest
books ever written".
AbeBooks.de (in German)

53. The 100 Greatest Books Ever Written

Easton Press's selection of the greatest books of the Western Canon.
Easton Press

54. The 100 Greatest Novels

Critic Ted Gioia's selection of the 100 greatest novels ever written.
greatbooksguide.com

55. The Best Classics

The Times selection of the 100 best classic works of literature.

The Times

56. The Millions: The Best Fiction of the Millennium

A poll of The Millions contributors and 48 of their favorite writers, editors, and critics,
asking a single question: What are the best books of fiction of the millennium(2000), so
far? The results were robust, diverse, and surprising.
The Millions

57. 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime

Amazon UK editors select 100 books that they deem "essential".
Amazon.com (UK)

58. 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime

A bucket list of books to create a well-read life, from Amazon Book Editors.
Amazon.com (USA)

59. 48 Good Books

Recommended literature by the Undergraduate Academies and Libraries of the University
of Buffalo.
University of Buffalo

60. Harvard Book Store Staff's Favorite 100 Books

In early 2010 Harvard Book Store employees worked together to come up with a list of
our favorite books. Each staff member submitted a list of their favorite books of all time,
in (rough) order of preference. Their selections were then weighted according to the order
and the results were tabulated. It was by no means a perfect system, but it was the best
way we could think of to quantify opinions that are in no way quantifiable. Now, we read
a lot, so it was hard to narrow it down. What we came up with are the books that moved
us, that changed the way we think about the world, and that we will happily read over and
over again. We hope you enjoy them too.
Harvard Book Store

61. Radcliffe's 100 Best Novels

Radcliffe Publishing Course

62. The Book of Great Books: A Guide to 100 World Classics

Editor W. John Campbell provides explanations and summaries for 100 of the world's best
books.
Book

63. The Modern Library | 100 Best Novels

Modern Library

64. TIME Magazine All Time 100 Novels

Time critics Lev Grossman and Richard Lacayo pick the 100 best English-language
novels from 1923 to the present.
TIME Magazine

65. Top 100 World Literature Titles

The top 100 titles for the world literature classroom, ranked in order of popularity, chosen
by literature teachers from across the country.
Perfection Learning

66. 100 Best Novels in English Since 1900

Jeffrey St. Clair and Alexander Cockburn's favorite novels since 1900.
Counterpunch

67. 100 Best Novels Written in English

Respected literary critic Robert McCrum selects the definitive 100 novels written in
English.
The Guardian

68. 100 Essential Books

The Brazilian cultural magazine Bravo! selects 100 essential books.
Bravo! Magazine

69. D. G. Myers 50 Greatest English Language Novels

D. G. Myers, critic and literary historians 50 Greatest English Language Novels. A critic
and literary historian for nearly a quarter of a century at Texas A&M and Ohio State.
D. G. Myers

70. Robert McCrum's top 10 books of the twentieth century

Robert McCrum is The Observer's literary editor and the author of, among other books,
My Year Off. This is a list of this top 10 books of the twentieth century.
The Guardian

71. The 21st Century's 12 Greatest Novels

The BBC polled a number of book critics to determine the greatest novels of the current
century so far.
BBC Poll

72. The Dream of the Great American Novel

Writer Lawrence Buell discusses the primary contenders for the title of the "Great
American Novel".
Book

73. 100 Major Works of Modern Creative Nonfiction

Essays, memoirs, autobiographies, biographies, travel writing, history, cultural studies,
nature writing--all fit under the broad heading of creative nonfiction, and all are
represented here: a list of 100 major works of creative nonfiction published by British and
American writers over the past 80 years.
About.com

74. 20th Century's Greatest Hits: 100 English-Language Books of Fiction

The 20th Centurys Greatest Hits: 100 English-Language Books of Fiction is a popular
"best of" list compiled by Larry McCaffery largely in response to Modern Library 100
Best Novels list (1999), which McCaffery saw as being out of touch with 20th-century
fiction. McCaffery writes that he sees his list "as a means of sharing with readers my own
views about what books are going to be read 100 or 1000 years from now".
Larry McCaffery

75. 50 Books to Read Before You Die

Barnes and Noble's selection of the 50 most essential books.
Barnes and Noble

76. The 100 Favorite Novels of Librarians

Based on a survey of Librarians conducted by Brodart Co., September, 1998 - March,

1999. Brodart is an international company that services libraries around the world.
Bookman.com

77. The Best Southern Nonfiction of All Time

The best southern United States nonfiction books of all time judged by 130 literary
experts and authors.
Oxford American

78. The Telegraphs 100 Novels Everyone Should Read

The best novels of all time from Tolkien to Proust and Middlemarch
Telegraph

79. What Is the Best Work of American Fiction of the Last 25 Years?
The New York Times Book Review's editor, Sam Tanenhaus, sent out a short letter to a
couple of hundred prominent writers, critics, editors and other literary sages, asking them
to please identify...
New York Times

80. 100 Most Influential Books of the Century

Boston Public Library's list of "The 100 Most Influential Books of the Century". A
booklist for Adults.
Boston Public Library

81. 50 Memorable Books from 50 Years of Books to Remember

A representative selection from over 1500 titles on annual lists of Books to Remember
from 1956 to 2005. Chosen by a group of librarians who are specialists in their genres,
these outstanding works of fiction, non-fiction and poetry provide an informative or
transformative reading experience, and are chosen for their literary excellence, uniqueness
of concept and command of subject matter.
The New York Public Library

82. The 80 Books Every Man Should Read

An unranked, incomplete, utterly biased list of the greatest works of literature ever
published.

Esquire

83. Books of the Decade

The 50 books that defined the decade(2000)
The Guardian

84. Costa Book Award - Best Novel

The Costa Book Awards are a series of literary awards given to books by authors based in
the United Kingdom and Ireland. They were known as the Whitbread Book Awards until
2005, after which Costa Coffee, a subsidiary of Whitbread, took over sponsorship. The
awards, launched in 1971, are given both for high literary merit but also for works that are
enjoyable reading and whose aim is to convey the enjoyment of reading to the widest
possible audience. As such, they are a more populist literary prize than the Booker Prize.
Costa Coffee

85. Entertainment Weekly's Top 100 Novels

Entertainment Weeklys Top 100 Novels (2013), as selected by the EW staff in its July 5th
2013 issue
Entertainment Weekly

86. Extreme Classics: The 100 Greatest Adventure Books of All Time
The 100 greatest adventure books chosen by National Geographic.
National Geographic Adventure Magazine

87. Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century

The 100 Books of the Century (French: Les cent livres du sicle) is a list of the one
hundred best books of the 20th century, according to a poll conducted in the spring of
1999 by the French retailer Fnac and the Paris newspaper Le Monde. Starting from a
preliminary list of 200 titles created by bookshops and journalists, 17,000 French voted by
responding to the question, "Which books have stayed in your memory?" ( Quels livres
sont rests dans votre mmoire ? ). The list of acclaimed titles mixes great novels with
poetry and theatre, as well as the comic strip. The first fifty works on the list were the
subject of an essay by Frdric Beigbeder, The Last Inventory Before Liquidation, in
which he notably drew attention to its French-centred character.
Le Monde

88. Man Booker Prize

The Man Booker Prize for Fiction, also known in short as the Booker Prize, is a literary
prize awarded each year for the best original full-length novel, written in the English
language, by a citizen of either the Commonwealth of Nations, Ireland, or Zimbabwe.[1]
The winner of the Booker Prize is generally assured of international renown and success
and, for this reason, the prize is of great significance for the book trade.[2] It is also a
mark of distinction for authors to be nominated for the Booker longlist or selected for
inclusion in the shortlist.
Man Booker Prize

89. Modern classics: 11 novels that belong in the classroom

When we think of English lit classes, we usually think of Hawthorne, Melville, Austen,
Tolstoy, Dickens. But the times, they are a-changin and so too are the books we read,
both in and out of the classroom. Since the millennium, a lot of goodnay, greatbooks
have been published by masterful authors, all of whom are deserving of a spot on a high
school or college curriculum. And as evidenced by these 11 novels, whoever said there
were no new ideas didnt know what they were talking about.
Today.com

90. National Book Award - Fiction

The National Book Awards are among the most eminent literary prizes in the United
States. Started in 1950, the awards are presented annually to American authors for
literature published in the prior year, as well as lifetime achievement awards including the
"Medal of Distinguished Contribution to American Letters" and the "Literarian Award".
The purpose of the awards is "to celebrate the best of American literature, to expand its
audience, and to enhance the cultural value of good writing in America.
National Book Foundation

91. National Book Award - Nonfiction

The National Book Awards are among the most eminent literary prizes in the United
States. Started in 1950, the awards are presented annually to American authors for
literature published in the prior year, as well as lifetime achievement awards including the
"Medal of Distinguished Contribution to American Letters" and the "Literarian Award".
The purpose of the awards is "to celebrate the best of American literature, to expand its
audience, and to enhance the cultural value of good writing in America.
National Book Foundation

92. National Book Critics Circle Award - Fiction

The National Book Critics Circle Award is an annual award given by the National Book
Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote the finest books and reviews published in English.

National Book Critics Circle

93. National Book Critics Circle Award - Nonfiction

The National Book Critics Circle Award is an annual award given by the National Book
Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote the finest books and reviews published in English.
National Book Critics Circle

94. Paste Magazine's Best Books of the Decade(2000-2009)

The top 20 best books of the 2000s by Paste Magazine. It includes both fiction and
nonfiction.
Paste Magazine

95. PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction

The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction is awarded annually by the PEN/Faulkner
Foundation to the author of the best American work of fiction that year. The winner
receives US $15,000 and each of four runners-up receives US $5000. The foundation
brings the winner and runners-up to Washington, D.C. to read from their works at the
Great Hall of the Folger Shakespeare Library. The PEN/Faulkner Foundation is an
outgrowth of William Faulkner's generosity in donating his 1949 Nobel Prize winnings,
"to establish a fund to support and encourage new fiction writers." Mary Lee Settle was
also one of the founders after controversy at the 1979 National Book Award.[1] It is
affiliated with the writers' organization International PEN. The award was first given in
1980.
PEN/Faulkner

96. Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography

The Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography has been presented since 1917 for a
distinguished biography or autobiography by an American author.
Pulitzer Prize

97. Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

All the books that have won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction from 1948 to the present.
Pulitzer Prize

98. Pulitzer Prize for History

The Pulitzer Prize for History has been awarded since 1917 for a distinguished book upon
the history of the United States. Many history books have also been awarded the Pulitzer
Prize for General Non-Fiction and Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography. Two
people have won the Pulitzer Prize for History twice; Margaret Leech, for Reveille in
Washington, 1860-1865 in 1941 and In the Days of McKinley in 1960, and Bernard
Bailyn, for The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution (1968) and Voyagers to
the West: A Passage in the Peopling of America on the Eve of the Revolution (1987).
Pulitzer Prize

99. Pulitzer Prize for Non-Fiction

The Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction has been awarded since 1962 for a
distinguished book of non-fiction by an American author that is not eligible for
consideration in any other category.
Pulitzer Prize

100.

The 100 Best Books of the Decade(2000)

The Time's list of the 100 Best Books of the 2000s. It's a mix of fiction and nonfiction.
Times

101.

The 100 Greatest American Novels, 1893 1993

The 100 greatest american novels picked by Jeff ONeal, Editor-in-Chief & Co-founder of
Bookriot.com
Jeff O'Neal at Bookriot.com

102.

The 10 Best of the Decade(2000)

Entertainment Weekly's top 10 best books of the 2000s

Entertainment Weekly

103.

The 50 Books Everyone Needs to Read, 1963-2013

The choices here are influenced by the following: the stipulation that any specific author
should not be chosen for more than one year, a general focus on fiction over other genres,
and the tastes/whims/glaring prejudices of Flavorwires literary editor.
Flavor Wire

104.

The Best Books of the 2000s

The Best Books of the 2000s according to the Onion AV club. Includes Fiction and
Nonfiction.
The Onion AV Club

105.

The Best Southern Novels of All Time

A list of the best southern novels of all time by Oxford American Magazine judged by 130
experts as well as authors.
Oxford American

106.

The New Classics - 100 Best Reads from 1983 to 2008

Entertainment Weekly's list of the 100 best reads from 1983 to 2008.
Entertainment Weekly

107.

Top 10 British, Irish or Commonwealth Novels from 1980 to 2005

The Observer asked 150 literary luminaries to vote for the best British, Irish or
Commonwealth novel from 1980 to 2005.
The Observer
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