Subscribe to ListverseTop 10 Books of All Time
- Published January 28, 2008 - 327 Comments
What a daunting task it would be to write a list like this, but fortunately for us, Norton (of the Norton Anthologies) asked 125 of the greatest living writers to select their top 10, and then (using statistics) produced a final list of the ten greatest books ever written. I certainly agree with the majority of the selections. This is a list of the top 10 fictional books of all time – needless to say, if you have not read these books, you probably should.
10. Middlemarch George Eliot
Middlemarch is considered by many scholars to be one of the most important novels of the Victorian era. It was written by George Eliot (pen name of Mary Anne Evans) and was first published in 1871 to 1872. It is set in the 1830s in Middlemarch, a fictional provincial town in England, based on Coventry.
9. The Stories of Anton Chekhov Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov was a Russian short story writer and playwright. He was born in Taganrog, southern Russia, on 29 January 1860. His originality consists in an early use of the stream-of-consciousness technique, later employed by Virginia Woolf and other modernists, combined with a disavowal of the moral finality of traditional story structure.
8. In Search of Lost Time Marcel Proust
I appreciate the great artistic merit in Proust’s writing, but I have to be honest and say that I have never managed to get more than half way through the first book of this multiple-book novel. I found it extremely slow paced and boring. This is Proust’s most prominent work, it is popularly known for its extended length and the notion of involuntary memory, the most famous example being the “episode of the madeleine” in which he describes in great (boring) detail, eating a madeleine dipped in tea.
7. The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald
I agree with the inclusion of this book – it is one of my favorites and one of the best examples of Fitzgerald’s writing. The Great Gatsby is a tale from the Jazz age of Gatsby – a wealthy man whose life is surrounded by mystery. A brilliant read.
6. Hamlet William Shakespeare
It is no surprise that Mr Shakespeare is on the list. I am not sure that I would have picked Hamlet as his best book, but who am I to debate 125 brilliant authors? Hamlet is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, probably written between 1599 and 1601. The play, set in Denmark, recounts how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle for murdering Hamlet’s father, the King, gaining the throne through this treachery, and subsequently marrying his mother.
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain
It is good to see such a great book for the younger generation on the list. Huckleberry Finn is commonly accounted as one of the first Great American Novels. It is also one of the first major American novels ever written using Local Color Regionalism, or vernacular, told in the first person by the eponymous Huckleberry “Huck” Finn, best friend of Tom Sawyer (hero of three other Mark Twain books).
4. Lolita Vladimir Nabokov
Lolita was first written in English and published in 1955 in Paris. The novel is both internationally famous for its innovative style and infamous for its controversial subject: the book’s narrator and protagonist Humbert Humbert becoming sexually obsessed with a twelve-year-old girl named Dolores Haze.
3. War and Peace Leo Tolstoy
War and Peace was first published from 1865 to 1869 in Russkii Vestnik, which tells the story of Russian society during the Napoleonic Era. It is usually described as one of Tolstoy’s two major masterpieces (the other being Anna Karenina) as well as one of the world’s greatest novels.
2. Madame Bovary Gustave Flaubert
Madame Bovary was attacked for obscenity by public prosecutors when it was first serialised in La Revue de Paris between 1 October 1856 and 15 December 1856, resulting in a trial in January 1857 that made it notorious. The novel focuses on a doctor’s wife, Emma Bovary, who has adulterous affairs and lives beyond her means in order to escape the banalities and emptiness of provincial life. Though the basic plot is rather simple, even archetypal, the novel’s true art lies in its details and hidden patterns.
1. Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy
Anna Karenina is widely regarded as a pinnacle in realist fiction, Tolstoy considered this book his first true novel. Although most Russian critics panned the novel on its publication as a “trifling romance of high life,” Fyodor Dostoevsky declared it to be “flawless as a work of art.” Tolstoy’s style in Anna Karenina is considered by many critics to be transitional, forming a bridge between the realist and modernist novel.
Afterword
Obviously a list of this type is very subjective and it is likely to cause discomfort to many people. We are priveleged on this site to have such a great variety of generally very smart readers. I am very interested to know what your top 10 – or even your number 1 – books are. Do you agree with this list? If not, tell us who should be here and tell us why they should be here.
not cool man… not cool at all… Where am I...
January 28th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Wow 1 comment! I think the list really needed Roll of thunder,Hear my cry, its a truly moving book.
January 28th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
One of my favorite books was War of the Worlds, I don’t know why but I’ve read it multiple times and can’t get enough of it.
Other then that there’s way to many books to make any kind of ranked list, in my opinion.
January 28th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
the top 10 fictional book of all time?
What about the Bible?
January 28th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
haha these lame best book lists always tend to go back only as far as the Victorians. Aside from Shakespeare (Hamlet is not a “book”), nothing here older than that. Figures. People just live in such a literary ghetto that they probably think Tolstoy is “ancient.” These are the same folks who refer to Shakespeare as “Old English.” Get out of the ghetto, people! Read something more than 150 years old! I could see if this were a “greatest novels” list (though Don Quixote could hardly be excluded from such a list), but the inclusion of Shakespeare signals that we’re not only dealing with novels here.
January 28th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
I haven’t read any of them…
I probably can’t name my top 10 books, I’m not that widely read in the classics so it’d be a rather simpler list.
So here’s some of them.
Stephen King – Dark Tower series
Philip Pullman – His Dark Materials series
Billy Hopkins – Our Kid and High Hopes
Mark Haddon – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time
J.R.R. Tolkien – The Hobbit (I havent actually managed to complete LOTR yet…)
Well, theres 5 of them, even though 3 are series…
January 28th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Gone with the Wind?
January 28th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Great list!
#3 the bible is not fictional!
January 28th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
My personal favorite is “The Shawshank Redemption” (Stephen King), it’s not even literature i think, but i just love it.
@anon: because it’s well read, that doesn’t mean that it’s actually a good book.
Great list though, can’t really doubt the choices.
January 28th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
The dream of Eagles series By Jack Whyte is amazing.
January 28th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
What about “One Hundred Years of Solitude” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez?
January 28th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
interesting list, I only know The Great Gatsby (which we read in school, and I didn’t like it really) and Hamlet, which I am reading right now.
I wonder why there is no German Author like Fontane, Mann, Goethe etc. doesn’t appear here. To my mind, “Faust I” has to be in here…
January 28th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Bob: Just curious, what books would you have included on the list?
January 28th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
very interesting list!
i loved huckleberry finn!
i think i need to buy the top 3…
and the great gatsby.
January 28th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
The Catcher in the Rye?
I know the second foundation novels were included on the greatest sci-fi books list, but I think they could’ve found a spot on here as well.
January 28th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
1984, the old man and the sea?
January 28th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
I’m afraid I regard most of the books on that list as dull. I don’t regard myself as a lazy reader but I reached your “Proust conclusion” for many of these works.
My list of greatest five books of all time would include Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” and Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World”.
I would add Robert Graves’ “The Greek Myths” as a formative book of my childhood but that’s deeply personal rather than acclaim for the quality of the writing.
I would also add “a book of George Orwell’s essays” to my personal list. I think he was a far finer essayist than fiction writer, personally, though he’s now best known for “1984″ and “Animal Farm”.
Laurie Lee’s “As I Walked Out One Summer Morning” is a piece of breathtakingly beautiful writing, though his “Cider With Rosie” comes a close second.
I notice that the top ten are all fiction and I think that’s a bad sign. Fine writing can be fiction, autobiography, biography, poetry or plain documentary fact. Any decent top ten should include a mix.
January 28th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
To #8: The Bible is not really widely read, just widely thumped.
I liked the list, very good, although I would have included Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky. That book is amazingly complex but well written and a great story.
January 28th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Oohhhhh and I forgot; “Lord of the Flies”
January 28th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
wow, a list like this makes me realize im not as knowledgeable as i should be, as i havent read any.
i will def. read 1 of these asap
January 28th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
One last comment; jfrater, ever thought of doing a “Greatest Graphic Novels” list? If so, number one will obviously be Watchmen!
January 28th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
A list like this is so subjective. I would’ve included A Rage to Live by John O’Hara.
January 28th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
It’s all Hermanne Hesse for me. But I do need to do some more reading, don’t I?
January 28th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Derek99, WATCHMEN or V FOR VENDETTA. Definitely something by Alan Moore. Maybe SANDMAN if that counts.
January 28th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Darn it where’s: “Curious George Goes to the Hospital”
I’m never reading this site again!
or
Until you start using smaller word. Big words give me a headache.
January 28th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Sandman is awesome too. I would add ‘Empire’ to that list also, but it’s probably too obscure.
January 28th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
I would agree with “Lolita”,”Huck Finn”, and “Gatsby”…. but some of these on the list are questionable.
Sometimes when you get “the greatest living writers’” opinions, you get more haughtiness and over-sentimentality than anything.
I don’t think Tolstoy is readable, and I simply cannot see how you can throw the work of Proust into this category. “In Search Of Lost Time” is nothing more than an incredibly detailed epic auto-biography. Top 10 material? I don’t think so. They just don’t apply to most people. Only the ostentatious writer types can enjoy the detail of these works.
Books like “A Clockwork Orange”, “1984″, “Animal Farm”, “David Copperfield” are all better examples of quality writing that can reach a wider audience without having to go into how good cake tastes.
And Hamlet??? Seriously? Come on… The Tempest. Merchant Of Venice. King Lear. All of them much better than Hamlet.
January 28th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
animal farm
dracula
winter of our discontent
frankenstein
to kill a mockingbird
and maybe something from dr. suess?
January 28th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Well I agree with most of these.
I might add a few more:
Sons and Lovers (Which I did not enjoy, but I appreciated the literary quality)
Catcher in the Rye (not the best book, but very enjoyable)
Martian Chronicles
The Aeneid
The Illiad, The Odyssey
January 28th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
A list like this is so broad and subjective that it’s really hard to argue. However, I will say that I think there is a difference between greatest book of all time and my personal favorite book.
I think the greatest book of all time is Don Quixote. Meanwhile, I agree with BEING SARAH, and would choose a Herman Hesse novel as my favorite book of all time (probably Demian or Steppenwolf).
January 28th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Where would (or should)”Catch-22″ fall on such a list as this?
January 28th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
The only book I’ve read on this list is Anna Karenina (mind you, I have a copy of a couple of the others listed). There’s one book that I rarely see on lists of the best books ever; Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. I’m actually still reading it (200 pages to go, but that’s nothing considering its an almost 1500-page book) but it is an incredible, moving book, and I urge everyone to read it, unabridged, of course.
January 28th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
“The Stand” by Stephen King (I would also second the “Dark Tower” series)
“The Damnation Game” by Clive Barker (?)
“The Prince” by Niccolo Machiavelli
“The Republic” by Plato
“Faustus” by Goethe ( I know it’s actually a play, but it’s still an awesome read.)
“For Whom the Bell Tolls” by Ernest Hemingway
I could name more, but I think will suffice.
January 28th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
I have a strange lack of interest in literary classics, not many of them have really struck me as brilliant. I would include the following:
The Color Purple
The Things They Carried
His Dark Materials
Black Beauty
Lolita (I haven’t read the whole thing unfortunately, but what I have read is beautiful)
Animal Dreams
The Vampire Armand
Childhood’s End
The Handmaid’s Tale
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
January 28th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Hooray for Hesse #22.
I was sad not to see Dostoevsky on the list, perhaps Brothers Karamazov.
Also, Thomas Mann could’ve used a nod for the Magic Mountain.
Very glad to see Nabokov on there.
Anyone ever read the Neal Stephenson’s The Baroque Cycle? It shouldn’t be on this list of course but in terms of historical fiction, I find it tough to beat.
January 28th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Where’s LOTR?
January 28th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
A lot of the books that I would have chosen have already been mentioned in the comments, but I definitely enjoyed 1984 and A Clockwork Orange. I just loved how the authors sort of invented a language that existed solely within the context of those books.
January 28th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
wow….very daunting task i must say…
I really wished to see Catcher in the Rye, but I guess it doesn’t hold up on the list for those certain “greatest living writers.”
If they are including drama as well, I think it would be appropriate to add something from Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, etc. The 20th century had some amazing writers. Since this list included novels, short story collections and drama—I cant imagine how they could possibly all agree on a top ten.
January 28th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
I have to be honest and say that while I read Catcher in the Rye from cover to cover, I really don’t see what the big deal is. I found it quite dull.
arob: I would also have liked to have seen Tennessee Williams – or – more importantly, John Steinbeck. Everything I have read of Steinbeck has truly transported me to the time and place of his books.
January 28th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
My opinion…
Middlemarch, Proust, Anna Karenina – very, very, very tedious. Lolita is also vastly overrated.
I would include Moby Dick, Brideshead Revisited, Appointment in Samarra, A Dance to the Music of Time, and One Deadly Summer (in English). As a replacement for the uninspiring Russian works mentioned, I would add Oblomov (Goncharov). Also, I prefer Katherine Mansfield to Chekov.
If I were to choose a Shakespeare play, it would probably be Macbeth or The Merchant of Venice.
My Number 1 would be a close call between Bovary, Huck Finn and Appointment in Samarra.
January 28th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
I’d like to nominate Yukio Mishima, the greatest writer of post-war Japan. His stories have a trajic bent and are about people who find themselves in unique or at least quite unusual circumstances. Three titles come to mind – Forbidden Colors, Confessions of a Mask and Silent Snow – all very beautiful and quite unforgettable.
January 28th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
kiwiboi: I agree with Proust – haven’t read the other two. I also agree that Brideshead Revisited is brilliant. What do you think of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich? Is that a contender? And your Shakespeare selections are EXACTLY what I would have picked over Hamlet – Merchant of Venice first and Macbeth second.
I would also consider Paul Bowles for a place with his “The Sheltering Sky” – a beautiful book that is very unique.
January 28th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
sooooo glad to not see the bible on this list.. not fiction? hmmmmm amazing how there’s a limited number of selective books in the bible. no, there were no other prophets or versions of what happened. you know stories from when unless you were a somewhat wealthy man, you were worthless. nah, there’s no bias in the bible.
January 28th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
As “naughty” as Lolita is supposed to be, I found it to be incredibly boring.
January 28th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
Lord of the Flies and The Chrysalids are my 2 picks.
I also really enjoyed the social commentary from Sense and Sensibility but I’m not sure if it would qualify.
Oh and in reply to comment #7 aman: This is fully a matter of opinion.
January 28th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
I’d have to have Watership Down, The Complete works of Saki, and The Catcher in the Rye as my top 3.
January 28th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
jfrater – Heh…great minds think alike…we could be related
Ivan Denisovich is ok, in my view. But I tended to judge it as a gulag story as opposed to a work of literature, so I’m not a particularly big fan.
Thanks for the tip about Paul Bowles; I’ll be sure to read it.
Also, I should’ve mentioned Bernard Malamud (The Assistant, The Natural) – an eminently readable genius!
January 28th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
While there are some great books here and this is a quality list, I personally believe that “Top 10 Books” is too broad of a category. Especially with only 10 books.
Sure, there is a top movie list, but film can be so much accessible as it requires no effort to enjoy.
One’s preference for books varies considerably as different people enjoy a very wide range of books.
JFrater, what I think might be a good idea is do something similar to what you did with the joke list and allow people to submit their favorite book. It would be a lot of work, but I would be willing to help out (or to do it).
January 28th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
I loved the Merchant of Venice!
January 28th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Where’s “Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers”?
lmao
Honestly, about the Bible debate, I still think that what they wrote into the TV series “Red Dwarf” sums it up best.
“Archaeologists have found a new page of the Bible. They believe that it goes at the front before the rest of the pages. It reads, ‘To my darling Candace. All of the works contained within are purely fictional. Any similarities to actual people, living or dead, is purely coincidental.’ Religious leaders worldwide are denouncing the discovery.”
January 28th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
It’s probably not a good Greatest of All Time list, but they’re my favourite novels:
#5= “Brave New World” –Aldous Huxley.
#5= “Nineteen Eighty-Four” –George Orwell.
#4. “The Code of the Woosters” –P. G. Wodehouse.
#3. “The Hitch-hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” –Douglas Adams.
#2. “The Lord of the Rings” –J. R. R. Tolkien.
#1. “The Iliad” –Homer.
Numbers five are both extraordinarily terrifying in their own way… number four is probably the funniest book ever written; number three is also very funny, but a brilliant satire of just about everything (rather like Life of Brian); number two is *the* most extensively referenced homage-making high fantasy epic ever; and number one…
…well, it’s beautifully tragic, wonderfully epic, endearingly meandering, and, erm, *far* gorier than anything by Quentin Tarantino.
January 28th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
D Holmes: that is a good idea – I am still struggling with the best format to do a “you pick the list” lists. The jokes one was extremely hard work – an easier way would be welcome!
slipstick: hahaha – red dwarf is brilliant.
Philip: thanks for the mentions – I will be sure to check those books out.
kiwiboi: I will check out Malamud. Make sure you read Bowles – a much ignored member of the Beat Generation! As for related: I am adopted
January 28th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
I’m afraid I have to confess that I haven’t read any of those books (though I have heard of some of them:)), but I’m more of the (modern) fantasy reader or science-fiction. And I would agree that the Bible is largely fictional, as most of the described events are meant as parabels (or metaphors?) rather than actual facts.
January 28th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
jfrater – “As for related: I am adopted”
Aaaahh…that explains a few things !
BTW…you will enjoy Malamud’s The Assistant more than The Natural.
January 28th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Oh! How about that one book, with that guy. You know, he goes somewhere…and meets that one girl. It was set in some year…
That’s a great book
January 28th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
I agree with Borg, Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes should have been on that list, one of the best (if not the best) books of all time.
January 28th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
kiwiboi: har har
I will definitely check out Malamud – do you have one I can borrow or should I buy one on Amazon? BTW: when are you going to write me a list?!
For those not in on the joke – I am not adopted – kiwiboi is my brother.
Derek99: ah such the comedian!
CARD: what about the Decameron? I think it is not too far from Cervantes in date and it is a great book.
I would also like to point out the glaring lack of early literature from the east – there must be at least one decent arab book that deserves a place on the top 10. Any takers?
January 28th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
i believe catcher in the rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, and 1984 should be on here. And you should probobly add Beowulf, it is the very first thing ever written in the “english” language.(though technicaly it is a poem, but then again hamlet is a play) But overall fantastic list (thank you for no steven king)
January 28th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
not a single Dickens novel? No “A Tale of Two Cities”?? I freaking love that book.
“1984″ is very famous and everyone seems to love it so it probably deserves a place on here too – however I thought it was very dull in parts.
also, the Harry Potter series isn’t world famous for nothing (don’t fling dung at me, please). it may not have political messages worked into everything but the plots in those books are phenomenal.
January 28th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
@JFrater:
Well, one idea may be to do a submission form.
Perhaps, even more, you could separate the books into genres. So when the person submits their book, they click on a pull down menu that dignifies the genre the book falls in. And with maybe a final list containing the books with the most votes.
You could then assign a person to a genre (or a person to two genres) and have them comb through and create a list from that. Its less work by far for you and other people get to be involved. I would be more than willing to help out on it.
Its just a thought and I have other ideas, if you don’t like this one.
I just think it would be easier to separate the books into genres to appease fans of other genres who may not be satisfied with the final list. There is less complaining about favoritism for a certain genre and everyone is happier.
January 28th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Green eggs and ham!!!
January 28th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
fava bean: if I had written the list I would have put 1984 in place of Catcher in the Rye – good pick! I would not include Harry Potter though – this is a list of great books – not trashy novels
January 28th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
joni: hahah – I would agree if I were still 9
January 28th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
@jfrater
1984 over Cather in the Rye?
Definitly (what, thought I’d get mad?)
Catcher in the Rye had its moments, but I got fed up with main character and while I finished it, I lost interest about 2/3rds into book.
I loved 1984. That book really sucked me in. And as far as futuristic plots go, it felt entirely plausible.
January 28th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
D Holmes: I would be happy to discuss your ideas (jamie @ frater.com) – anything that reduces my workload is good
As for Catcher in the Rye – I think you could fairly say it is a one hit wonder compare to such a masterpiece as 1984 – Orwell was a seer!
January 28th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
I’ve only read seven of these and none would make my list of favorite books. I like Hamlet, but as someone else pointed out, it’s a play not a book. At least Ulysses wasn’t mentioned.
I’d have gone with Les Miserables, I, Claudius, and The Count of Monte Christo as my top three.
January 28th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Lolita & Hamlet are the only books on this list I managed to finish… War & Peace and Middlemarch I’ve both tried and managed to get about twenty pages in.
January 28th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
King Lear for me, rather than Hamlet
Siddhartha – Herman Hesse
Lord of the Flies – William Golding
The Canterbury Tales? Seriously? How was this left off? I’m shocked that the top authors didn’t list it. – Chaucer
Lolita AND The Real Life of Sebastian Knight. Not as popular as Lolita, but absolutely brilliant. Do read it, it is so fun and interesting. Especially since Nabokov borrowed a lot from his own life, and it can be fun to go through and try to pick apart the fact from fiction.
I’m happy to see Middlemarch on there. I absolutely love that novel, Eliot was fantastic. I’d also recommend Daniel Deronda by Eliot, but Middlemarch is my favorite.
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man – James Joyce
And to throw something a little less traditionally intellectual on there – Boy by Roald Dahl. It is easy to forget (at least for me) that Dahl could be QUITE dark. Boy is his autobiography, and some of it is the usual charming Dahl, but some is quite sad. To go even darker, check out “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six Others.” I was lured in by the Dahl name and cute title as a kid, but some of the stories are very intense and dark.
Sorry this got so long, I am an English Master’s student, and I got quite excited about this list, but didn’t find a lot of my favorites
jfrater – are these in order?
January 28th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Four Russian entries in the top ten, as a half Russian myself I am very very proud. Chekov, Nabokov, Tolstoy, & Tolstoy again. Yay!
My favorite book is
“youth in revolt” by C.D. Payne
January 28th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
I agree with those who would add 1984. To Kill a mockingbird, maybe.
I saw Shawshank Redemption (Awesome!) mentioned, it might be cool to have a list of short stories, JF! Of course, if you did that I would insist that you included “The Lottery”.
Great list, as usual!
January 28th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
the great gatsby was one of the most amazing books i’ve ever read. i would also like to recommend another book i just finished reading. the lords of discipline
January 28th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
I’ve never read any of these but maybe I should
January 28th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Definitely Douglas Adams is one of my favorites. I read some parts three times. I would like to include
* Michail Bulgakow – The Master and Margarita
* Umberto Eco – The Name of the Rose, Foucault’s Pendulum
There are much more (especially German writer’s are missing; seems this list is limited to books manly known in the English realms) and I think it’s not a to good idea to say a list of favorite books of ‘top writers’ is a good top ten list. Most of the people would, for example, disagree for Umberto Eco for he seems to be to discursive. But I personally like his style and his intellectual view. It is indeed hard to form such a list but it is import to include every book and not only the most intellectual ones.
By the way I love Russian writers. These days a lot of Russians come to Berlin and some of them bring their literary skills with them, e.g. Wladimir Kaminer.
January 28th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Um, why are people trying to have a religious debate in the comments of a listverse list? As far as I am concerned, I come to this site for entertainment and to kill time. This isn’t exactly the best forum to debate one of the most important questions/issues in someone’s life (their religion or lack thereof). It only results in escalating, childish back and forth insults that are, frankly, very annoying to wade through.
January 28th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
I know Harry Potter is a book considered by jfrater as a “trashy novel”
But it is a great book, it captivates your imagination like no other book, this list also needs the illiad and odyssey by homer.
January 28th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
I liked Ken Kesey’s books, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest and Sometimes a Great Notion, especially the latter.
January 28th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
donald314; I am so glad you mentioned “The Name of the Rose” by Umberto Eco, one of my faves, also
“We” by Yevegny Zamyatin
“1984″ George Orwell
“The Camerons” by Robert Chrichton (read it as a teenager, taught me that historical romance doesn’t have to be a Harlequin)
“The Lord of the Rings” Tolkien,,,I get lost in it
Stephen King,toss up between “The Stand” and “It”
“The Diary of Anne Frank” (I was about 7 or 8 when I read it first, showed me the highs and lows of humanity)
“The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever” by Stephen R. Donaldson,(awesome fantasy,,just awesome)
“Dune” by Frank Herbert
And for the cottage, sitting by the lake; anything by Agatha Christie
January 28th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
I really enjoyed Little Women, I thought that was a great book and if you were to include non-fiction I would have to include the Diary of Anne Frank.
And ok now I feel silly asking this cause of the joke above but there was a book that I read in high school for a class that I can not remember it’s name and I really enjoyed it.
It is about a man, who survives a ship wreck in I believe its the Antarctic, and the ship becomes lodged in the ice upside down. He survives by living in the hull of the ship in the ice.
I hope that someone knows what the name of it is because I would love to buy it so I can read it again. Thanks!!
January 28th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
Great list, though I would add A Confederacy of Dunces, The Plague, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, The Count of Monte Cristo and The Prince.
January 28th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
jfrater; whats your favorite Willy Shakespeare,,,no laughing now,,my fave is his simplest,,,The Merchant of Venice….”the quality of mercy is not strain’d, it droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven. It is twice bless’d..”
Although Lady MacBeth’s “out damn spot” is unnerving,,maybe its a toss up
I liked Gilligan’s Island’s version of Hamlet better ‘n’ Shakespeare’s
January 28th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
I was afraid James Joyce’s Ulysses would be on the list and I would have to scream at the top of my lungs “The emperor has no clothes!”
Anna Karenina is a fine choice for number one.
Lolita is a good read but it makes you feel kind of weird to read about some pederast seducing a 12 year old girl.
One of my favorite lines in all of literature comes from Madame Bovary; “Language is a cracked kettle on which we beat out tunes for bears to dance to, while all the time we long to move the stars to pity.” Flaubert described perfectly the failing of language, in this case a rather naive and simple Emma Bovary was trying to convey to her more experienced and perhaps jaded lover the depths of her feelings for him. Her lover, having no feelings for her, thinks her flowery words are just the sort of thing you say when you’re sleeping with somebody and then dumps her by leaving her a note in a basket of apricots.
January 28th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Indeed, some may regard the Bible as a work of fiction. Nevertheless, assuming for the sake of argument that it is, one must also admit that it constitutes many works of fiction over thousands of years of history; ergo, inadmissable to this list. Well done #50, I was wondering if anyone would mention “1984.” Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” is a personal favorite, though it is technically a novella. Finally, I must say since the Russians are quite popular on this list, I would recommend “The Brothers Kamazarov,” I’m 300 pages in and holding strong
January 28th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
Looks like I’ll have to update my reading list.
January 28th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
No Dostoevsky or Faulkner or Garcia? Unforgivable. The Brothers Karamazov is the greatest literary achievement that humankind will ever know, and that’s that.
January 28th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich changed my life. It’s got to end up one a list eventually…
January 28th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
*on
January 28th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
not all great fiction is boring stories of wartime troubles or russian life. to me, thats not really fiction, because it probably did happen. fiction should be fictional, out-of-the-ordinary, closer to the realm of barely possible.
if you think “harry potter” is a trashy novel and “green eggs and ham” is only for 9 year olds – you might want to broaden your horizons or at least get out once in awhile.
otherwise, i would agree with the following substitutions:
1984, Animal Farm, Brave New World
The Iliad, The Odyssey, The Aeneid
Harry Potter (try reading the whole series, jamie)
and remember, the best fiction is SCIENCE fiction
Hitchhikers Guide
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
The Time Machine
Martian Chronicles
January 28th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
*sigh* hamlet again. i despise that play, i’ll take titus any day (and yes i’m aware that some scholars don’t think shakespeare wrote it) or othello or midsummer’s night. i haven’t read most of these books, but not for lack of trying. i really do think that who ever said that most of the writers would go with pretentious or sentimentality is right.
books i would pick:
to kill a mocking bird
one flew over the cuckoo’s nest
the handmaid’s tale
and one that may be a bit more obscure is the red tent. great historical book about jacob’s only daughter. Anita Diamant gives life to a person who most of society only remembers as a victim of rape
oh also, although i would say greatest in the world, the disc world series, pratchett knows how to write creatively in a way at mirror’s our world hilariously.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
*although i wouldn’t
sorry for the massive comment
January 28th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
dangorironhide: Mark Haddon – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time I call it the upside down dog book. I can never seem to remember the whole name of the book. I think this was a brillant book, but I work with Autistic children part of my day. I don’t think I would catergorize it as a top 10 though.
Out of all the books on the list I have only read The Great Gatsby and it was because it was required in high school. And I wasn’t even able to finish it. I thought it was extremely boring. Some of those on the list I have never even heard of.
I find it interesting that many of the books people have picked were on required reading or book report books from my school days. I guess they really were great books.
I am not sure what I would put on here as my top books. Only the Harry Potter books are ones I have picked up and read again. Mostly because I felt I missed something. I really love Judy Blume as a writer, but she is very elementary. I work in an elementary school so all the books I can think of are elementary books. God I need to get out more.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
mmhmmm – I agree. I hate it when people come on to sites like this and say the Bible is fiction, when it is a completely unnecessary statement. Regardless if that is true, you said it to piss people off.
Also, just because a book was written by some ancient Russian guy about love starved Scandinavian coal miners or whatever doesn’t make it great fiction. I think most of what scholars believe to be such in depth visions into the plight of mankind was just made up, and the author was just trying to write about love starved Scandinavian coal miners.
My painkillers are wearing off, so I’m in a ranting mood. Sorry.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
ok, by taking a little more in, I am starting to become interested.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
love starved Scandinavian coal miners
January 28th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Where is One Hunred Years Of Solitude?
If you haven’t read that book I recommend it, is one of the best works of the latinamerican and universal literaute…
also 1001 nights is missing, is one of the most beautiful books ever written…
January 28th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
ATLAS SHRUGGED!!! I haven’t read all the comments, but I was pretty surprised to not find this on the list. Other than that… great job!
January 28th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
I can’t believe the cojones it took to even attempt this list. I give props for that.
January 28th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
I would ndefinitely like to see “Lord of the Rings” on the list. It is truly a masterpiece, and as such it is *THE* book of a whole genre.
–
Jeremy
January 28th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
1. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemmingway
2. The Fountainhead by Ann Rand
January 28th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
I didn’t think I would have read anything on this list and I was right. Looks like I’ll be making a trip to the library soon!
I mostly read fantasy but I will give just about anything a chance, so it’s time to get myself educated in the classics!
January 28th, 2008 at 11:22 pm
Hound Of The Baskervilles. David Copperfield. Bleak House. Anything Hawthorne. Anything but Catcher in the Rye. What an awful book. Hamlet should definitely be out.(And I love shapkespeare), but, plays are not novels, or books. They are published as books, but they are written from a completely different perspective. Not to mention the recycled plots. And Proust is a bunch of pontificating B.S. What a waste of time, and too many college credits. Call of the Wild? Slaughterhouse Five? Im so disappointed.
January 28th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
Wuthering Heights
The Secret Garden
Little Women
The Count of Monte Cristo
are some of my favourites.
Oh yeah,I totally agree with the person who talked about Harry Potter because I’m an adult and I can still let my imagination run wild when I get the time to read one.When I was little I adored Judy Blume:-)
January 28th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
What about the Book dianetics? I forgot who wrote it and there is no way to find out on this site…
All joking aside,
I agree about Hamlet, it is not a book but a play.
It is tough to argue with this list except to say it could have been a top 50. It was a great way to compile a list. I wonder when this list was compiled. Oprah did a book club on Tolstoy that may have skewed the results some.
January 28th, 2008 at 11:44 pm
20Fan20: My husband thought Dianetics was hilarious. What did you think of it?
January 29th, 2008 at 12:22 am
20Fan20: L Ron Hubbard wrote Dianetics. According to Wikipedia:
January 29th, 2008 at 12:29 am
oh – now I see it was a joke
Forget my last comment!
January 29th, 2008 at 12:47 am
Only read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn but i guess it was children’s version.
Anyway, my the TOP book is:
Arthur C. Clarke – City & Stars
January 29th, 2008 at 1:13 am
I was definitely right about the intelligence of our readers – you have all made brilliant recommendations for books that deserve a spot on this list!
Ozhan: I haven’t read City and Stars, but I loved his Rendezvous with Rama – an excellent book.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:22 am
Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbach
The Illiad – Homer
Maio Puzo’s – The Godfather
Not a big fiction fan.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:35 am
I am surprised that there were no books by Victor Hugo on this list. For instance, “Les Miserables” is one of the best works of the 19th century. They don’t give out the “Hugo” award for nothing. The guy was a literary genius.
January 29th, 2008 at 2:25 am
To whoever said Gone With the WInd should even be mentioned in novels considered the greatest of all time..go kill yourself.
January 29th, 2008 at 3:06 am
There’s the dictionary. It contains every book that was ever written, but with the words in alphabetical order.
January 29th, 2008 at 3:35 am
Drogo: Your comment made me laugh
I think more people could do with reading that more often though…
January 29th, 2008 at 5:26 am
I cant read! i have no eyes
January 29th, 2008 at 5:55 am
if sci-fi books were eligible (seems that they are not), I would definitiely say “Stranger In A Strange Land”, by R. Heinlein
oh, and, “It”, by S. King – for its pure perfection in writing technique, if for nothing else.. (though there is a lot of “something else”, too)
January 29th, 2008 at 6:08 am
murat kayi: I love that book – it is one of my all time favorites (Stranger in a Strange Land).
January 29th, 2008 at 6:20 am
sue; I totally forgot Wuthering Heights,,,,shame on me, yer right, I loved it.
murat kayi; the structure of “It” is amazing, and a damn fine story too…
January 29th, 2008 at 7:10 am
I guess I thought the Beatles top ten was a hard list. I think this one’s a bit nebulous jfrater.
Regardless of your religion, the Gutenberg Bible was pretty important. From the ancient world, to be educated was to say you had studied the Illiad and the Odyssey and other classics from Greece and Rome (Virgil, Livy, etc). Others that I would put on the list would be A Tale of Two Cities, Ulysses, Don Quixote, Dracula and the Hobbit/Lord of the Rings. But I think narrowing the list with some qualifiers might be a better way to throw a rope around this topic. Otherwise you have to consider something that some might consider trivial like Harry Potter up against Mark Twain. There has to be some sort of criteria to be considered truly great. Harry Potter sold a lot of books and revolutionized a lot of what’s considered children’s books, but is it great? Are you really going to compare Rowling with Dickens or even Robert Louis Stevenson? What about philosophy? Who are you going to pick from that impressive mound of books?
Tough list.
January 29th, 2008 at 7:11 am
And Bill Gate’s Penis, you have one eye!
January 29th, 2008 at 7:15 am
6. Common Sense
5. Catch 22
4. Brave New World
3. To Kill A MockingBird
2. The HitchHikers Guide To The Galaxy
1. Clockwork Orange
I’m only 14 so I have only read four of the books above, but I must the rest now
6: Because I think it’s crucial political book, 5. Because it tackles a massive issue with black, but never cruel, humor 4. For Aldous Huxley’s fantastic writing skill 3. It had a massive effect on my judgement of others, not due to race, but to their judgments of others 2. Just Genius comedy through and through 1. Smacks the casual readers views of evil and good right into the face, and is perhaps a crucial read for everyone.
:D
January 29th, 2008 at 7:31 am
I would have to say my favorite book that I seem to continue to reread every other year or so is Catch 22. It still manages to make me laugh out loud every time and also make poignant case against the absurdity of war. The Count of Monte Cristo would have to be a close second however.
January 29th, 2008 at 7:35 am
A Confederacy of Dunces, so happy to see someone mention that book. I picked it up on a clearance rack once and love love love it. I have read and re-read it. If anyone gets the chance, pick it up. It probably won’t ever be listed as a top 10 but this book is amazing.
January 29th, 2008 at 7:36 am
Ohmigod I cannot BELIEVE some of the suggestions being tossed around here. NO… no sci-fi in a list of the “Top 10 Books of All Time.” NO Tolkien. NO Stephen King. NO Clive Barker. NO to 90% of the CRAP you people are suggesting.
My god… is it that people read only garbage these days, or is it just that the internet is mostly populated with kids who don’t know anything?
Oh.. and somebody way up above pointed out that most of these 10 choices were Victorian or post-Victorian, and they balked at that. Well yeah, but again, the untutored fail to recognize that the novel is largely a modern invention. (I realize the list title is the “Top 10 BOOKS” not “Top 10 NOVELS” but I took it to be the latter, despite the out-of-place inclusion of Shakespeare’s Hamlet—which is not a “book” but a play–and Chekov’s stories, which I simply would not have included here). The novel is bourgeois; it owes its very existence, almost, to the rise of a middle class hungry for a voice and a desire to prove its taste. “Don Quixote” is generally acknowledged as the first “novel” in western history, and of course goes back quite a ways–but we should note that it does coincide, at the time, with the rise of a new merchant class who were looking to sponsor works of art of their own–so it’s clear that the middle class and the novel as a form do go hand in hand.
And therefore, as we’d expect, the novel–prose–then reaches its heyday in the 19th Century, which particularly in England and America is the height of the middle class, when it was in all its power and glory. Poetry has been on the decline ever since.
Now… my suggestions for Top 10 books? I’d agree with much of this list, (yes, I’ve read ‘em all) but would have included Joyce’s “Ulysses” and perhaps Lawrence’s “Sons and Lovers” and maybe Henry Miller’s “Tropic of Cancer.” Possibly something of Joseph Conrad’s.
January 29th, 2008 at 7:37 am
A Confederacy of Dunces is a great book, I agree.
January 29th, 2008 at 7:55 am
Randall – you have to admit it is a pretty fuzzy topic, is a book great because it meant something to me or is it great in a historical context. To dismiss all works of sci-fi is misguided in my opinion. Tolkien and King have their place, maybe not to you, but I don’t think their work can be marginalized like that.
I would agree that a comparison of something like “The Shining,” against “Dracula” or some other classical horror story is something that really isn’t ‘do-able.’
Additionally, there are is a lot of poetry that could be mentioned.
January 29th, 2008 at 7:57 am
Sorry for the grammar, I was asleep in that class.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:07 am
Randall: There’s no need to be so dismissive of other peoples choices. For most people I’m sure the books they are suggesting are their own personal favourites. Just because you don’t necesseraly agree with people’s choices doesn’t mean you have to denounce that people ‘read only garbage’, or that people are ‘kids who don’t know anything’.
I know that ‘everyone has an opinion’ and ‘you’re just stating yours’ but you should at least respect peoples opinions instead of dismissing them as ‘garbage’.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:12 am
bucslim, I never said Tolkien and King and sci-fi don’t have their place. They do. But that place most assuredly is NOT on a list of the “Top 10 Books of All Time.” I mean, come on. Do you REALLY believe *anything* of Stephen King’s belongs on such a list? Which would mean it would elbow out a TRUE work of art like “Remembrance of Things Past” or “Madame Bovary”?
I’ve read heaps of trash fiction myself, pal. We all do. My personal feeling is that there’s a point when one should get over that, and stop wasting one’s valuable reading time. So I don’t read lower-level stuff anymore except maybe the occasional book someone tosses to me. But that’s me. I’m fine if people want to voraciously devour every book that Stephen King produces or spend their lives reading and re-reading Tolkien. That’s okay, though very limiting… I’d suggest they open their eyes. But still, to each his own.
Just DON’T try to then up the ante and tell me that your pet midbrow or lowbrow fiction writer belongs on a list of Top 10 books alongside Tolstoy, Proust, Joyce and James. That’s just plain moronic.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:16 am
dango:
I’m insulting by nature, I admit. But to be serious, I don’t denigrate people’s choices in fiction (if you read the post I wrote, just above, to bucslim)… I’ve read plenty of “crap fiction” myself, and enjoyed the hell out of a lot of it.
But don’t tell me such stuff belongs anywhere near a list of the “Top 10 Books.” That’s just silly.
Start another list, instead, of the top 10 “Good Bad Books,” as Orwell would have called them. On there you can have your Tolkien, and Conan Doyle, and Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Stephen King and Clive Barker and Robert Heinlein and so on and so on and so on. I’m all for that.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:21 am
I couldn’t agree with you more. But top ten of what? That’s my point. A top ten list of influential books would be different than top ten novels, top ten poetry, top ten scientific, top ten religious, et al. That’s what I’m getting at.
The argument is flawed because there’s no context. Any major endeavor has their champions.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:22 am
Fair enough, though I think you should skim through your posts to try & remove the insults, as they seem to get peoples backs up pretty well. I was close to saying ‘think before you post’ there, but I think that would be a gross misjudgement
Just to note, I posted mine before your reply to bucslim.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:28 am
dango:
“…though I think you should skim through your posts to try & remove the insults”
No. Never. Not gonna happen. I yam what I yam and that’s what I yam.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:29 am
Randall and I have traded barbs before, but essentially I agree with him here.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:41 am
Umm…. The Bible? No? That one sold a few copies and gets read quite a bit. Even quoted once in a while.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:44 am
bucslim:
were you addressing me in that last post?
No, my argument in fact is NOT flawed. There IS a context here. TOP 10 Books of ALL Time *is* contextual. It gathers together all the books in existence as a set, and then assigns value to them. Now, the question is, how do we assign value? Would you argue that King deserves a higher slot on such a list than, say, Joyce? If so, I’d ask you what criteria you are using to make such a judgement. Because I’m quite sure that of all people more or less qualified to make such a judgement, you would surely be in the minority.
You have to recognize that there is a difference between a list of one’s personal favorites and a list of what is great and valuable overall. My *personal* favorites would not be quite the same as what I judge to be the GREAT books. But I recognize that art is judged on criteria that I’m able to understand and appreciate, without particularly placing said art on my own personal list of “favorite.”
For instance… I love Cezanne’s paintings. He’s nearly my favorite painter. I also love Paul Klee. But if I had to name the “Top 10 Painters of All Time,” I can’t say that I would place these two on that list—I don’t see that they should edge out painters like Rembrandt, for instance–whom I like well enough, but is not one of my favorites. But I recognize the higher degree of value, in certain regards, of Rembrandt (or Reubens or Titian or even Manet) over Klee and Cezanne. Now true, maybe it’s easier for me to think this way because I’ve been schooled in criticism–I studied Fine Art *and* English Lit in college (yeah, lucky me, it’s a wonder I make a living, isn’t it?) But I think anyone with a reasonably open, reasonably educated mind can recognize this—it doesn’t require a degree or degrees—it just requires a willingness to LOOK at art and understand it, and not just LIKE what you like and dismiss or ignore all else.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:44 am
Wow I have only read one of those books so I’d better get hoppin’!!
The one I read was The Great Gatsby and I really did like it a lot. I’d like to re-read it sometime. I think I only read passages of Huck Finn…..
In my opinion the greatest book that I myself have read is All Creatures Great and Small…it’s just amazing storytelling.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:45 am
sorry bucslim… maybe you weren’t addressing me… if so, my mistake… sorry.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:57 am
dangor & jwjw: I recently read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time (the title was irresistible) and found it to be a very compelling and sympathetic peek into an autistic mind.
Three of my personal all-time favorite novels that haven’t been mentioned are Eva Luna, by Isabel Allende; At Play in the Fields of the Lord, Peter Matthiessen; and Spring Moon, Bette Bao Lord.
Eva Luna: Allende is a great storyteller and her characters are fascinating. This one’s written in the magical realism style.
At Play in the Fields of the Lord: misguided missionaries in South America. Another excellent story of missionary work gone wrong is The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver.
Spring Moon: I’m a sucker for a good story about China and this is one of the best I’ve found.
January 29th, 2008 at 8:58 am
No I’m not saying your argument is flawed, I’m saying the title of this list should contain some sort of qualifier. Even literary critics can’t agree. I’m simply saying it should be boiled down a bit in order to give it some meaning. Otherwise, like I stated in an earlier post, you end up comparing something that is wildly popular to something that has much more substance. I suspect that’s why some folks are suggesting King and others. Top ten? I don’t think so. I gotta agree with Randall on that.
I checked Modern Library’s list – L Ron Hubbard showed up on the people’s choice. Not once, but THREE TIMES! Turns out there are a lot more crazy people converting oxygen into carbon dioxide than I thought.
January 29th, 2008 at 9:06 am
bucslim:
“Turns out there are a lot more crazy people converting oxygen into carbon dioxide than I thought.”
It’s dangerous to underestimate them and to underestimate their numbers. I still think the MAJORITY of humanity is good, means well, and is reasonably intelligent (or at least they have decent bullshit-detection instincts) but there’s a big chunk out there, nevertheless, who are dumb as pin-cushions and yet think they know better than the rest of us and deserve to rule us. They’re not the majority—but they are legion.
When the Revolution comes… they’re all up against the wall.
January 29th, 2008 at 9:12 am
Randall – Is it just me or are we having a polite conversation?
January 29th, 2008 at 9:23 am
bucslim:
Perhaps. Because you showed the proper respect. On my daughter’s wedding day.
Now perhaps some day–and that day may never come–I will ask you to do ME a favor. But until then, go in peace and know your enemies will fear you because they are *my* enemies.
January 29th, 2008 at 9:57 am
oscar and jfrater;
I thought I was the only one who watched Red Dwarf…
January 29th, 2008 at 10:09 am
I hate you William Shakespeare. Many a boring, endless English lesson was spent reading his work. *shakes fist in distaste*
January 29th, 2008 at 10:28 am
Art of War?
January 29th, 2008 at 10:34 am
LOL @ bucslim. Can I quote you on that? I didn’t think it was possible. Although, somehow, I find myself agreeing as well. o.O
January 29th, 2008 at 10:45 am
Mom:
I LOVE Red Dwarf! You’re not alone!
January 29th, 2008 at 10:50 am
dangorironhide and nopunynerd: I have also read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. An awesome incredible moving book. It takes a lot of talent to write from an autistic child’s point of view and he pulled it off brilliantly.
bigwigrabbit: I also loved Watership Down I read it as a kid, have you seen the movie? (It’s animated…)
I already mentioned one that would go on my list of top 10 books (All Creatures Great and Small) and I just realized another one would be She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb. Has anyone here read that? Oh and another one I thought of is King of the Wind. Ok so there’s three for my list lol
I’m so excited about this list, I love reading and I love talking about books.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
I recently discovered Red Dwarf the TV show. I absolutely love it… I’d love to read the books but I haven’t gotten around to them.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
I think that The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky is the best book of all time primarily because, though I disagree with his conclusion, he did what no other writer could ever do better: I think he gave each philosophical position fair consideration. See the chapter before (and read through!) The Grand Inquisitor.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
My favorite book is probably Of Mice and Men, but I’d have to say that the greatest book ever written is Atlas Shrugged. Oh, and I know a lot of you don’t want to hear it, but Orwell is trash.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
jfrater – “I will definitely check out Malamud – do you have one I can borrow or should I buy one on Amazon?”
I have some Malamud. I’ll find it for you.
“BTW: when are you going to write me a list?”
Heh..I’m working on it (slowly)
“For those not in on the joke – I am not adopted – kiwiboi is my brother.”
You mean…you *believe* the word of that woman we call “mother” ??
January 29th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
bucslim; jamie asked in the afterword for people to respond with “their” favorite/influential books…
Do I think “The Cameron’s” by Robert Chricton is one of the world’s most influential books? No..but to me at the time,,yes
You’ve insulted everyone pretty much
(yes I’ve read quite a few of the books on the list)
January 29th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Mom,
How have I insulted anyone? Yeah on other lists, but here?
OK, I did say the thingy about three of L Ron’s books being on the Modern Library’s list of top ten greatest books, but those people need to be insulted.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Mom424 – good for you. Dontcha hate intellectual snobbery ??!!
January 29th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
bucslim/Mom:
I think Mom might have meant *me*…. I insulted everyone, not bucslim.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Holy shit! Isn’t it one of the signs of the apocalypse when Randall and I are on the same side?
January 29th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
bucslim – maybe you guys oughta get a room…
January 29th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
kiwiboi: haha
January 29th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
I will, just as soon as I’m done with your Mom.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Huh ? You mean you’ve finished with yours already ??
January 29th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
She’s ok, but not as good as your sister.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
Maybe…but at least your dad says you’re still as tight as a little pink drum
January 29th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
He said that after he was done with you.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
amateurs.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
see now, “tight as a little pink drum” is funny.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Aw c’mon bucslim…you need to be more inventive than that. For example, I could say to you that the last time you got a piece of ass was when your hand tore through the toilet paper
January 29th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
No, the last time I got a piece of ass was with your sister.
January 30th, 2008 at 1:20 am
Wowwwww!!! Look at all the *intellect* flying around here now!!! LMAO
January 30th, 2008 at 1:23 am
This is hilarious.
January 30th, 2008 at 1:27 am
This kind of intelligent discussion is what makes going on the internet so fun
January 30th, 2008 at 1:27 am
You know?, Up in the commment range(^up there) in the 130’s range, things looked like they were going to get warm and fuzzy, But then you guys had to go and drive right into Smutville. (hahaha)
January 30th, 2008 at 1:28 am
I agree to have such a heated debate turn like that is very funny indeed. I really was LOL as I was reading the last of these comments.
January 30th, 2008 at 1:41 am
Well, a little levity never hurt anyone. And I’m assuming that bucslim was being good-humoured in his comments (as I was trying to be with mine).
I’m kinda glad the server went down (it did for me, at least) as what can start out as a little fun can deteriorate too easily into anarchy !!
And it’d be a shame for a bit of fun to develop into a flame war and spoil a good list
January 30th, 2008 at 1:55 am
hahahaa thanks for the laugh! Yet another reason to love listverse
January 30th, 2008 at 6:00 am
Yes I do, and the tendency to over-analyze everything. I’m pretty sure when of the authors wrote their books they weren’t interested in 3rd Century symbolism…they wanted to tell a story.
Good construction = Good Story
I can understand Proust,,,but why would I want to..
January 30th, 2008 at 6:26 am
I was laughing my ass off – I was damn near tears when the server went down. My boss was wondering what was so funny, so maybe it was a good thing it went down when it did.
Nothing like a good Mom-sister point-counterpoint.
January 30th, 2008 at 7:18 am
I’ve been looking for something to read recently. I’ll have to check out a few of these. Any recommendations from personal experience?
January 30th, 2008 at 8:52 am
Many of these books are available, free, online. I won’t give you the website as JFrater may get a feedback from Amazon. Nevertheless they are there.
Legally by the way, the copyrights expired LONG AGO.
January 30th, 2008 at 9:25 am
some of my favorites. not a “best books” list by any means. any takers?
1. the catcher in the rye – J.D. salinger
2. the fountainhead – ayn rand
3. catch-22 – joseph heller
4. on the road – jack kerouac
5. steppenwolfe – herman hesse
6. fight club – chuck palahniuk
7. the martian chronicles – ray bradbury
8. lord of the flies – william golding
9. for whom the bell tolls – ernest hemingway
10. the metamorphosis – franz kafka
January 30th, 2008 at 9:35 am
loseitbonkers: I agree with 1,2,3,4,8 – not necessarily for this list – but certainly as brilliant books worth of being on a “best of all time” list.
January 30th, 2008 at 9:53 am
Randall: I agree with you that King and Tolkien and sci-fi may not be on a par with Tolstoy, Shakespeare, Proust, et al. Or, aren’t they? What makes a “good” book? The content? The writing technique? The character analysis? The development and handling of the plot? All of the above? None of the above? Some of the above? Who decides? A “panel” of judges, or the reader? Do I need someone to tell me that Vermeer (whom I adore) is actually better than Picasso (whom I personally consider to be “crap”, but wouldn’t even dream of imposing my judgment on others)? A piece of art is a piece of art if and when I (the reader, the viewer, the listener, etc.) say it is.
I believe one measure of a “good” book should be that it gives a “message” to ME and helps ME in defining my values. And, you shouldn’t judge a book by its author, but by its “value” to you. Yes, Heinlein was primarily an SF writer, but his Stranger In A Strange Land is a whole different story – it is a scathing diatribe on the “then [and, most of them even today] valid” values of the masses, religion being the topmost one. He takes almost every single “value” prevalent in that day’s society (religion, family, sex, the definition of happiness, etc. etc.) and happily proceeds to rip them all to shreds (no wonder he had trouble in getting the full manuscript published, and had to trim about 80,000 words).
I read it when I was 17 and absolutely fell in love with the book! Did I agree with everything it said? No, but I can easily say that that book, while not “changing” my life, had certainly had a hand in “shaping” it. Does that make it eligible for the “Global Top 10″ list? Maybe not, but it certainly does, for MY “Top 10″ list..
Which begs the question, Randall: Have you read “The Stranger”, the book (and the author) that you condemn as “crap”? Or, for that matter, “IT” (King)?
I am yet to read a book as enjoyable in its writing technique as IT. True, it probably does not part with a world-shaking, vision-inspiring, “A-ha!” kind of message (and, then again, maybe it does..), but the character build-up and analysis is so near-perfect that you can’t help but identify with each and every character in the book. Essentially, you become a part of the plot.
I am not questioning the choice for the Top-10 list (though I could have, seeing that it reflects the thoughts of just 125 people), but your branding as “crap” a whole genre of literature and thereby, a whole group of authors, some/most of whom have produced marvelous pieces of work.
You said that one has “to recognize that there is a difference between a list of one’s personal favorites and a list of what is great and valuable overall”. Agreed. So what have we done? Instead of basing the Global Top-10 list on one person’s favorites, we have based it on 125 people’s. Now, that certainly makes the list objective!
Lastly, I believe my previous posting was one of the triggers that may have started the shouting match and the ensuing “drop in the level of intellectualism”, for which I am sorry..
January 30th, 2008 at 10:52 am
murat kayi: what you said…
lol; what is most influential in a person’s life depends as much on the person’s perspective at the time as the material. Read Jonathan Livingston Seagull when you’re 12 and it is mind expanding…now…uh uh
And I loved “It” and “The Stand” but I also loved A Tale of Two Cities, The Name of the Rose, and The Merchant of Venice, and Dune, and etc…
January 30th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
murat:
WHY, oh why must everyone have their little say about Stephen King? What is the awful horror in just admitting that he writes crap, but ENJOYABLE, entertaining crap?
All right. Let’s get into this thing about what a “good” book is. But first… let’s remind ourselves what is meant by “great,” and further remind ourselves that *this was a list of the TOP TEN books of all time.” And before anything else—step back and honestly ask yourself if you’d *really* include Stephen King on such a list. I mean, come on.
GREAT books are, like any GREAT work of art, those that don’t merely entertain or amuse us (or scare us). They have to do much more than that. For one thing, such books tend to reach across all lines separating people by age, time period, nationality, background–even language. The greatest books, in fact, are often those that can be recognized as “great” no matter what the translation; Homer, for instance, is still recognized today as the starting point of all Western Literature, and he’s still read today in dozens of languages and still enthralls. Part of that is the thrilling language he uses–even in translation. Part of it is the universality of what he is telling us, the story he offers, and the fact that even after nearly 3000 years, his characters are still eminently HUMAN and still realizable and real to us today. You understand them, you feel for them, you come to believe that you could easily meet them today.
Okay? Great books do something like that. They involve us in what they are no matter when they were written or in what language they were composed. They don’t merely move us viscerally, nor do they merely get at our emotions. They get at something in our humanity.
And they often use language in ways that do something to us in a similar vein—as an obvious example, think of Shakespeare… but also think of Lawrence or Joyce, or Henry Miller in “Tropic of Cancer” for that matter–their language never falls flat, never sounds a sour note. (Well… once in a while Lawrence did, but rarely). I remember the first time I read Joyce’s “Dubliners” stories… and feeling like I was reading the equivalent of a masterly-drawn set of architectural renderings; fine, crisp, near-flawless, (a little cold at times too, but that was part of the feeling) like the picture of something sublimely elegant.
“Good” books perhaps get near all that, near that level, but not quite there for whatever reason or reasons. Maybe Thomas Pynchon’s “V” is an example of that, or some of Dickens’ novels, where he seems to waver between great and bad at times… or certainly some of Herman Hesse’s novels… like “Demian” or “Siddhartha”… not in the presence of greatness, but a few shades off. There’s a lot of good books, surely. And “good” is a lot more open to interpretation. But still.. good has kinship with great. Let’s say “great” is a full-course meal cooked by a great chef. None of us may ever have the privilege to taste such a meal, but we can imagine it. A freakin’ symphony of food. A meal as great as great sex.
A “good” meal might be one, then, where we go to a really great restaurant, where it’s all fresh and perfectly cooked, and the ingredients are right–but it doesn’t cross that line into sublime, whatever sublime is, in food. Think of a really good Italian restaurant—a perfectly-done plate of eggplant parm and pasta, with a wonderful antipasto and delicious glass of red wine. *That’s* good. Really good.
BAD is obvious. Bad is food that just sucks–badly cooked, tastes horrible, we send it back. But it can also be just crap. McDonald’s. Pizza Hut. Some people like crap. Some people don’t know any better. Or some people can tolerate it. Some crap even does taste good, but we know it’s crap.
But there’s also good-bad food. Good-bad would be food that’s by no means “art” as food goes, nor is it likely to be even peasant-elegant, like, say… real Hungarian goulash, or boulliabase or a real down-home gumbo right out of Lousiana. Such food is usually elevated into the “good” category. Good-bad is food that is bad because there’s not a thing elegant or artful or individual about it, but it’s also good because it’s well done, tastes great, satisfies and pleases us… on a visceral level, if nothing more. That’s a perfectly-done burger with all the fixin’s, or ribs with fresh cole slaw and freshly-made macaroni and cheese. A really good pizza. Amusing, entertaining food.
Now me personally–I’m no fan of Stephen King (yes, I read many of his books in my youth)… I always found his language and his dialogue to be phony. But I admit the guy’s a great storyteller and he’s carved a hell of a niche for himself, and he’s far less tedious to read than, say, HP Lovecraft. Certainly I recognize he has a lot of rabid fans and his books certainly do sell.
King, then, belongs in the Good-Bad category—which is nothing to be ashamed of. He’s in the company of people like Arthur Conan Doyle, and Edgar Rice Burroughs, AA Milne, Zane Grey, Raymond Chandler… you get the picture, I think.
January 30th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Mom424: I agree; and I also believe that what is influential when one is 12 (when one is more malleable) is more important than what is influential when one is 42..
I have no objection to any other title; the point I was trying to make was, how does one “decide” what the “best” book in the world is? By which (global) criteria? If the list was “The Top 10 Most Widely Read Books of All Time”, then that would have been a different story (matter of fact, I accessed ListVerse to find just that, and found myself in this..)
A side note: Funny you should mention those titles; I read A Tale of Two Cities when I was 12, and Dune, when I was 40. Should really have been the other way round, but..
However, I must admit I enjoyed both immensely..
January 30th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Seriously, I can’t believe you didn’t include To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. Best book ever. I’ve read it about ten times and it never gets dull. Remember when Atticus walked out of the courtroom and all the black people in the balcony stood up? That always gave me chills.
January 30th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
My favorite book of all time is “IT” by Stephen King. i had nightmares for a month. some of my other favorites are the Iliad and the Odyssey, and The Andromade Strain by Michael Crichton
January 30th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Srry thts the ANDROMEDA Strain
January 30th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Only one book not on this list that maybe deserves serious consideration that being The Catcher in the Rye. Having consumed all ten on your list, let me say that there is not a finer top ten list in existence. KUDOS!
January 30th, 2008 at 8:39 pm
@Hockenberry.. Good one ..I just logged in to say the Cathcher in the Rye is a must. Two other ones : A Suitable Boy and Things Fall Apart.
January 30th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Randall: “GREAT books are, like any GREAT work of art, those that don’t merely entertain or amuse us (or scare us). They have to do much more than that. For one thing, such books tend to reach across all lines separating people by age, time period, nationality, background–even language. The greatest books, in fact, are often those that can be recognized as “great” no matter what the translation;”
Why? Because you say so?
If levels of greatness were as objective as you suggest, then this list would have zero comments, because there’d be no room for debate.
Perhaps when you read the title “Top Ten Books” you inferred “Top Ten Intellectually Seminal Works of Literary Art.”
And BTW, Read a little Baudrillard, Wittegenstein, or other post-structuralist/ deconstructionist and you will hopefully realise that the word “Great” is utterly meaningless other than as a merely arbitary construct.
January 31st, 2008 at 12:48 am
Where’s Wutthering Heights? or 1984, also I’m surprised Brave New World isn’t on the list-I’m surprised at “Middlemarch”-I found it dry and beyond boring. Perhaps even Pride and Prejudice or Little Women would be good additions. I wonder what the 10 most popular books are? Or even the 10 best selling books of all time.
January 31st, 2008 at 12:54 am
satori: I am definitely considering a 10 best selling books list – I think it will be an interesting one!
January 31st, 2008 at 1:14 am
Interesting list indeed and I still have a few to go in regards to reading the listed books! I need to read some Tolstoy goshdarnnitt!! lol
For me, I would lean towards two more recent authors than most mentioned, Jack Kerouac and Hunter S Thompson. ‘On The Road’, ‘Fear and Loathing’ and ‘The Dharma Bums’. Just fantastic, interesting characters combined with the most compelling storytelling I have yet to hear!
Though my favourite author is Umberto Eco with ‘The Name of The Rose’ being up there with the greats for me..such intricacy and intelligence poured into his works. So far, ‘Foucault’s Pendulum’ is extremely interesting and it’s one of those books where I am dreading the end because I want more! lol
January 31st, 2008 at 1:17 am
indiefreak19: Foucault’s Pendulum is one of the best modern books ever! Umberto Eco is brilliant.
January 31st, 2008 at 1:24 am
Oh, also, what about Siddhartha? I love seeing different peoples book fav’s. It’s making want to go to the library and take out a bunch that have been mentioned!
January 31st, 2008 at 4:01 am
og mandino’s? why not.
January 31st, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Anyone who even mentions Harry Potter anywhere near this list needs to read more books, including more contemporary fantasy. HP = children’s fantasy.
Also, Kafka should be on this list.
1984
All Quiet On The Western Front
A Brave New World
The Fountainhead (more interesting than Atlas Shrugged)
The Trial
January 31st, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Randall: In reference to your comments pasted below: I come from a well read family – Out of the 7 of us I am probably the only one who hasn’t read most of the books above. But…they respect me for who I am, what I read and what I enjoy and I think you are condescending and a book snob!
‘NO to 90% of the CRAP you people are suggesting.
My god… is it that people read only garbage these days, or is it just that the internet is mostly populated with kids who don’t know anything?’
‘I’ve read heaps of trash fiction myself, pal. We all do. My personal feeling is that there’s a point when one should get over that, and stop wasting one’s valuable reading time. So I don’t read lower-level stuff anymore except maybe the occasional book someone tosses to me.’
January 31st, 2008 at 4:47 pm
May i make a suggestion for a list of list of Dystopian novels.
January 31st, 2008 at 4:50 pm
I’m also surprised to see that you left out Dante’s Inferno, 1984, and A Brave New World.
January 31st, 2008 at 8:50 pm
I think you should all stop reading your current books and check out “Sweet Valley High Twins” issue #4. It is a great read and reveals the true meaning of life. Not to mention you find out who stole the cookie from the cookie jar. Truly riveting stuff.
February 6th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
No german books!!!
February 10th, 2008 at 1:37 am
Ok I am going to be beaten with sticks for this, but Hamlet? I adore The Bard, however, Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet are HORRIBLE. Hamlet is 2 Hours of “shit or get off the pot” I can’t take it. While Hamlet is whining about what to do his entire life falls apart. What a coward.
February 14th, 2008 at 11:13 am
I gotta agree with Randall, SK is like Dan Brown, its pointless crap but fock it, its fun
February 15th, 2008 at 3:40 am
The anarchist’s cookbook. I have an original copy somewhere here in my room (my mom flipped a shit as she is sure that I’m now on a list somewhere…which I probably am)
No book is as notorious as that one.
February 19th, 2008 at 12:15 am
Bill Bryson-A Short History of Nearly Everything. The best book/audio book ever!!! check it out http://www.mininova.org/tor/517539
February 20th, 2008 at 11:46 pm
I don’t really understand the whole crap thing. If you enjoy a book and liked reading it, how exactly do you consider it crap? Your insistence on putting writers into a cache system just screams “elitist” to me. I really enjoyed “The Green Mile”. If you didn’t like it, that’s fine, but in no way, shape, or form would I consider it crap.
I find it strange that “125 of the greatest living writers” didn’t go back more than 150 years or so. I guess they really were only considering novels with the mandatory Shakespeare play thrown in. It does seem silly that they didn’t consider the books mentioned above as well as:
Beowulf and The Volsung Saga
Milton’s Paradise Lost
Ovid’s Metamorphosis (they did include a compilation book in Chekhov)
The works of Edgar Allen Poe
Dante’s Divine Comedy
Voltaire’s Candide
There’s also good stuff from outside the Western World, like “The Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese Literature”:
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Water Margin
Journey to the West
Dream of the Red Chamber
If you’re including plays (that have been at least written in book form) in this list, you really cannot forget about Sophocles’s Oedipus Rex, or Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
This is a list of the best books “of all time”, and limiting such a list to one short time period and one section of the world is a big mistake.
February 25th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
It looks like my teacher wasn’t crazy when she had us read The Great Gatsby and Huck Finn this year. I loved both, but I seemed to be the only one.
February 27th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Two by Tolstoy? In the top three? I smell bias.
Forgotten:
No James Joyce? Even the impatient and easily enraged among us who fail to understand Ulysses credit Portrait and Dubliners.
Three Novels, Samuel Beckett: Brilliant. Possible best description of the human condition.
Tristram Shandy, Sterne: So far ahead of his time it’s creepy.
La Coscienza di Zeno, Italo Svevo: Beautiful, Heartbreaking, fantastic response to psychology.
Complete Stories, Kafka: Same as Beckett.
At Swim-Two-Birds, Flann O’Brien: Insightful, poetic, nuanced, etc.
I could go on for days. Chaucer, Diderot, Stendhal, Flannery O’Connor, Homer, Boccaccio, Baudelaire, et. al.
What wouldn’t I include? This could be an even longer list. Eliot (George), Fitzgerald, Chekhov, Twain, Rand, Orwell, Salinger, Huxley, Poe, Cheever, Updike, Miller (Any), Kerouac, Lawrence, Conrad, Woolf, Steinbeck, Milton, Dante, et. al.
March 2nd, 2008 at 10:33 pm
ya rite but some times its not work yaar. Give me some more info
March 12th, 2008 at 8:43 am
I will echo the sentiment that “Faust” should have been included on this list. While it is a play, Hamlet is as well. If we’re going to include plays in “great literature”, Faust is a far cry beyond some of the works listed.
What about the Illiad or the Odyssey? Paradise Lost? The Inferno?
Wonderful works all, and woefully they’d been ignored. Sad.
March 12th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
where the hell is Catcher in the Rye?
March 14th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Fyodor Dostoevsky anyone? come on… I would definitely have the brothers karamazov instead of anna karenina
March 22nd, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Randall, where do you get off with this ridiculous snobbery? There’s nothing wrong with preferring some books over others. However, I do take issue when some elitist with rigid views of what constitutes a good book or a bad book tries to act as if his opinion is some sort of objective law of nature that all others should recognize.
Here’s something pretty mind blowing: the “goodness” of a book is subjective. You see, science has not yet created a tool to objectively measure how good a book is. Try to remember those grade school lessons on the difference between opinions and facts and get off your silly high horse.
Anyway, I would definitely suggest adding Ulysses (a masterpiece as far as I’m concerned) to this list. I also prefer A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court to Huckleberry Finn, but I recognize that Huckleberry Finn has considerably more cultural significance. Hamlet should be off the list, as it’s a play and not a book. I’m surprised by the lack of Dickens and think Great Expectations deserves a spot on the list, as it’s probably his most finely crafted novel. Of Mice and Men is one of my favorite books, but unfortunately it seems to be overlooked on these lists, possibly because The Great Gatsby contains similar themes and is generally preferred by critics.
I am glad, though, that Lord of the Rings didn’t make it on, as some have suggested it should have. Tolkien created a great world, but was a horribly dry, dull writer. I think that His Dark Materials and Harry Potter are both superior as far as fantasy goes, but it’s a genre that I have limited experience in.
March 26th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
I believe that a book that should be on there is,
Pet Sematary by Stephen King
April 12th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
okay 2 things. ANNA KARININA? i TRIED to read that book and fell asleep by page 130. i tried again. didnt work. i honestly cannot see how any one can get through that EVIL book. i admitedly detest books that defeat me and i promise my self that i will try it again but still…2 i hoped and prayed when i saw this list that tolkien would be on it somewhere…i was dissapointed…the hobbit is probably my fave book ever. i swear ive read that book 10 times.
btw. did i mention im 12?
April 16th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
The Bible should be number 1
May 2nd, 2008 at 5:43 am
Some cool lists. My top ten:
The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoyevsky
Crime and Punishment, Dostoyevsky
Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte (hardly anyone mentioned this)
Ulysses, James Joyce
Journey to the End of the Night, Celine
The Trial, Franz Kafka
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
Blue of Noon, Georges Bataille
Women in Love, D H Lawrence
May 16th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
No “To Kill a Mockingbird”?
May 27th, 2008 at 11:45 am
Thank God Ayn Rand is not here. Anything else would seem exceptional compared to that overwrought narrator of philosophical simulacra.
May 29th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
jfrater: wait a minute! kiwiboi is your brother? seriously?
I’m so slow xD
June 8th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
how about:I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith
June 17th, 2008 at 9:00 am
firstly Jk Rowling is a genius with her books
and anna karenina is not as great as i thought it would be…but still a good read.
Ken Follet’s Pillars of the Earth is a brilliant read, as well as Memoirs of a Giesha (Arthur Goldern), Pride and Prejudice and Jane Austen’s books are sensational. (Persuasion, Emma, Sense and Sensibility) Some Personal fav’s include:
Jane Eyre- Charlotte Bronte
Wuthering Heights- Emily Bronte
Heart of Darkness – James Conrad
To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
Atonement (wow good book and great movie)
Helen of Troy- Margaret Geaorge
Brave New World- Aldous Huxley
Anne of Green Gables- Lucy Maud Montgomery
His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman
Perfume – Patrick Süskind
The Magic Faraway Tree – Enid Blyton
Little Women – Louisa May Alcott
Nineteen Eighty-Four – George Orwell
LOTR and The Hobbit – J.R.R Tolkien
A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute
Ella Enchanted – Gail Carson Levine
The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett
June 21st, 2008 at 7:23 am
Not a bad list… but what about:
East of Eden by John Steinbeck (1952)
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (1949)
The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy (1886)
*edited* for advertising.
“…we don’t allow readers to use the comments for advertising.”
http://listverse.com/comment-faq/
June 29th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
1) Lord of the Rings.
2) all others.
July 5th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
What about Watership Down. I know it was in the 70’s but hey.
July 9th, 2008 at 1:09 am
Wow. The top 10 books EVER is a horribly difficult list to write. Everyone has different opinions in this. I like the list, but I would have loved to see something from Jane Austen on here. Although I haven’t read all of the books on this list, my favourite among these is War and Peace. You really feel as if you get to know these characters, it’s a great book. Apparently Leo Tolstoy’s wife wrote it out by hand seven times- that must have been terrible!
July 10th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
The Discworld series by Terry Pratchet.
July 13th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
Ryan (108) said
I am surprised that there were no books by Victor Hugo on this list. For instance, “Les Miserables” is one of the best works of the 19th century. They don’t give out the “Hugo” award for nothing. The guy was a literary genius.
I am surprised none of the literary critic geniuses here have picked up this before.
The Hugos are not named after Victor Hugo. They are named after Hugo Gernsbeck. And if you have read all the Hugo winners you would know that on occasion they have given them out for nothing – well nothing that resembles good writing.
Cheers
Lee
July 14th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
A top 10 is (as it should be) impossible….
Native Son
Catcher in the Rye (for sure)
Jazz
Stones From the River
Ceremony
In Cold Blood
The Great Gatsby
Any and all DAVID SEDARIS
Geek Love
All Families are Psychotic
The Sport of the Gods
Jitterbug Perfume
One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest
Sometimes a Great Notion
Great Expectations
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
Apathy and Other Small Victories
it goes on and on and on (again, as it should)
July 14th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
In the Lake of the Woods
A Tale of Two Cities
Tender is the Night
MAUS I and II
Flowers for Algernon
The Tropic of Orange
July 17th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
I have to say that not having any Dostoievsky book in the list is kind of ridiculous. I’ve read several books from him, and there’s no denying his deep understanding of human nature. “Crime and punishment” and “The brothers Karamazov” are the masterpieces of course, but “The idiot”, “The insulted and humiliated” or “The eternal husband”, for instance, are quite good too. “Les misérables” not in the list is also very hard to understand. It’s better than “Madame Bovary” for sure, and I don’t think any french person would disagree with me. I advise people that don’t know portuguese literature to check an author called Eça de Queiroz. It’s XIXth century literature, but way more interesting than a lot of french classic authors that I’ve read (Balzac, Zola, Flaubert, …). You can’t go wrong with his masterpiece, “Os Maias”, which I find worthy of consideration for being in the list. It’s probably the most famous book in portuguese literature, and much more complex and diverse than “Anna Karenina”, a book that is kind of simplistic and boring in my opinion. I could tell you the whole plot in a couple of lines… Eça de Queiroz also wrote maybe another 10 to 15 books than I enjoyed reading. It’s a pity that his work is not known.
July 24th, 2008 at 1:20 am
Hmm.. i know none of these O.O My top ten books (which i think one of them should at least be on here (twilight) are : )
1- Twilight series
2- Skulduggery Pleasant 1&2
3- Harry Potter – all
4- The looking glass wars – all
5- InkHeart series
6- Darren Shan Vampire Series
7- The spook’s apprentice – all
8- LOTR
9- The Hobbit
10- The Host
July 25th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
The Count of Monte Cristo should be somewhere in there.
July 29th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
faulker anybody?
also if you havent read any fantasy start with the “A Song of Ice and Fire” series by George R.R. Martin
August 2nd, 2008 at 8:46 am
A ridiculous list. The pseudo-intellectualism and western bias is astounding. The ‘of all time’ tag is incredible when only one work here was written more than 200 years ago and that is a play not a ‘book’. Can’t we take out ‘Hamlet’ and rename this list ‘Top Ten Novels’? That would make it vaguely understandable. Alternatively, if that won’t do, let’s include some Indian and Classical epics (Homer?) and The Bible (considered by some to be agreat work of fiction).
August 2nd, 2008 at 8:53 am
Double:
I’d hardly call this list “pseudo-intellectual.” On what do you base that? As for Western bias, I would suggest you not be so quick to throw around your political correctness. Yes, it might have been better to call this a list of top novels, thus omitting Hamlet… sensible. But the novel–what we today *think* of as a novel–is, Double, basically a western–and modern–invention. It arises with the rise of a secure middle class in the west and is a form that, while having precursors (and yes, a small scattering of them came from the east) is essentially a prose form that did not exist prior to the 17th century.
August 4th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Not alot to declare, as I came on this site predominatly to search for an interesting read for a literature study in a few months time, but became engrossed in the opinions of those who have most definatly had read a lot more books than I have.
I would, however, say that Randall is frying my brain, so to speak, everyone follow the rules of mr lord of the books
August 6th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
James Joyce and Charles Dickens are conspicuous by their absence; “Ulysses” surely deserves the top spot.
August 15th, 2008 at 10:25 am
The Great Gatsby
The Secret Garden
Madame Bovary
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Count of Monte Cristo
1984
The Time Machine
Animal Farm
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time
MacBeth
Not necessarily in that order… but those are my favorites
August 17th, 2008 at 11:21 am
Every list seems to be based on age, education and country. With the dumbing down of America, I surprised no one listed Marvel Comics.
September 1st, 2008 at 11:11 am
A wee bit Tolstoy-heavy? Would replace ‘War and Peace’ with ‘Ulysees’ (Joyce), and ‘Hamlet’ with a Dickens – probably ‘Bleak House’, on the basis that Hamlet is not a ‘book’ in the traditional sense, but a play intended to be seen on stage.
September 4th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
no that list sucks
October 7th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
I just found this site not long ago and I’ve been enjoying the lists. Thanks for all the suggestions of books to read!
My favorites and some I think are the greatest are:
Nana – Emile Zola (I freaking LOVE Zola and this is my favorite one)
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter – Carson McCullers
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn – Betty Smith
Red Dragon – Thomas Harris
Tom Sawyer – Mark Twain
Rebecca – Daphne du Maurier
Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde – Robert Louis Stevenson
The Lord of the Rings – J. R. R. Tolkien
Stranger in a Strange Land – Robert Heinlen (sp?) I couldn’t wait to be finished with it but once I was, I thought about it all the time.
Farenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury
Lord of the Flies – William Golding
Dracula – Bram Stoker
Frankenstein – Mary Shelley
I’ll probably think of a bunch I should have put down, but I’m at work and people keep interrupting me!
October 20th, 2008 at 11:14 am
What about The Hobbit or Lord Of The Rings?
My top 10:
1. Lord Of The Rings
2. Peer Gynt
3. Dracula
4. The Hobbit
5. Harry Potter
6. Silmarillion
7. Hamlet
8. Victoria
9. Romeo and Juliet
10. The Sherlock Holmes books.
October 22nd, 2008 at 7:31 pm
Les Miserables would be a personal favorite of mine. I’m quite surprised it’s not included in the list.
November 3rd, 2008 at 10:10 am
This thread is great. Lots of good suggestions. I’ll add my own which are not what i consider the greatest of all time, just the greatest I’ve read:
White Noise
The Rings of Saturn
November 6th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
how can murakami not be on this list?
kafka on the shore is almost perfection!
November 16th, 2008 at 1:02 am
Extinction
What Ever Happened to Gloomy Gus of the Chicago Bears?
Infinite Jest
100 years Of Solitude
Life: A User’s Manual
The Glass Bead Game
Steppenwolf
Perfume
Cloud Atlas
November 28th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Probably my ‘top 5′:
(In no order)
1. The Stranger – Albert Camus
2. Nineteen Eighty-four – George Orwell
3. VALIS – Philip K. Dick
4. Breakfast of Champions – Kurt Vonnegut
5. Slaughterhouse Five – Kurt Vonnegut
December 9th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
The great gatsby reminded me of a daytime soap opera
December 12th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
1. The Firm – John Grisham
2. Jurassic Park – Michael Crichton
3. The Hot Zone – Richard Preston
4. Uncle Tom’s Cabin – Harriet Beecher Stowe
5. Atlas Shrugged – Ayn Rand
The five novels above are the real deal. No joke. If you haven’t read them all, then don’t waste your time with the top 10 given on this website (I’ve read all those too and none are impressive).
December 14th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Another vote for A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES by John Kennedy Toole
December 19th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
at least the bible is not on this list
December 22nd, 2008 at 10:25 am
In no particular order:
Master and Margarita – Bulgakov
Queen Margot – Dumas
Mists of Avalon – Marion Zimmer Bradley
Wicked – Gregory McGuire
The Princess Bride – William Goldman
Catch-22 – Joseph Heller
Job: A Comedy of Justice – Robert Heinlein
The Moomintroll books by Tuve Jansson
Tereska and the Whole World – Inessa Pablos
Ronia the Robber’s Daughter – Astrid Lindgren
January 8th, 2009 at 11:21 pm
Great list! though the exclusion of Ulysses is almost unforgivable, but a great list nonetheless,
I would put the following in the same conversation as those;
Mody-Dick
The Odyssey,
Collected Edgar Allan Poe Tales,
John Keats Collected Poems,
Emma,
The Brothers Karamazov,
The Iliad,
Gravity’s Rainbow,
Paradise Lost,
The Canterbury Tales,
The Catcher in the Rye,
John Cheever’s Short Stories,
The Old Man and the Sea,
Yeats Collected Poems,
January 10th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
you contradict yourself in this list saying that hamlet is not the best shakespeare play although you place it number one as the greatest shakespeare play in the top 10 shakespeare plays. i must say that without dostoevsky and joyce this list seems incomplete. mattch31 has the right idea.
January 10th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
tuponia: Actually, he does not. Because the list has not been made by “him”, but by a panel of 125 authors. “He” is the “listkeeper”..
January 22nd, 2009 at 1:47 am
I love the lonesome dove series, the agony and the ectacy, the old man and the sea, robinson crusoe, clan of the cave bear series, Louis Lamar, Homer, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, The count of montecristo, hatchet, and many more. It is impossible to say any one book is the best of all time. Or say the 10 best of all time. That’s all i have to say about that. Forest gump was a fun read.
January 22nd, 2009 at 2:57 am
Emory, I wholeheartedly agree with you: “it is impossible to say any one book is the best of all time”, simply because (as I’ve already said in this forum) you cannot construct a set of objective criteria (there are some who obviously disagree).
I, for one, and at the risk of antagonizing 125 world-class authors, fail to see what “world-shaking” wisdom Hamlet parts with..
January 22nd, 2009 at 3:00 am
I love books. Did any of you read the agony and the ectacy?
January 22nd, 2009 at 3:13 am
People, name some books that drew tears to your eyes. They are a good place to start. Please name them.
January 27th, 2009 at 6:36 am
Ulysses – James Joyce
January 28th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
Let´s say for arguments sake that the ten books I am about to list are indeed the greatest books ever written. And while we´re at it lets say that they are not up for dispute, for the exact reasons which I have yet to specify. Are you ready? Good!
10. Don Quixote – I am not trying to undermine such a highly and widely regarded book but I will not lie to you or myself. I would wager that the hype that surrounds this book is the reason so many have and do mention it among their personal favourites. It does imply a certain stature. To be fair to Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra who demonstrates superbly an excellent moral dilemma. He very wisely spotted that an audience loves a hero who begins with being unassuming and ends with being deserving. Of course this alone is not enough. The way in which this is done is the real deal maker. Read it, you will understand.
9. Catch 22 – Speaking as someone who hates any kind of war based books, to have convinced me of it´s superiority even through my great dislike of it´s setting is a truly remarkable feat. It is laced and riddled with wonderful sentiment, and written by a person with a razor sharp wit and intellect. Well done Joseph Heller. I highly recommend.
8. To Kill a Mockingbird – I have to admit that I was highly skeptical about this book before I read it, having read that the book is narrated through a six year old child´s eyes I mean. To my delight I found the book to be the most anti-racist book that talks about a time when people were generally racist. Those who have called it racist lack the comprehension to realise or know any better. The fact that Harper Lee has written it as a six year old girl, speaks volumes about it´s racial debate. Very moving.
7. The Hitch hiker´s guide to the Galaxy – Where to begin? I am vexed with myself for having put reading this book off for as long as I did. To appreciate this book you have to let go of any preconceived ideas you might have about what it is a great read should be. When reading, the best advise I can offer is to open up your imagination and be as vivid as possible with it. If you can learn to enjoy this book/books for it´s at times stupidity then it will quickly race to the top of your mind when it comes to your favourite books. Douglas Adams has a truly inventive mind. The is a great read.
6. Dracula – Unquestionably the best vampire novel ever written. It contains all the right ingredients to making a perfect dark thriller. Bram Stoker did an ingenious thing in the way in which he chose to write the book, and the way in which he decided to deliver it. An absolute must read whether you enjoy this genre or not. If you find it slow paced, then you are overlooking the theme and propriety of this kind of writing. It is simply best served with plenty of suspense.
5. Wuthering Heights – An absolute killer for the toughest of people. I have very much a love/hate relationship with this book. And it´s not often a book creates such an oxymoron of my emotions. You will hate the characters but you will love the description of obsessive and climactic love. It will make you long to experience their love and it will make you dread the very possibility of it. Quite spectacular really and for that Emily Bronte is very worthy for this ranking.
4. The Picture of Dorian Gray – A fair amount of controversy surrounds this book around the whole question of homosexual references made in it. Forget all of that and read the book without thinking about the author. It is well written and includes some of the most interesting and charismatic characters ever written. philosophically challenging, as well as morally. It is only ashame that Oscar Wilde never published another novel.
3. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – The magic of this story is the way it is able to bring to the surface the memories of one´s childhood, even if you´re childhood was nothing like the one of ´Huck Finn´s´. The way in which he writes represents and captures perfectly the way I am sure many of us thought as children. Chasing after adventure, though more often our own was done through extensive amounts of playing make believe and dress up then from anything of substance. One thing is certain Mark Twain never forgot what it was to be a kid, and we get to relive it through his books. Though his other books are similar in this, make no mistake this one is the best amongst them all.
2. The Count of Monte Cristo – If Huckleberry Finn represents our inner child, then Count of Monte Cristo represents everything that our inner child tried so desperately to become through the power of imagination. This book has everything you need i.e revenge, sword fights, romance, betrayal, pirates, deception, and justice in staggering style. An exceptional nail-biter. Very nearly worthy of our top spot. I applaud you Alexandre Dumas.
1. The Catcher in the Rye – I find this book to be the most underrated book I have ever come across. To call this book anything less then a saviour to reader´s alike everywhere is an insult to JD Salinger, and to yourself as a reader. If you do not like it then you do not understand it´s purpose. It is the easiest book I have ever read and that is the biggest compliment a book can receive. Instantly lovable and irresistibly addictive. Enjoy this book as they are seldom written so good, and when they are, they end too soon.
I know what you´re thinking; Not quite, you forgot Jane Austin and John Steinbeck, or James Joyce and Sylvia Plath, maybe it´s Victor Hugo who I´ve forgotten but the truth is we are not talking about my personal favourites, we´re actually talking about the best ever written. I have read countless book´s, I doubt there is even a handful left that I have left unread. I am talking about the good and shamefully bad. It is my job in fact. By doing this, I am only trying to inform other bookaholics like myself of the greatest novels ever written and I have been as objective as a person possibly can be. If you have´nt read my ten top recommended get stuck in. Phew!, thank goodness I´m done.
February 1st, 2009 at 11:34 am
Here are my top 5 favourite. These are obviously not “the best books of all time”, just my personal favs, the ones that I actually want to read again and again (while I can admire the splendour of for example War and Peace when I read it, it’s not something I want to reread just for the sake of it)
1. Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë
2. Ten Little Nigger Boys – Agatha Christie
3. Bridget Jones’ Diary – Helen Fielding
4. Rendez-vous with Rama – Arthur C. Clarke
5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – J.K. Rowling
My “desert island” books
Oh and kudos to the person who mentioned Ronja the Robber’s Daughter (Ronja Rövardotter). It was my favourite book growing up!
February 4th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
To not include James Joyce is viable to me to challenge you to a duel.
February 7th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
So many I agree with in the comments. The list has to be longer that’s all there is to it. I would include “The Sound and The Fury” by William Faulkner. Harvard even put up a brass plaque under the Charles River Bridge in honor of his character in that book named Quentin Compson, “who drowned in the odour of honeysuckle.” Anything by Goethe and Katzinzakas; “Stranger in a Strange Land” by Robert Heinlein; Patricia Cornwell solving the case of Jack the Ripper. . . . The list just goes on and on.
February 7th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
Oh in “Lolita”, Humbert Humbert becomes sickly infatuated with Dolores’ daughter Lolita, not Dolores her mother. Although he does marry the mother to be close to Lolita.
February 7th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
Dear List Universe,
I believe that your website is one of the greatest (without doubt) websites on the internet. I appreciate how much effort you put into the site, and understand you are probably very busy so I will not keep you long. I believe that you missed a few very important books on this list. First of all, you fail to have James Joyce who is the greatest literary genius who ever lived! “Finnigen’s Wake” is a stunning example. Also “To kill a Mocking bird”, “Catcher in the Rye”, “Dubliners and Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man”, are some of the greatest works ever inscribed! I plead to you (perchance) revise you list, or at least add to it. Thank-you very much (if you have time to email me feel free, wherefore I would love to hear your thoughts),
N.L
February 8th, 2009 at 12:21 am
As polite and well written as your letter was, due to how the list came to be it can not be edited. You would need to contact Norton and have the 125 authors they questioned change their answers. In the opening paragraph it says:
“Norton (of the Norton Anthologies) asked 125 of the greatest living writers to select their top 10, and then (using statistics) produced a final list of the ten greatest books ever written.”
February 9th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Why on earth is War and Peace not number 1 ? Although the fact Anna Karenina is number 1 slightly appeases me.
February 9th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
I absolutly hated Madame Bovary i tried to put in place at the time it was written to try and understand why it is considered a classic. I just really did not like it, there was nothing about it that appealed to me at all. I struggled through Middlemarch as well, although it was better than MB. I am more of a Dickens fan.
Books 6,5,4,3,and 1 were enjoyable on the other hand. I have not read the others
February 16th, 2009 at 2:29 am
excellent list got to give a mention 2 the alchamist
February 19th, 2009 at 4:33 am
The interesting thing here is that The Great Gatsby made #7 on the list of Greatest Books of all time, but another list (another product of listverse) cites The Great Gatsby as #3 most OVER-rated novel of all time.
Clearly they contradict eachother, and I have to say I believe the novel deserves no place on the Top 10 books of all time, having recently finished it in my English class.
Overrated it is, for start I hardly believe the story is long enough to be considered a great work, maybe the best of Gatsby, but the best of the best. The characters are too 2-dimensional, the supposedly main character, Nick, hardly breaks out of the 1-dimensional zone. Perhaps the most dissapointing of all was the great mystery behind Gatsby wasn’t even that fascinating, hardly more than mentionable. I found most of the characters unrealistic and frankly a little nonchalant.
Anyways… not too shabby of a list other than #7 in my opinion.
February 22nd, 2009 at 1:15 am
Okay, Even though this list was created by the best writers doesn’t mean everyone has the same opinion. I believe it’s too hard to say what you think is best, sometimes you choose a work simply because it is the most fresh in your mid, or you favor a topic or era. After reading this I have decided to create a list of my own in order to keep track of my favs, and least favs. But after viewing the list I am shocked to see “Don Quixote” is not on there, some will of course disagree, or “Pride and Prejudice.” Both of these reading kept my interested throughout, and the themes and underlying messages– plenty. Whether we are “experts” or not, I guess it depends on how you determine what is a great work, and how much emphasis you put on any certain part. How do you decide it’s value, theory, criticism, moral, educational? And who makes the decision? Granted maybe the every day person who has no love for literature and it’s meaning shouldn’t participate in the poll, but then again he wouldn’t anyway, so this still leaves people who are passionate about the field to decide–good! And by the way, where’s Willa Cather’s place on the list? Other people who have commented also bring up some wonderful works the aren’t on the list.
March 3rd, 2009 at 10:52 am
i was disappointed to have not seen these books in that list:
jane eyre
villette
picture of dorian grey
crime and punishment
les miserables
am i wrong to think so?
March 26th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
NO Crime and Punishment? Damn. And what about the Bible? Yeah, it’s the most successful religious scam of all time but the book itself has most of the plot lines that have made other books.
March 27th, 2009 at 6:05 am
“uncle tom’s cabin”, by harriet beecher stowe is such a good read. i recommend it to everyone! and you are right about crime and punishment….it truely is a “gem”!
April 10th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
A few of my own personal favourites that didn’t make the list.
Candide – Voltaire
Burmese Days – George Orwell
The Karamazov Brothers – Fyodor Dostoevsky
Germinal – Emile Zola
Bleak House – Charles Dickens
Joseph Heller – Catch 22
Oblomov – Ivan Goncharov
Also worth a mention is Terry Pratchett. It’s not great literature but when it’s so funny who cares?
April 10th, 2009 at 10:36 pm
Andrei Antonvich: I am a HUGE fan of Candide – it is as fresh today as the day it was first written.
April 13th, 2009 at 6:19 am
How about Pillars of the Earth – Ken Follet? An awesome read as is Clan of the cave bear and Roots
April 15th, 2009 at 11:39 pm
I am not sure who your 125 greatest authors are, but this seems like a bit of a sham to me. In search of lost time?!?! Who would read that… Should I describe what is in my room in a 15,000 word essay? No, because that is boring. Look I think that some of these picks are good, but Hamlet is a play and I just don’t see how you can narrow such a broad topic as “books of all time.” Maybe if you narrowed it to longest books of all time I would be OK with in search of lost time, but with such a broad list its complete opinion. I could write an opinion list about the best books ever, but it wouldn’t be accurate, just as your list is not accurate.
May 2nd, 2009 at 1:31 am
hey. i think that the best book of all time is TWILIGHT. that would definitely be my no.1.
May 12th, 2009 at 6:17 pm
No, jjstewart, Twilight was okay, but I don’t think it should be on there. Oh, a book that SHOULD be on there might be one of the Percy Jackson stories. They are SOOO good! Or maybe the BFG or Matilda. Those books are really good. I think one of those books by Ronald Dahl should really be on there. Or maybe something else of his…
Oh I know! You should totally put one of Avi’s books on there. Those are pretty good. Or maybe not.
Oh! There’s a really good book, but it’s Historical Fiction, but it’s called Calico Captive. It’s really good. It’s good for the brain too!
May 13th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
The Unbearable Lightness of Being? It’s by Milan Kundera. Am I the only person on earth to think that it’s life-changing? jjstewart – twillight, hehe.
May 13th, 2009 at 7:37 pm
twilight isn’t even in the top 5000 books,
Ulysses
As I Lay Dying
Lolita
Gravity’s Rainbow
Blood Meridian
Catcher in the Rye
A Farewell to Arms
The Brothers Karamozov
Emma
I could go on and on…
May 21st, 2009 at 4:25 pm
Gah…..Where’s the Bible? A wonderful work of FICTION and imagination.
May 22nd, 2009 at 3:17 pm
ugh! DeViN, aRe u aThEiSt oR wHaT?! u dO nOt iNsuLt tHe biBlE! WhAt dId iT eVeR dO tO u?! uR sO STUPID!!!!!!!! ThE bIbLe iS TrUe ATHEIST!
May 23rd, 2009 at 2:03 am
A walking dream by Mohit Mahajan will be published soon it may change the list
May 23rd, 2009 at 7:28 am
Yeah, keep dreaming Mohit. No one cares about your stupid book that’s probably awful, and that you’re probably self-publishing.
May 23rd, 2009 at 8:17 am
doyouneedtokno: better get that SHIFT key of yours fixed up, mate.. my eyes are really sore!
just saying that the bible, or ANY other religious text, for that matter, is ‘true’ doesn’t necessarily make it (them) so. it is all a matter of belief and as beliefs go, some believe them and some don’t.. period.
its as simple as that..
May 23rd, 2009 at 9:35 am
mein kampf anyone?
May 23rd, 2009 at 9:42 am
if that was meant to be humorous, then good for you Ellez, otherwise i hope you die a horrible, drawn-out torturous death, you pathetic excuse for a human, die
June 2nd, 2009 at 6:13 pm
THE SCARLET LETTER!!!!!!!
June 8th, 2009 at 8:47 am
I must say the Abarat series (tough only two out of four have been published).
Clive Barker has such an amazing imagination.
Anyways, great list
June 15th, 2009 at 7:48 am
I have read most of the books on this list and i agree, I would add “jane eyre” emily bronte. An enduring love story that stands the test of time…awww
June 23rd, 2009 at 4:44 pm
I’ve read a lot…………a lot! Two favorites are River God by Wilbur Smith (don’t knock it till you’ve tried it) and The Lorax by Dr Seuss. Also I have just finished Bone People by Kerry Hulme (a literary masterpiece) and a must read!
July 1st, 2009 at 2:37 am
Sorry to be a tad pedantic and probably repeat what many others previously have said but…The Brothers Karamazov By Fyodor Dostoevsky deserves a place amongst this list purely on the grounds of”The Grand Inquisitor” alone, as a stand alone chapter the genuis of Dostoevsky can be summed up in parable, it is truly sublime.
Like many other lists of this type there is obviously never going to be enough spaces within the list, to pick just 10 is a mammoth task, What are your exact opinions on the greatest books of all time JFrater?
July 4th, 2009 at 11:42 am
cheese
July 5th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
hamlet isnt by shakesphere it was originally by another writer hamlet just did plays and rarely did them originally
July 16th, 2009 at 4:22 am
I am one of those crazy Twilighters, as well as a Trekker, so these are the ones that tied:
Breaking Dawn and TOS Pocket Novels: Dreams of the Raven
July 17th, 2009 at 3:44 am
I was wondering if anyone has a top ten list for people who don’t have the best vocabulary skills. I’ve always had a problem loving a book simply because i spent most of my time looking up words.
I have to say, I loved reading your list and everyone else’s input. Personally, for myself these books made me laugh, cry, and stay up all night reading…..
1. Lord of the Flies (great example of human nature)
2. It by steven king (scared of clowns ever since)
3. “She’s come undone” (sadness book ever)
4. “The Bell Jar”
5. “1984″ (creepy book gave me chills)
July 20th, 2009 at 2:50 am
Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky. Genius. Should be #1
July 20th, 2009 at 2:52 am
Also, War and Peace should change places with Anna Karenina.
July 25th, 2009 at 9:06 am
I think greatest novel, music, and/ or any art list should be divided into the proper groups that the specific type occupies. Example: Top Ten Early Victorian Novels. To try to make a top 10 greatest novel list is silly, and can never be done efficiently.
July 27th, 2009 at 7:53 am
greetings to you all, pls i want you to i want you to give me more of this books and the best, pls. i need them just be sending i to my email address.i will congratulate you if you do that for me and i promise to join your site as soon as possible. thanks
August 2nd, 2009 at 11:48 am
PLEASE READ THIS
The greatest (and possibly most overlooked) book of the 21st century is HOUSE OF LEAVES by MARK Z. DANIELEWSKI. It is honestly a masterpiece, covering so many genres and topics and is possibly the most original book EVER written pushing the limits of what pen and ink can accomplish.
If you enjoy: Nabokov, Pynchon, Burgess
THIS IS A MUST READ.
August 7th, 2009 at 8:07 am
The Lord of the Rings – The Best Book Ever Written.
August 24th, 2009 at 1:05 am
Most amazing books to ever exist:
The Phantom, Susan Kay (MUST READ, every word is poetry)
Animal Farm, George Orwell (chills)
A time to Kill, John Grisham (amazing)
Brave New World, Aldus Huxley (chills)
1984, George Orwell (chills)
Angela’s Ashes, Frank McCourt (cant decide whether to
laugh or cry)
Wuthering Heights, or Jane Eyre, Bronte sisters (good
classics)
Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood (strange)
Cant remember all the amazing books i;ve read!! i;ll get back to you when i remember
I dont think Madame bovary should be up there, too dull
and i dont think Meddlemarch was the best of George Elliot’s writing, I prefered the Mill on the Floss
love these conversations!
August 26th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
These are some of my best novels, in no particular order. I don’t include educational, philosophical, poetry books etc. Most of them have been mentioned.
Kafka, the metamorphosis, the trial
Hesse, the Steppenwolf
Bukowski, Ham on rye
Borges, ficciones
Lem , Solaris
O’Connor, a good man is hard to find
Faulkner, the bear
London, the call of the wild
Saint-Exupery, le petit Prince
Hemingway, for whom the bell tolls, death in the afternoon, the old man and the sea
Melville, Moby Dick
Heller, catch 22
Marquez, 100 years of solitude
August 30th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
How about “Mahabharata” ?
September 2nd, 2009 at 1:47 pm
It is not fictional..but everyone should read A Long Way Gone..Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah. It is very eye-opening and terribly sad.
September 3rd, 2009 at 12:02 am
These are some of my favorites
Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
All Quiet on the Western Front by Remarque
Huck Finn by Twain
I also like biographies, just read A. Lincoln by White, good read, unbelievable man
September 12th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Whoever wrote this is dead wrong about Huckleberry Finn being for the “younger generation.” It was written for an adult audience, and has had an enormous impact on many great authors that followed. It’s one of the most powerful books I’ve ever read and deserves to be on this list.
I don’t get why Dostoyevski isn’t on here…
Nabokov’s perverted stream of consciousness Lolita is overrated.
Where’s Steinbeck??
September 18th, 2009 at 3:08 am
Titus Groan, Gormenghast, Titus Alone [unfinished series by Mervyn Peake]. I’m only halfway through Gormenghast, but I’ve read Titus Groan several times and Mervyn Peake is hands down my favorite author of all time, and these are my favorite books of all time. Simply divinely perfect books.
October 5th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
I came across this site while doing some research on “great literature”. I am just completing a statistical analysis on 11 different sources that rank or list the top novels and other literature (mostly Top 100 lists, a book on 1001 great books, art books, encyclopedias, etc.), giving a weighting to each source based on how consistent the source is with the overall compilation from all 11 sources. My list now includes 215 top novels and 35 top entries for other literary forms (plays, short stories and ancient works).
My Top 20 list of Novels from this analysis is as follows:
1. Cervantes, Miguel de Don Quixote
2. Melville, Herman Moby Dick
3. Flaubert, Gustave Madame Bovary
4. Bronte, Emily Wuthering Heights
5. Tolstoy, Leo War and Peace
6. Austen, Jane Pride and Prejudice
7. Thackeray, William M. Vanity Fair
8. Dostoevski, Fyodor Crime and Punishment
9. Fitzgerald, F. Scott Great Gatsby (The)
10. James, Henry Portrait of a Lady (The)
11. Twain, Mark Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
12. Dostoevski, Fyodor Brothers Karamazov (The)
13. Bronte, Charlotte Jane Eyre
14. Hawthorne, Nathaniel Scarlet Letter (The)
15. Tolstoy, Leo Anna Karenina
16. Fielding, Henry Tom Jones
17. Mann, Thomas Magic Mountain (The)
18. Swift, Jonathan Gulliver’s Travels
19. Turgenev, Ivan Fathers and Sons
20. Hardy, Thomas Tess of the D’Ubervilles
Ranking of other items on the original author’s top 10 list are as follows:
24. George Elliot – Middlemarch
27. Marcel Proust – In Search of lost Time
72. Vladimir Nabokov – Lolita
In terms of plays, the following tied for first place (only seven of the 11 sources ranked or listed plays):
Shakespeare – Hamlet
Ibsen – A Doll’s House
Goethe – Faust
For short stories (the same seven sources and even fewer recommendations), the main choice was Edgar Allan Poe’s Selected Tales. Five of the seven sources mentioned this author; only one source mentioned Chekhov’s short stories. However six of them listed one of his plays (The Cherry Orchard) and four of them listed three of his other plays.
For ancient times, Homer’s Odyssey and Homer’s Iliad took first and second place, respectively.
Hope this information is helpful for those interested in reading classic works of literature.
October 5th, 2009 at 5:58 pm
@aman (7):
Yes, the Bible absolutely is fictional. Have you seen the documentary ‘Religulous’ ?? You should, it asks some interesting questions. There will not be peace until the abolition of Religion. We as a people will never believe the same thing unitedly, so let’s forget “beliefs” and concentrate on what we know is true.
October 6th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
an adequate list, however I would have included the following:
Crime and Punishment
Les Misérables
Moby-Dick
The Count of Monte Cristo
Paradise Lost
Hamlet is a good story, but it’s a play, not a book; Huck Finn is well-written but flawed, particularly toward the end; and In Search of Lost Time is a perfect example of Mark Twain’s famous definition of a classic as something that “everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read.”
October 23rd, 2009 at 5:09 am
I believe that, as vulgar as some of his work is, Chuck Palahniuk’s writing style is unsurpassed.
Its incredibly different and unique in its bitter honesty.
He writes with no boundaries and of the subjects many would cringe away from in an instant.
He can make the most unlikely of things interesting and get you on the edge of your seat.
Some of his books (that I’ve indulged in) are;
Choke
Invisible Monsters
Survivor
Haunted
and I plan on reading them all; I’m amazed with his work.
October 23rd, 2009 at 5:11 am
Oh and another mention;
The Catcher in the Rye
& Stone Angel
& Oedipus the King.
October 31st, 2009 at 2:30 pm
well, why not select books people pretend to have read but are really bored out off their tiny minds about?
November 4th, 2009 at 7:55 pm
Gerry D (315) – Great List. Loved to see Moby Dick so high on the list and both Brothers K. and Crime and Punishment. Why no Dickens? I would add Great Expectations to this list.
November 7th, 2009 at 9:48 am
Nostromo (321) – Thanks for your comments/interest. Yes, Dickens is also on my list. Great Expectations is #23, David Copperfield is #40, Bleak House is #46, Tale of Two Cities is #66, and Hard Times is #133.
After reading the comments above, I decided to buy “The Top Ten” book and analyzed the results. The book is actually much better and more thorough than the title (and the results for the Top 10) would imply.
I have a major quibble with how the author utilizes his data, however. Giving 10 points for #1, 9 points for #2, etc. is a simple technique but doesn’t give fair results. For example, I would rather buy a book where two people recommended it (even if it were their 7th and 8th choices (resulting in only 7 points by the author’s strategy) than one where one person offered it as their first choice (for 10 points). A mention of a specific book should be worth more than one point, i.e., we need a non-zero starting point (“base”). I would use a base of 12 or more, giving, for example, 22 points for #1, 21 points for #2, …, 13 points for #10. In addition, I would have each submitter provide an additional five unranked books, which would be given 10 points each. This would provide a much bigger data sample and a more realistic set of results.
I did use the raw data from the Top Ten book to modify my book list. Having a hobby of making lists makes you realize how “unreliable” top 10 lists are. Every time you add data from a new source, it invariably changes the ranking. In my list (315 above), Don Quixote has been bumped to second place by Madame Bovary. Incidently, using my analysis of the “Top Ten” data, Don Quixote came in 12th place in the book; therefore, wasn’t entirely ignored.
But why does Lolita have so much interest by this group of Top Ten authors? It shows up in several references I have analyzed but the highest previous ranked mark I have seen is a #47. It is a good book for sure, but now comes in at #61 in my list based on 13 references that I have analyzed and ranked. Anyway, just my obsession with lists (and books, of course).
I have also have ranked popular music and classic movies using dozens of sources, but I’m getting a bit carried away here. Have a good day. Enjoy your reading. Good to see books making a comeback.
November 10th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
Um…. Where the hell is “Don Quixote”?
November 10th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
therush (323) – Yes! See Gerry D (315) and Gerry D (322).
November 19th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Since I don’t really like most of those old writers like Shakespeare (no matter how great he is, I find his works boring), The Great Gatsby (seriously, that book makes me want to sleep) and all that, my list is more modern.
Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Bernard Cornwell’s Richard Sharpe series, and the Discworld series. I find The Cat Who… books quite interesting too.
November 20th, 2009 at 7:08 pm
I have to say I was ecstatic when Lolita was included! Shockingly, most people I encounter know very little about it and brush it off as merely an obscene book about pedophilia, when it is clearly so much more.