Top 10 Books of All Time
Published on January 28, 2008 - 241 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.
Related ListsTop 20 Kids Books Your Local School Doesn’t StockTop 10 Most Influential Science Fiction Writers Top 10 Politically Incorrect Kids Books A Message From Jfrater |
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1. Csimmons - 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.
2. purdnasty - 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.
3. anon - January 28th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
the top 10 fictional book of all time?
What about the Bible?
4. Bob - 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.
5. dangorironhide - 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…
6. heavybison - January 28th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Gone with the Wind?
7. aman - January 28th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Great list!
#3 the bible is not fictional!
8. Sneeuwpop - 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.
9. steve - January 28th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
The dream of Eagles series By Jack Whyte is amazing.
10. CARD - January 28th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
What about “One Hundred Years of Solitude” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez?
11. eric - 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…
12. Borg - January 28th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Bob: Just curious, what books would you have included on the list?
13. downhighway61 - 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.
14. Derek99 - 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.
15. Tony - January 28th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
1984, the old man and the sea?
16. Bob Dowling - 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.
17. J - 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.
18. Derek99 - January 28th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Oohhhhh and I forgot; “Lord of the Flies”
19. islanderbst - 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
20. Derek99 - 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!
21. Joss - 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.
22. BEING SARAH - 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?
23. Yogi Barrister - January 28th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Derek99, WATCHMEN or V FOR VENDETTA. Definitely something by Alan Moore. Maybe SANDMAN if that counts.
24. DanOhh - 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.
25. Derek99 - 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.
26. Alextenn - 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.
27. islanderbst - 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?
28. Dan123.g - 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
29. Borg - 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).
30. big_bro_shane - January 28th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Where would (or should)”Catch-22″ fall on such a list as this?
31. Dan - 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.
32. Shadow - 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.
33. Kelsi - 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
34. Copernicus - 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.
35. filipinoknight - January 28th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Where’s LOTR?
36. Adam - 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.
37. arob - 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.
38. jfrater - 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.
39. kiwiboi - 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.
40. Philip - 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.
41. jfrater - 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.
42. petey mcgee - 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.
43. Dana - January 28th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
As “naughty” as Lolita is supposed to be, I found it to be incredibly boring.
44. SocialButterfly - 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.
45. Bigwig Rabbit - 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.
46. kiwiboi - 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!
47. D Holmes - 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).
48. SocialButterfly - January 28th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
I loved the Merchant of Venice!
49. slipstick - 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.”
50. Oscar - 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.
51. jfrater - 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
52. Palo - 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.
53. kiwiboi - 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.
54. Derek99 - 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
55. CARD - 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.
56. jfrater - 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?
57. Schiesl - 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)
58. fava bean - 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.
59. D Holmes - 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.
60. Joni - January 28th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Green eggs and ham!!!
61. jfrater - 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
62. jfrater - January 28th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
joni: hahah - I would agree if I were still 9
63. D Holmes - 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.
64. jfrater - 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!
65. Camille - 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.
66. Ian - 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.
67. Nelia - 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?
68. lola - 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
69. jwbm2525 - 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!
70. chsrocket47 - 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
71. goof_ball - January 28th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
I’ve never read any of these but maybe I should
72. donald_314 - 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.
73. mmhmmm - 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.
74. Csimmons - 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.
75. jocsboss - 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.
76. Mom424 - 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
77. stormy617 - 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!!
78. Einstein217 - 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.
79. Mom424 - 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
80. el duderino - 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.
81. Andrew - 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
82. endomental - January 28th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
Looks like I’ll have to update my reading list.
83. tangman - 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.
84. Marcy - 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…
85. Marcy - January 28th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
*on
86. copperdragon - 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
87. adorabelle - 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.
88. adorabelle - January 28th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
*although i wouldn’t
sorry for the massive comment
89. JwJwBean - 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.
90. ProgRapture - 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.
91. Diogenes - January 28th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
ok, by taking a little more in, I am starting to become interested.
92. Diogenes - January 28th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
love starved Scandinavian coal miners
93. Kevin - 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…
94. lightningclash - 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!
95. WOO!! - 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.
96. Jeremy Foster - 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
97. Ryon - January 28th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
1. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemmingway
2. The Fountainhead by Ann Rand
98. Miss Destiny - 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!
99. Phrygia80 - 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.
100. sue - 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:-)
101. 20Fan20 - 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.
102. JwJwBean - January 28th, 2008 at 11:44 pm
20Fan20: My husband thought Dianetics was hilarious. What did you think of it?
103. jfrater - January 29th, 2008 at 12:22 am
20Fan20: L Ron Hubbard wrote Dianetics. According to Wikipedia:
104. jfrater - January 29th, 2008 at 12:29 am
oh - now I see it was a joke
Forget my last comment!
105. Ozhan - 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
106. jfrater - 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.
107. jrjb - 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.
108. Ryan - 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.
109. Xay90 - 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.
110. Drogo - 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.
111. dangorironhide - 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…
112. Bill Gate’s Penis - January 29th, 2008 at 5:26 am
I cant read! i have no eyes
113. murat kayi - 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)
114. jfrater - 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).
115. Mom424 - 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…
116. bucslim - 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.
117. bucslim - January 29th, 2008 at 7:11 am
And Bill Gate’s Penis, you have one eye!
118. Lewis - 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:D
119. stugy - 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.
120. Susan - 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.
121. Randall - 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.
122. Randall - January 29th, 2008 at 7:37 am
A Confederacy of Dunces is a great book, I agree.
123. bucslim - 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.
124. bucslim - January 29th, 2008 at 7:57 am
Sorry for the grammar, I was asleep in that class.
125. dangorironhide - 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’.
126. Randall - 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.
127. Randall - 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.
128. bucslim - 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.
129. dangorironhide - 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.
130. Randall - 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.
131. bucslim - January 29th, 2008 at 8:29 am
Randall and I have traded barbs before, but essentially I agree with him here.
132. CD - 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.
133. Randall - 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.
134. Jackie - 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.
135. Randall - January 29th, 2008 at 8:45 am
sorry bucslim… maybe you weren’t addressing me… if so, my mistake… sorry.
136. NoPunyNerd - 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.
137. bucslim - 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.
138. Randall - 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.
139. bucslim - January 29th, 2008 at 9:12 am
Randall - Is it just me or are we having a polite conversation?
140. Randall - 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.
141. Mom424 - January 29th, 2008 at 9:57 am
oscar and jfrater;
I thought I was the only one who watched Red Dwarf…
142. romerozombie - 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*
143. chershey - January 29th, 2008 at 10:28 am
Art of War?
144. Kelsi - 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
145. Randall - January 29th, 2008 at 10:45 am
Mom:
I LOVE Red Dwarf! You’re not alone!
146. Jackie - 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.
147. Nelia - 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.
148. MiSaNtHrOpE - 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.
149. Dave - 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.
150. kiwiboi - 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” ??
151. Mom424 - 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)
152. bucslim - 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.
153. kiwiboi - January 29th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Mom424 - good for you. Dontcha hate intellectual snobbery ??!!
154. Randall - January 29th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
bucslim/Mom:
I think Mom might have meant *me*…. I insulted everyone, not bucslim.
155. 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?
156. kiwiboi - January 29th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
bucslim - maybe you guys oughta get a room…
157. jfrater - January 29th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
kiwiboi: haha
158. bucslim - January 29th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
I will, just as soon as I’m done with your Mom.
159. kiwiboi - January 29th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Huh ? You mean you’ve finished with yours already ??
160. bucslim - January 29th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
She’s ok, but not as good as your sister.
161. kiwiboi - January 29th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
Maybe…but at least your dad says you’re still as tight as a little pink drum
162. bucslim - January 29th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
He said that after he was done with you.
163. Randall - January 29th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
amateurs.
164. Randall - January 29th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
see now, “tight as a little pink drum” is funny.
165. kiwiboi - 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
166. bucslim - January 29th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
No, the last time I got a piece of ass was with your sister.
167. stormy617 - January 30th, 2008 at 1:20 am
Wowwwww!!! Look at all the *intellect* flying around here now!!! LMAO
168. jfrater - January 30th, 2008 at 1:23 am
This is hilarious.
169. dangorironhide - January 30th, 2008 at 1:27 am
This kind of intelligent discussion is what makes going on the internet so fun
170. Drogo - 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)
171. stormy617 - 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.
172. kiwiboi - 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
173. fishing4monkeys - January 30th, 2008 at 1:55 am
hahahaa thanks for the laugh! Yet another reason to love listverse
174. Mom424 - 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..
175. bucslim - 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.
176. Mystern - 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?
177. R Brown - 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.
178. loseitbonkers - 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
179. jfrater - 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.
180. murat kayi - 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..
181. Mom424 - 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…
182. Randall - 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 i