(In no particular order save the first five. And sorry to leave so many out.)
1. Crime And Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
2. The House Of The Spirits by Isabel Allende
3. The Illywhacker by Peter Carey
4. One Hundred Years In Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
5. The Periodic Table by Primo Levi
6. Inferno by Dante Alighieri
7. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
8. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
9. Early Short Stories by Anton Chekov
10. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
11. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
12. The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
13. Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol
14. Ulysses by James Joyce
15. Selected Short Stories by Franz Kafka
16. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
17. The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
18. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
19. The Selected Poems by Emily Dickinson
20. The Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
21. The Collected Tales and Poems by Edgar Allan Poe
22. The Poetry and Short Stories by Dorothy Parker
23. Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche
24. Shosha by Isaac Bashevis Singer
25. Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
26. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
27. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
28. Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
29. Love In The Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
30. The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass
31. The Sea of Fertility by Yukio Mishima
32. Middlesex by Jeffrey Euginides
33. Faces In The Water by Janet Frame
34. The Book of Imaginary Beings by Jorge Luis Borges
35. The Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino
36. The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann
37. The Odyssey by Homer
38. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
39. Zorba The Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis
40. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
41. Will You Please Be Quiet, Please? by Raymond Carver
42. The Catcher In The Rye by J.D.Salinger
43. The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
44. The Aeneid by Virgil
45. The Stranger by Albert Camus
46. Poesies by Rimbaud
47. The Spleen Of Paris by Charles Baudelaire
48. The Shipping News by Annie Proulx
49. The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho
50. Leaves Of Grass by Walt Whitman
Wow! What a great list. I’ll just respond to a few. Where to start? How about in the middle?
32. Middlesex – This is on my bookshelf waiting to be read. I’ve heard good things though.
37. The Odyssey by Homer- I think that this should definitely be on here, but personally, not my favorite reading ever.
27. Catch 22- It’s been a while since I read this, but I remember really enjoying it.
41. Raymond Carver- Excellent choice. I’ve read a few of his short stories. Have you read “A Small, Good Thing”? It’s one of my favorites.
49. The Alchemist- I’ve been thinking about reading this, but because it’s listed in your top 50, I will make a point of it.
19. I adore the poetry of Emily Dickinson.
Thanks Sharla. So glad you like it. The Odyssey has grown on me over the years. Once you get it, it never leaves you. Carver is excellent. A Small Good Thing from Short Cuts is one of my favs. Thought they did it well in the movie too. Virgin Suicides has had more press due to the movie by Sofia Coppola and was a good read. But Middlesex is what made me sit up and take notice, as far as Eugenides is concerned. It has more body and a wicked sense of humor. And Emily Dickinson, a long time favorite… Happy Reading!
How great to see a list like that in actual B&W, knowing that you put so much time and effort into compiling it. It makes me think I’d like to pile through one myself, or take a stab at (re-)reading yours. You know, between setting aside some minutes a day, and even comunting time for all the books on tape out there — which are especially available for the well know works– I bet that could be done in a definable period of time.
-Absolutely loved Love in the Time of Cholera, and 100 Yrs of Solitude.
-Currently listening to Catch-22 in the car(!)it’s far more amazing on many more levels now than in HS.
-Remember adoring Catcher in the Rye
-Still guilty for not making it through The Shipping News (now want to try again)
-Loved Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du Mal from my singing days – song lyrics, but haven’t heard of The Spleen of Paris!
-Not familiar with a few up there like The Illywacker–curious!
Very impressive!! Great list and even greater achievement to sit down and compile it.
Kristi
Thanks so much Kristi and congratulations for winning the BBC My Story Most Liked category. Wonderful story, well deserved.
Thrilled that we share the same literary loves. The Spleen of Paris is a powerful collection of poems in the form of prose. Very unusual. If you like Baudelaire, you will like this. The Illywhacker was the first Peter Carey book I ever read. He’s a terrific Australian writer. The History of the Kelly Gang (by same author) is also an excellent read. The Shipping News I read in one sitting, thoroughly enjoyed it. The movie however, is another matter.
Great list but you’re missing Hemingway! I’m a huge Hemingway fan–my faves are A Moveable Feast & The Old Man and the Sea.
However, two of my all-time faves are on your list:
Huck Finn: what more can be said about Huckleberry Finn? I never get tired of reading this one–such a classic. I adore Twain’s writing style and wit.
Middlesex: if I had to choose my #1 all-time fave novel, it would be Middlesex. I’ve read it four times. Plus, I often go back and re-read chapters/paragraphs that I love. Eugenides is a genius. This book made me fall in love with writing again–his writing style is like a form of art.
There are a lot of books on your list that I haven’t read so I’ll be sure to add them to my humongous list of ‘Must Read’ books.
Especially:
47. The Spleen Of Paris by Charles Baudelaire
41. Will You Please Be Quiet, Please? by Raymond Carver
23. Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche
Yes, Eugenides is pretty awesome. And who can go past Huck Finn?
The Old Man And The Sea – yes, of course. Will keep that in mind as I shift things around. I left Whitman out as well, which am not happy about – must fix. And Jane Eyre, which is one of my all time favs. So you see, this is a work in progress. Which is why your feedback is greatly valued.
Yes, you must read the Carver – it’s excellent. The Spleen of Paris is out of this world – especially in French. Thus Spoke Zarathustra – not for everyone. Be curious to know what you think. For some strange reason, Nietzsche makes me laugh – profoundly of course.