100 Best Books of All Time: The World Library List (100 books)

100 Best Books of All Time: The World Library List

Per http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_100_... .

List of 100 best books of all time, as voted on by 100 writers in 54 different countries. List reflects works from multiple countries, cultures and time periods. Compiled in 2002 by Norwegian Book Clubs.

NOTE: This is a pre-established list. PLEASE DO NOT ADD ANY BOOKS TO THE LIST.

all votes add books to this list

1	Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 4.23 of 5 stars 4.23 avg rating — 973,876 ratings score: 12,744, and 130 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
2	1984 by George Orwell 4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 avg rating — 915,940 ratings score: 10,981, and 113 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
3	Hamlet by William Shakespeare 3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 avg rating — 276,445 ratings score: 7,987, and 83 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
4	Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky 4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 avg rating — 192,735 ratings score: 6,865, and 72 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
5	One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez 3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 325,095 ratings score: 6,814, and 72 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
6	The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain 3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 avg rating — 702,396 ratings score: 6,784, and 72 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
7	Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë 3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 avg rating — 431,232 ratings score: 6,770, and 71 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
8	The Odyssey by Homer 3.64 of 5 stars 3.64 avg rating — 451,553 ratings score: 6,282, and 66 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
9	Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy 3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 avg rating — 184,239 ratings score: 6,200, and 65 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
10	Great Expectations by Charles Dickens 3.67 of 5 stars 3.67 avg rating — 228,810 ratings score: 5,030, and 54 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
11	Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov 3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 avg rating — 285,497 ratings score: 4,982, and 54 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
12	The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway 3.58 of 5 stars 3.58 avg rating — 226,360 ratings score: 4,795, and 52 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
13	The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky 4.26 of 5 stars 4.26 avg rating — 78,696 ratings score: 4,571, and 50 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14	The Stranger by Albert Camus 3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 avg rating — 193,894 ratings score: 4,453, and 49 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
15	King Lear by William Shakespeare 3.87 of 5 stars 3.87 avg rating — 82,654 ratings score: 4,283, and 47 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
16	Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra 3.79 of 5 stars 3.79 avg rating — 65,365 ratings score: 4,136, and 45 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
17	The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen 4.27 of 5 stars 4.27 avg rating — 50,932 ratings score: 4,024, and 46 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
18	Oedipus Rex by Sophocles 3.62 of 5 stars 3.62 avg rating — 61,246 ratings score: 3,838, and 41 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
19	The Iliad by Homer 3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 avg rating — 126,654 ratings score: 3,782, and 42 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
20	The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer 3.45 of 5 stars 3.45 avg rating — 82,042 ratings score: 3,476, and 38 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
21	Moby-Dick by Herman Melville 3.36 of 5 stars 3.36 avg rating — 258,302 ratings score: 3,437, and 39 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
22	The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri 4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 avg rating — 41,482 ratings score: 3,407, and 38 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
23	Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert 3.59 of 5 stars 3.59 avg rating — 79,760 ratings score: 3,385, and 38 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
24	War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy 4.05 of 5 stars 4.05 avg rating — 79,123 ratings score: 3,363, and 36 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
25	Othello by William Shakespeare 3.86 of 5 stars 3.86 avg rating — 136,647 ratings score: 3,304, and 37 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
26	Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf 3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 avg rating — 74,460 ratings score: 3,071, and 35 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
27	The Trial by Franz Kafka 3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 avg rating — 65,195 ratings score: 3,037, and 34 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
28	Ulysses by James Joyce 3.72 of 5 stars 3.72 avg rating — 44,237 ratings score: 2,964, and 34 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
29	Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren 4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 61,732 ratings score: 2,815, and 32 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
30	Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift 3.49 of 5 stars 3.49 avg rating — 82,224 ratings score: 2,781, and 32 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
31	The Collected Tales by Edgar Allan Poe 4.36 of 5 stars 4.36 avg rating — 103,432 ratings score: 2,556, and 30 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
32	The Arabian Nights: Tales from a Thousand and One Nights by Anonymous 4.02 of 5 stars 4.02 avg rating — 27,387 ratings score: 2,543, and 29 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
33	Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez 3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 avg rating — 180,989 ratings score: 2,398, and 28 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
34	Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe 3.52 of 5 stars 3.52 avg rating — 106,595 ratings score: 2,305, and 27 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
35	Blindness (Blindness, #1) by José Saramago 3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 avg rating — 62,054 ratings score: 2,304, and 27 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
36	The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner 3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 avg rating — 75,923 ratings score: 2,119, and 26 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
37	Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison 3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 avg rating — 62,522 ratings score: 2,040, and 24 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
38	Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie 4.02 of 5 stars 4.02 avg rating — 44,018 ratings score: 1,980, and 23 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
39	The Epic of Gilgamesh by Anonymous 3.56 of 5 stars 3.56 avg rating — 29,838 ratings score: 1,961, and 23 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
40	Beloved by Toni Morrison 3.69 of 5 stars 3.69 avg rating — 136,018 ratings score: 1,957, and 24 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
41	The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy 3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 21,528 ratings score: 1,895, and 22 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
42	The Complete Stories by Franz Kafka 4.34 of 5 stars 4.34 avg rating — 11,688 ratings score: 1,859, and 22 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
43	Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life by George Eliot 3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 avg rating — 47,279 ratings score: 1,855, and 22 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
44	A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen 3.58 of 5 stars 3.58 avg rating — 32,306 ratings score: 1,849, and 23 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
45	Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis 4.07 of 5 stars 4.07 avg rating — 8,082 ratings score: 1,664, and 20 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
46	The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky 4.13 of 5 stars 4.13 avg rating — 38,226 ratings score: 1,661, and 20 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
47	Père Goriot by Honoré de Balzac 3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 avg rating — 13,977 ratings score: 1,645, and 20 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
48	To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf 3.73 of 5 stars 3.73 avg rating — 44,121 ratings score: 1,625, and 20 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
49	Medea by Euripides 3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 avg rating — 21,178 ratings score: 1,552, and 18 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
50	Selected Stories by Anton Chekhov 4.33 of 5 stars 4.33 avg rating — 11,008 ratings score: 1,490, and 18 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
51	Hunger by Knut Hamsun 4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 avg rating — 10,513 ratings score: 1,474, and 18 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
52	The Aeneid by Virgil 3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 avg rating — 40,875 ratings score: 1,451, and 18 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
53	Faust: First Part by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 avg rating — 30,632 ratings score: 1,444, and 17 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
54	Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman 4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 avg rating — 37,607 ratings score: 1,438, and 18 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
55	The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio 3.82 of 5 stars 3.82 avg rating — 11,571 ratings score: 1,401, and 17 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
56	Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol 3.96 of 5 stars 3.96 avg rating — 19,840 ratings score: 1,386, and 18 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
57	Swann's Way (In Search of Lost Time, #1) by Marcel Proust 4.13 of 5 stars 4.13 avg rating — 13,128 ratings score: 1,325, and 17 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
58	The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann 4.1 of 5 stars 4.10 avg rating — 11,465 ratings score: 1,307, and 16 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
59	Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges 4.49 of 5 stars 4.49 avg rating — 14,507 ratings score: 1,206, and 16 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
60	The Red and the Black by Stendhal 3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 avg rating — 16,494 ratings score: 1,197, and 16 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
61	Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family by Thomas Mann 4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 avg rating — 5,749 ratings score: 1,131, and 15 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
62	Metamorphoses by Ovid 3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 avg rating — 21,498 ratings score: 1,097, and 13 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
63	Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar 4.21 of 5 stars 4.21 avg rating — 4,107 ratings score: 1,043, and 14 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
64	The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne 3.8 of 5 stars 3.80 avg rating — 7,171 ratings score: 1,039, and 14 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
65	Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence 3.54 of 5 stars 3.54 avg rating — 18,953 ratings score: 1,025, and 15 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
66	Mahabharata by Anonymous 4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 avg rating — 666 ratings score: 979, and 12 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
67	The Complete Essays by Michel de Montaigne 4.24 of 5 stars 4.24 avg rating — 4,363 ratings score: 966, and 12 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
68	Ramayana by William Buck 4.09 of 5 stars 4.09 avg rating — 874 ratings score: 954, and 11 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
69	The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing 3.72 of 5 stars 3.72 avg rating — 6,946 ratings score: 947, and 15 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
70	Demons by Fyodor Dostoyevsky 4.22 of 5 stars 4.22 avg rating — 11,021 ratings score: 911, and 13 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
71	The Tin Drum by Günter Grass 3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 15,194 ratings score: 815, and 11 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
72	Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih 3.82 of 5 stars 3.82 avg rating — 4,744 ratings score: 807, and 10 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
73	Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner 3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 17,395 ratings score: 744, and 10 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
74	Njal's Saga by Anonymous 4.02 of 5 stars 4.02 avg rating — 1,409 ratings score: 693, and 9 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
75	Sentimental Education by Gustave Flaubert 3.86 of 5 stars 3.86 avg rating — 6,098 ratings score: 675, and 10 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
76	Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable: A Trilogy by Samuel Beckett 4.29 of 5 stars 4.29 avg rating — 3,728 ratings score: 648, and 9 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
77	The Castle by Franz Kafka 4.01 of 5 stars 4.01 avg rating — 10,658 ratings score: 642, and 11 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
78	مثنوی معنوی by Rumi 4.37 of 5 stars 4.37 avg rating — 1,820 ratings score: 591, and 7 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
79	Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais 3.7 of 5 stars 3.70 avg rating — 4,813 ratings score: 589, and 9 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
80	Independent People by Halldór Laxness 4.18 of 5 stars 4.18 avg rating — 2,444 ratings score: 556, and 8 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
81	Journey to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Céline 4.27 of 5 stars 4.27 avg rating — 8,974 ratings score: 535, and 7 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
82	The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu 3.66 of 5 stars 3.66 avg rating — 4,197 ratings score: 533, and 8 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
83	أولاد حارتنا by نجيب محفوظ 4.03 of 5 stars 4.03 avg rating — 5,917 ratings score: 510, and 8 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
84	The Man Without Qualities by Robert Musil 4.26 of 5 stars 4.26 avg rating — 1,532 ratings score: 505, and 7 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
85	Jacques the Fatalist by Denis Diderot 3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 avg rating — 1,875 ratings score: 486, and 7 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
86	Nostromo by Joseph Conrad 3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 avg rating — 5,216 ratings score: 469, and 7 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
87	Romancero Gitano by Federico García Lorca 4.23 of 5 stars 4.23 avg rating — 1,169 ratings score: 392, and 6 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
88	The Book of Job by Anonymous 3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 114 ratings score: 391, and 7 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
89	The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa 4.55 of 5 stars 4.55 avg rating — 4,809 ratings score: 313, and 5 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
90	Diary of a Madman and Other Stories by Lu Xun 4.01 of 5 stars 4.01 avg rating — 425 ratings score: 282, and 4 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
90	Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo 4.03 of 5 stars 4.03 avg rating — 9,212 ratings score: 282, and 5 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
92	Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Döblin 3.79 of 5 stars 3.79 avg rating — 1,536 ratings score: 253, and 5 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
93	Poems of Paul Celan by Paul Celan 4.49 of 5 stars 4.49 avg rating — 987 ratings score: 251, and 5 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
94	The Sound of the Mountain by Yasunari Kawabata 3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 avg rating — 1,260 ratings score: 229, and 4 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
95	History by Elsa Morante 4.21 of 5 stars 4.21 avg rating — 734 ratings score: 208, and 4 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
96	Zeno's Conscience by Italo Svevo 3.86 of 5 stars 3.86 avg rating — 3,490 ratings score: 188, and 3 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
97	The Recognition of 'Sakuntala: A Play in Seven Acts by Kālidāsa 3.69 of 5 stars 3.69 avg rating — 232 ratings score: 148, and 3 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
98	Grande Sertão: Veredas by João Guimarães Rosa 4.49 of 5 stars 4.49 avg rating — 746 ratings score: 141, and 3 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
99	The Poems Of Leopardi by Giacomo Leopardi 4.2 of 5 stars 4.20 avg rating — 30 ratings score: 100, and 2 people voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
100	The Orchard: The Bostan Of Saadi Of Shiraz by Saadi 4.2 of 5 stars 4.20 avg rating — 541 ratings score: 4, and 1 person voted	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

100 books · 379 voters · list created March 18th, 2011 by Ben (votes) .

Tags: 100-best, africa, algeria, all-time, arab, argentina, asia, austria, best, brazil, china, classics, colombia, czech-republic, denmark, drama, egypt, england, ethnic, europe, fiction, france, germany, global, greece, greek-tragedy, iceland, india, international, iran, iraq, ireland, israel, italy, japan, literary-fiction, mesopotamia, mexico, middle-east, nigeria, north-america, norway, norwegian-book-clubs, persia, plays, poetry, portugal, romania, russia, south-america, spain, sudan, sweden, top-100, turkey, united-kingdom, united-states, western-canon, world, world-library, world-literature

118 likes · like

Lists are re-scored approximately every 500 seconds.

People Who Voted On This List (379)

Ben
851 books
40 friends

Ellie
11413 books
342 friends

Themis-Athena
3162 books
221 friends

Susanna
2119 books
376 friends

Claudia
376 books
164 friends

Jessica
1807 books
91 friends

Judy
875 books
8 friends

Daniele
228 books
17 friends

More voters…

Post a comment »
Comments (showing 1-25 of 25) (25 new)

date

newest »

message 1: by Ben (last edited Mar 21, 2011 06:56am) (new)

Mar 18, 2011 07:34pm

Something a little different. By surveying writers around the world, this list is not as biased toward Western, 20th century lit as many other lists (including the list of books I have read!)

reply | flag *

message 2: by Maxine (new)

Apr 26, 2011 01:00am

Ah, a real Best Ever list. I was surprised to see how few I have read. Perhaps it's time to remedy that.

reply | flag *

message 3: by Linda (new)

Jul 05, 2011 01:11pm

Interesting variety - includes plays, poetry, etc. I like, I like...

reply | flag *

message 4: by Ben (last edited Mar 04, 2013 08:28am) (new)

Jul 09, 2011 11:18am

Some of the books listed are not the English editions. Translations of each of these below.

مثنوی معنوی = Masnavi by Rumi
أولاد حارتنا= Children of the Alley by Naguib Mahfouz
Romancero Gitano = Gypsy Ballads by Federico García Lorca
Grande Sertão: Veredas = The Devil to Pay in the Backlands by João Guimarães Rosa

reply | flag *

message 5: by Linda (new)

Sep 29, 2011 12:55pm

I've read 25 of these, exactly one-fourth, and a few are queued up on my TBR list. I'm pretty satisfied with that!

reply | flag *

message 6: by David (last edited Oct 08, 2011 08:00am) (new)

Oct 08, 2011 07:59am

Superb list of immortal works.

reply | flag *

message 7: by Dr. Zyllihapping (new)

Oct 15, 2011 05:03am

Dr. Zyllihapping I-Don't-Have-A-Last-Name

David wrote: "Superb list of immortal works."

Agreed, it's a great list! Especially because it has "Pippi Longstocking"..........now that book should be on more "best books" lists like this one!

reply | flag *

message 8: by Kate (new)

Jun 11, 2012 07:07pm

I would agree that Pippi Longstocking should be on more lists. It was the book that made me feel like having an adventure was a good thing.

reply | flag *

message 9: by Ben (last edited Jun 24, 2012 07:34am) (new)

Jun 24, 2012 07:03am

There are a couple of errors on this list that can't be deleted without also deleting everyone who voted for them. So I will clarify here:

Swann's Way by Marcel Proust should be In Search of Lost Time by the same author.

Franz Kafka's The Castle by David Fishelson should be The Castle by Franz Kafka.

Sorry for the confusion!

reply | flag *

message 10: by Jain (new)

Aug 08, 2012 06:36pm

The Swann's Way/In Search of Lost Time error doesn't seem at all problematic to me; many Listopia lists follow the convention of the first book in a series standing for the series as a whole.

The Franz Kafka's The Castle mistake seems much worse, though: a different author's adaptation of a work is very different from the work itself. There are only three voters (besides you) who've voted for The Castle so far. I'd argue that correcting that mistake--and perhaps sending the other three voters a private message letting them know of the correction and inviting them to revote on this list?--might even make the final order of the list more accurate in the end, since who knows how many voters aren't reading your clarifying comment and, in their confusion, are choosing to not vote for the work when they might if it were listed correctly.

reply | flag *

message 11: by Ben (new)

Aug 11, 2012 10:12am

Jain wrote: "The Swann's Way/In Search of Lost Time error doesn't seem at all problematic to me; many Listopia lists follow the convention of the first book in a series standing for the series as a whole.

The ..."

Jain wrote: "The Swann's Way/In Search of Lost Time error doesn't seem at all problematic to me; many Listopia lists follow the convention of the first book in a series standing for the series as a whole.

The ..."

Good idea! That's what I'm going to do. Thanks for the suggestion!

reply | flag *

message 12: by Themis-Athena (new)

Nov 20, 2012 01:47pm

Removed A Storm of Swords for not being on the original list.

reply | flag *

message 13: by Jain (new)

Nov 30, 2012 08:23pm

Removed the following books for not being on the original list: For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Fall, The Glass Menagerie, White Fang, Sophie's World, Animal Farm, Les Miserables, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Catcher in the Rye, The Little Prince, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Brave New World, A Farewell to Arms, Antigone

reply | flag *

message 14: by Jain (new)

Nov 30, 2012 08:29pm

Removed In Search of Lost Time per the list creator's instruction to not add books to the list. That particular series is already represented on the list by the first volume, Swann's Way.

reply | flag *

message 15: by Ben (new)

Dec 01, 2012 10:30am

Thank you Jain and TA for helping to keep this list clean!

reply | flag *

message 16: by Ben (new)

Dec 01, 2012 10:32am

Re: In Search of Lost Time, I had originally added it to the list but at some point, it was auto-changed to Swann's Way. I don't think there's a way to change it back, so now Swann's Way represents the entire 7-volume work.

reply | flag *

message 17: by Jain (new)

Dec 01, 2012 01:07pm

Ben wrote: "I had originally added it to the list but at some point, it was auto-changed to Swann's Way."

I can't be certain, but I'd guess that the auto-change occurred as a multi-step process: 1) a voter added Swann's Way to the list; 2) a librarian did an automated search for duplicate volumes on the list to clean it up; 3) the Goodreads database happened to interpret In Search of Lost Time and Swann's Way as different editions of the same volume and combined them into the most popular (most frequently rated) of the two, i.e. Swann's Way.

And, yeah, unfortunately there's no way to switch the work represented on this list back to In Search of Lost Time without losing the votes currently attached to Swann's Way.

reply | flag *

message 18: by Themis-Athena (new)

Dec 01, 2012 01:36pm

For the omnibus edition of In Search of Lost Time to have been replaced by Swanns Way, the two books would have had to be actually combined PRIOR to whatever merge happened during a potential clean-up for duplicates ... The system only recognizes duplicate editions that are combined with each other.

reply | flag *

message 19: by Ben (last edited Dec 01, 2012 01:40pm) (new)

Dec 01, 2012 01:40pm

Themis-Athena wrote: "For the omnibus edition of In Search of Lost Time to have been replaced by Swanns Way, the two books would have had to be actually combined PRIOR to whatever merge happened during a potential clean..."

I don't know what happened... just one day I came to this list, and there was Swann's Way instead of In Search of Lost Time.

reply | flag *

message 20: by Themis-Athena (new)

Dec 01, 2012 03:05pm

I checked -- somebody actually DID combine the omnibus volume editions with the editions of Swann's Way. (Sigh.) I disentangled them again.

reply | flag *

message 21: by Kat (new)

Jan 22, 2013 10:29am

FINALLY! A list that covers the best novels from corners all over earth. Just what I have been looking for.

reply | flag *

message 22: by Ramesh (new)

Mar 10, 2013 06:53am

Thank you for compiling a Best Books list that isn't all English and American. On the other hand, are there books from Africa, Asia and South America the moderators would recommend?

reply | flag *

message 23: by Ben (last edited Mar 11, 2013 10:09am) (new)

Mar 11, 2013 10:07am

Ramesh wrote: "Thank you for compiling a Best Books list that isn't all English and American. On the other hand, are there books from Africa, Asia and South America the moderators would recommend?"

There are books from each of these continents on the list. I've listed what I think are all of them below, as well as the country of origin for each.

Things Fall Apart, Nigeria
One Thousand and One Nights, India/Iran/Iraq/Egypt
Ficciones, Argentina
The Stranger, Algeria
One Hundred Years of Solitude, Colombia
Love in the Time of Cholera, Colombia
Shakuntala, India
A Madman's Diary, China
Children of the Alley, Egypt
The Tale of Genji, Japan
Masnavi, Persia/Iran
Midnight's Children, India
Bostan of Saadi, Persia/Iran
Season of Migration to the North, Sudan
Mahabharata, India
The Devil to Pay in the Backlands, Brazil
Epic of Gilgamesh, Sumer and Akkadian Empire/Modern-day Iraq
Book of Job, Achaemenid Empire/Modern-day Israel
The Sound of the Mountain, Japan
Ramayana, India

reply | flag *

message 24: by Booklovinglady (new)

Apr 24, 2013 01:36am

Maxine wrote: "Ah, a real Best Ever list. I was surprised to see how few I have read. Perhaps it's time to remedy that."

With me it was the opposite. I was surprised to see how many I'd read :-)

reply | flag *

message 25: by David (new)

May 02, 2013 01:20pm