Discover new books on Goodreads
Meet your next favorite book
Sign in with Facebook
Penguin Essentials Collection
This collection includes the titles of the 20th century considered the most vital to a personal library, all in a beautiful, compact format.
Score
A book’s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book.
| 1 |
|
The Great Gatsby
by
3.93 avg rating — 5,778,514 ratings
score: 551,
and
6 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 2 |
|
A Clockwork Orange
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 757,748 ratings
score: 485,
and
5 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 3 |
|
Invisible Man
by
3.92 avg rating — 199,626 ratings
score: 483,
and
5 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 4 |
|
Tender Is The Night
by
3.77 avg rating — 147,602 ratings
score: 440,
and
5 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 5 |
|
Dubliners
by
3.84 avg rating — 171,619 ratings
score: 418,
and
5 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 6 |
|
The Man in the High Castle
by
3.59 avg rating — 230,991 ratings
score: 406,
and
5 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 7 |
|
Lolita
by
3.87 avg rating — 926,182 ratings
score: 392,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 8 |
|
A Room with a View
by
3.89 avg rating — 198,851 ratings
score: 379,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 9 |
|
The Day of the Triffids
by
4.01 avg rating — 115,798 ratings
score: 376,
and
5 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 10 |
|
Breakfast at Tiffany's
by
3.83 avg rating — 288,263 ratings
score: 370,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 10 |
|
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
by
4.04 avg rating — 536,282 ratings
score: 370,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 12 |
|
The Thin Man
by
3.90 avg rating — 37,641 ratings
score: 368,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 13 |
|
On the Road
by
3.61 avg rating — 441,475 ratings
score: 349,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 14 |
|
Cold Comfort Farm
by
3.88 avg rating — 54,151 ratings
score: 346,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 15 |
|
Hideous Kinky
by
3.52 avg rating — 4,066 ratings
score: 345,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 16 |
|
The Diary of a Nobody
by
3.69 avg rating — 17,802 ratings
score: 344,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 17 |
|
The Big Sleep (Philip Marlowe, #1)
by
3.94 avg rating — 166,274 ratings
score: 341,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 18 |
|
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
by
3.70 avg rating — 59,787 ratings
score: 334,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 19 |
|
Wide Sargasso Sea
by
3.59 avg rating — 104,338 ratings
score: 323,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 20 |
|
Steppenwolf
by
4.13 avg rating — 209,123 ratings
score: 319,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 21 |
|
Brideshead Revisited
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 124,555 ratings
score: 318,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 22 |
|
Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog
by
3.83 avg rating — 78,842 ratings
score: 308,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 23 |
|
Lucky Jim
by
3.75 avg rating — 31,647 ratings
score: 303,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 24 |
|
Love in the Time of Cholera
by
3.94 avg rating — 539,027 ratings
score: 302,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 25 |
|
A Passage to India
by
3.68 avg rating — 84,780 ratings
score: 277,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 26 |
|
Mrs. Dalloway
by
3.78 avg rating — 346,375 ratings
score: 264,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 27 |
|
My Family and Other Animals (Corfu Trilogy, #1)
by
4.17 avg rating — 62,291 ratings
score: 258,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 28 |
|
In the Country of Men
by
3.75 avg rating — 7,427 ratings
score: 245,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 29 |
|
Cat's Cradle
by
4.15 avg rating — 430,801 ratings
score: 240,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 30 |
|
I'm the King of the Castle
by
3.49 avg rating — 3,685 ratings
score: 238,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 31 |
|
A Handful of Dust
by
3.89 avg rating — 28,459 ratings
score: 236,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 32 |
|
A Kestrel for a Knave
by
4.07 avg rating — 7,817 ratings
score: 230,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 33 |
|
Regeneration
by
4.02 avg rating — 33,208 ratings
score: 225,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 34 |
|
Out of Africa
by
Isak Dinesen (Pseudonym)
3.91 avg rating — 47,306 ratings
score: 223,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 35 |
|
Heart of Darkness
by
3.43 avg rating — 549,118 ratings
score: 221,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 36 |
|
In Cold Blood
by
4.09 avg rating — 715,249 ratings
score: 218,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 37 |
|
Everything is Illuminated
by
Jonathan Safran Foer (Goodreads Author)
3.89 avg rating — 183,136 ratings
score: 214,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 38 |
|
Moon Tiger
by
3.91 avg rating — 18,632 ratings
score: 184,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 39 |
|
A Month in the Country
by
4.09 avg rating — 24,811 ratings
score: 176,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 40 |
|
Bonjour Tristesse
by
3.74 avg rating — 69,039 ratings
score: 166,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 40 |
|
Billy Liar
by
3.72 avg rating — 2,259 ratings
score: 166,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 42 |
|
A Confederacy of Dunces
by
3.89 avg rating — 293,489 ratings
score: 162,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 43 |
|
The History of Love
by
3.92 avg rating — 139,718 ratings
score: 161,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 44 |
|
Eva Luna
by
Isabel Allende (Goodreads Author)
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 58,118 ratings
score: 157,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 45 |
|
Goodbye to All That
by
3.93 avg rating — 15,380 ratings
score: 152,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 46 |
|
Lady Chatterley's Lover
by
3.50 avg rating — 135,631 ratings
score: 149,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 47 |
|
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
by
4.09 avg rating — 123,355 ratings
score: 144,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 48 |
|
The Millstone
by
3.90 avg rating — 3,886 ratings
score: 129,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 49 |
|
Foe
by
3.42 avg rating — 12,298 ratings
score: 128,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 50 |
|
Junky
by
3.85 avg rating — 70,339 ratings
score: 123,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 51 |
|
Embers
by
3.99 avg rating — 42,015 ratings
score: 113,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 52 |
|
The Help
by
Kathryn Stockett (Goodreads Author)
4.47 avg rating — 2,977,216 ratings
score: 108,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 53 |
|
Asylum
by
3.97 avg rating — 39,609 ratings
score: 91,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 54 |
|
Hell's Angels
by
3.98 avg rating — 53,961 ratings
score: 82,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 55 |
|
The Mosquito Coast
by
3.81 avg rating — 13,720 ratings
score: 76,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 56 |
|
An Ice-cream War
by
3.92 avg rating — 4,419 ratings
score: 69,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 57 |
|
What a Carve Up!
by
Jonathan Coe (Goodreads Author)
4.11 avg rating — 12,869 ratings
score: 55,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 58 |
|
The Periodic Table
by
4.14 avg rating — 18,953 ratings
score: 48,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 59 |
|
How Many Miles to Babylon?
by
3.63 avg rating — 2,091 ratings
score: 45,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
59 books ·
10 voters ·
list created May 25th, 2016
by Not Well Read (votes) .
Not Well Read
3537 books
98 friends
98 friends
Sue
10657 books
82 friends
82 friends
Phillip
5728 books
139 friends
139 friends
Maria
5495 books
404 friends
404 friends
BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...)
5441 books
64 friends
64 friends
Saturday's
2227 books
67 friends
67 friends
Edmund
2148 books
6 friends
6 friends
Catherine
1185 books
5 friends
5 friends
More voters…
Comments Showing 1-3 of 3 (3 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...)
(new)
Apr 01, 2019 11:13AM
Is this the same as (the later) Penguin Essentials?
reply
|
flag
Booklovinglady wrote: "Is this the same as (the later) Penguin Essentials?"It looks like they're the same to me, but the other one has some newer additions.
Erica wrote: "It looks like they're the same to me, but the other one has some newer additions."Thanks! I noticed it had more books on it than this one but I wasn't sure it was the same.
Anyone can add books to this list.
How to Vote
To vote on existing books from the list, beside each book there is a link vote for this book clicking it will add that book to your votes.
To vote on books not in the list or books you couldn't find in the list, you can click on the tab add books to this list and then choose from your books, or simply search.
