Best Lesser-Known Books

A list of books that deserve more popularity and credit than they have.
1497

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4.02 avg rating — 2,591 ratings
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1497

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3.81 avg rating — 55,661 ratings
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1497

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4.50 avg rating — 10 ratings
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1497

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3.96 avg rating — 4,391 ratings
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1505

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3.66 avg rating — 250 ratings
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1505

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4.44 avg rating — 245 ratings
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1505

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3.99 avg rating — 3,540 ratings
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1505

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4.29 avg rating — 209 ratings
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1505

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4.03 avg rating — 799 ratings
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1505

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3.67 avg rating — 7,961 ratings
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1505

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3.76 avg rating — 48,698 ratings
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1505

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4.94 avg rating — 18 ratings
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1505

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3.79 avg rating — 3,773 ratings
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1514

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3.87 avg rating — 378 ratings
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1514

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3.94 avg rating — 3,217 ratings
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1514

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3.19 avg rating — 110 ratings
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1514

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3.83 avg rating — 172 ratings
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1514

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3.96 avg rating — 7,498 ratings
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1514

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4.62 avg rating — 13 ratings
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1514

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4.14 avg rating — 6,920 ratings
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1521

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3.96 avg rating — 543 ratings
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1521

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3.76 avg rating — 4,090 ratings
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1521

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3.92 avg rating — 4,293 ratings
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1521

by
3.73 avg rating — 49 ratings
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1521

by
3.44 avg rating — 39 ratings
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1521

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3.84 avg rating — 7,598 ratings
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1521

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4.08 avg rating — 75 ratings
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1521

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4.35 avg rating — 6,746 ratings
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1529

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3.68 avg rating — 88 ratings
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1529

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4.13 avg rating — 7,736 ratings
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1529

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3.91 avg rating — 5,272 ratings
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1529

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3.81 avg rating — 54 ratings
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1529

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4.23 avg rating — 320 ratings
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1529

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4.32 avg rating — 8,478 ratings
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1529

by
4.10 avg rating — 266 ratings
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1529

by
3.68 avg rating — 5,762 ratings
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1537

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 2,730 ratings
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1537

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3.91 avg rating — 9,585 ratings
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1537

by
3.87 avg rating — 23 ratings
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1537

by
4.26 avg rating — 19 ratings
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1537

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4.24 avg rating — 56,309 ratings
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1537

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4.27 avg rating — 78 ratings
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1537

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3.62 avg rating — 1,726 ratings
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1544

by
3.55 avg rating — 16,437 ratings
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1544

by
3.70 avg rating — 33 ratings
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1544

by
3.83 avg rating — 286 ratings
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1544

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4.28 avg rating — 35,875 ratings
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1544

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4.04 avg rating — 79 ratings
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1544

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3.70 avg rating — 10,308 ratings
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1550

by
4.10 avg rating — 193 ratings
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1550

by
4.51 avg rating — 15,313 ratings
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1550

by
4.27 avg rating — 15 ratings
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1550

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4.27 avg rating — 15 ratings
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1550

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3.71 avg rating — 7,580 ratings
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1550

by
4.64 avg rating — 11 ratings
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1550

by
3.87 avg rating — 5,519 ratings
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1557

by
3.35 avg rating — 255 ratings
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1557

by
3.79 avg rating — 7,853 ratings
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1557

by
3.66 avg rating — 196 ratings
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1557

by
4.50 avg rating — 4 ratings
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1557

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4.16 avg rating — 8,124 ratings
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1557

by
3.78 avg rating — 23 ratings
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1557

by
3.73 avg rating — 4,658 ratings
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1564

by
3.43 avg rating — 556 ratings
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1564

by
3.46 avg rating — 132 ratings
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1564

by
3.59 avg rating — 78 ratings
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1564

by
3.62 avg rating — 24 ratings
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1564

by
4.23 avg rating — 8,166 ratings
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1564

by
4.67 avg rating — 12 ratings
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1564

by
3.71 avg rating — 3,071 ratings
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1571

by
3.71 avg rating — 21 ratings
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1571

by
3.84 avg rating — 1,169,541 ratings
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1571

by
3.97 avg rating — 93 ratings
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1571

by
3.38 avg rating — 50 ratings
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1571

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4.31 avg rating — 52,068 ratings
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1571

by
4.25 avg rating — 4 ratings
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1577

by
3.71 avg rating — 1,555 ratings
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1577

by
4.64 avg rating — 98 ratings
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1577

by
4.07 avg rating — 2,475 ratings
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1577

by
4.17 avg rating — 24,892 ratings
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1577

by
3.90 avg rating — 359 ratings
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1577

by
4.47 avg rating — 30 ratings
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1577

by
4.33 avg rating — 10,620 ratings
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1577

by
4.50 avg rating — 4 ratings
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1577

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3.85 avg rating — 1,061 ratings
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1586

by
4.13 avg rating — 60 ratings
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1586

by
4.10 avg rating — 33,172 ratings
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1586

by
4.22 avg rating — 777 ratings
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1586

by
3.73 avg rating — 66 ratings
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1586

by
4.27 avg rating — 8,838 ratings
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1586

by
4.74 avg rating — 92 ratings
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1586

by
3.82 avg rating — 14,358 ratings
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1593

by
liked it 3.00 avg rating — 5 ratings
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1593

by
4.32 avg rating — 18,008 ratings
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1593

by
3.43 avg rating — 7 ratings
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1593

by
3.79 avg rating — 905 ratings
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1593

by
4.41 avg rating — 1,606 ratings
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1593

by
3.54 avg rating — 8,838 ratings
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1593

by
4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings
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1593

by
3.95 avg rating — 4,815 ratings
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1,861 books · 1,119 voters · list created November 28th, 2008 by Vanna (votes) .
149 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Vanna 286 books
37 friends
Laramort 3083 books
78 friends
Sigal 732 books
388 friends
Mary 9 books
0 friends
Yuki 2 books
1 friend
Emily 1501 books
20 friends
Becky 26 books
3 friends
Jeanie 16 books
0 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-35 of 35 (35 new)

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message 1: by Bevin (new)

Bevin How does "The Host" qualify as a lesser known book? It was an instant best seller and continues to dominate the top of the New York Times Best Sellers list. Seriously.


message 2: by Melinda (new)

Melinda I second that.

Also "The Little Prince." Very well known, in fact.


message 3: by Mandy (new)

Mandy The Giver and Beauty are also both very popular


message 4: by ecka (new)

ecka wow ^^


message 6: by Raphaelus (new)

Raphaelus Eh Percy Jackson has a hollywood movie,


message 7: by Jessup (new)

Jessup The Giver shouldn't be on here.


message 8: by Sarah (new)

Sarah Someone remove The Giver and the Pearcy Jackson one. They're definately well-know, the former being required reading for middle schoolers in many school districts


message 9: by Jan (last edited Aug 26, 2010 12:17PM) (new)

Jan Sarah wrote: "Someone remove The Giver and the Pearcy Jackson one. They're definately well-know, the former being required reading for middle schoolers in many school districts"

I'll delete both the Percy Jackson's (if it has a movie, it's known) and The Giver.

Edit: That's done, and I also deleted Never Let Me Go, since that has a movie too.


message 10: by Mare (new)

Mare I Capture the Castle and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall have movies too....but even they aren't known...


message 12: by Daria (new)

Daria Removed a few books that weren't at all lesser-known.


message 13: by John (last edited Aug 26, 2011 06:40AM) (new)

John Scott I don't think you can say that "A Fine Balance" is lesser known - a critically aclaimed best seller that was on Oprah's list. No Oprah book should qualify as lesser known. I saw Andromeda Strain here too - a New York Times Best Seller. But worst of all, The Lovely Bones ...


message 14: by Tegan (new)

Tegan The Host definitely should not be on here, it instantly went on best seller lists. And The Lovely Bones is really well known too, especially now that the movie is out.


message 15: by Mir (new)

Mir I don't think anything by Pratchett had be considered "little known" -- We Free Men has almost 12,000 ratings!


message 16: by Feathzzz (new)

Feathzzz I think this is one of the highest quality most appropriate lists I've seen.


message 17: by Janedoejournals (new)

Janedoejournals Daughter of the Flames should totally qualify! I would show it to the world if I had the resources. I. LOVE. That. Book. >w<


message 18: by Noneya (new)

Noneya I loved Daughter of the Flames too!


message 19: by Mandi (new)

Mandi I removed The Host and The Lovely Bones. I don't think any book with more than 100k reviews can be considered "lesser known". Personally I would cap it at 50k reviews, but since I haven't read the ones that would be excluded by that rule, I'll leave them.


message 20: by Jack (new)

Jack Interview with John Greene (Author of The Fault In Our Stars) in Goodreads All Sorts!: http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/9...


message 21: by BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) (last edited Apr 13, 2013 05:07AM) (new)

BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) There are so many lesser known books that deserve a lot more popularity and credit than they have... I went through my own list for this Listopia and only added lesser known books that I had given four or five stars. The books I added have not been read by a lot of GR members, as all books added have a low number of ratings.

To name just a few of my votes: The Rape of Tamar by Dan Jacobson, The God Boy by Ian Cross, Uncle Piper of Piper's Hill by Tasma, Prelude To Christopher by Eleanor Dark and In The Winter Dark by Tim Winton. And that's just my top five... :-)


message 22: by BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) (last edited Apr 13, 2013 05:09AM) (new)

BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) Mandi wrote: "I removed The Host and The Lovely Bones. I don't think any book with more than 100k reviews can be considered "lesser known". Personally I would cap it at 50k reviews, but since I haven't read the ..."

I also noticed (very) popular books like The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Villete and Wives and Daughters. Those classics shouldn't be on this list either, in my opinion, as they can hardly be called 'lesser known'. But then again, that might just be a matter of opinion... :-0


message 23: by Sarah (new)

Sarah I don't think Pride and Prejudice or To Kill a Mockingbird belong on this list. Both have over 1 million ratings. Otherwise, a fantastic list!!!


message 24: by Carolina (new)

Carolina Morales Booklovinglady wrote: "Mandi wrote: "I removed The Host and The Lovely Bones. I don't think any book with more than 100k reviews can be considered "lesser known". Personally I would cap it at 50k reviews, but since I hav..."

It varies according to the country. In Brazil, i.e., Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights are the only Brontë sisters novels known by more than 10 people.


message 25: by Carolina (new)

Carolina Morales Booklovinglady wrote: "Mandi wrote: "I removed The Host and The Lovely Bones. I don't think any book with more than 100k reviews can be considered "lesser known". Personally I would cap it at 50k reviews, but since I hav..."

It varies according to the country. In Brazil, i.e., Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights are the only Brontë sisters novels known by more than 10 people.


message 26: by BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) (last edited May 15, 2015 01:53AM) (new)

BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) Carrie wrote: "It varies according to the country. ..."

I know, as I'm Dutch, and here it is a different matter altogether as well. But as the differences by country can be huge, I thought I'd better have a look at number of readers mentioned on GR ...


message 27: by Justin (new)

Justin Purwitsky To Kill a Mockingbird has to be the most popular Lesser Known Book of all time lol...


message 28: by Heidi (new)

Heidi How can To Kill a Mockingbird be a lesser known book when it has 3,275,202 ratings?


ℓуηη_σƒ_νєℓαяιѕ Throne of Glass is on here? People will NOT shut up about that series. It's EVERYWHERE! Same with Cinder from the Lunar Chronicles. Both series are far from "lesser known."


message 30: by Rachel (new)

Rachel Cant say I believe in this list any more. There are far too many well knowen books on here.


message 31: by BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) (last edited May 02, 2019 02:57AM) (new)

BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) Rachel wrote: "Cant say I believe in this list any more. There are far too many well knowen books on here."

I agree. The Bone People (#79), to name just one, won the Booker, for Pete's sake. But I guess as the voters come from different countries, it is different to all what is 'lesser known'.


message 32: by A Hoppy Reader (last edited Oct 18, 2020 10:26AM) (new)

A Hoppy Reader Usually lists like this set a limit for how many ratings a book can have. Books with more than that number of ratings are removed from the list. What do you think would be a good limit? I think any book with more than 100,00 ratings is way too well known I'd suggest a limit of 50,000 but if there's a consensus on setting a different limit I'm good with that. Also how do you feel about books that have been turned in to movies. Should they all be removed or only the ones with more then a certain number of ratings?


message 33: by A Hoppy Reader (new)

A Hoppy Reader Checked for duplicates and removed the books mentioned earlier in this thread and books with more than a million rations.


message 34: by A Hoppy Reader (new)

A Hoppy Reader Removed books with over one million ratings and some spam.


message 35: by Margot (new)

Margot Portal Agatha Christie and Stephen King do not belong on this list ! Personally I have added books by some very gifted writers: Nickolas Butler who writes about the Midwest and Ron Rash who writes about Appalachia.


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