Want to increase your literary hipster cred at the local coffeehouse?
Here is a list to get you started.

Conversely, do you suspect a close friend is an insufferable book snob?
Catch them reading the following in public and your suspicions are confirmed!

If you've read most of the books on this list, you may be a book snob... but don't panic! Wear the title with pride, you deserve it.
1

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3.77 avg rating — 139,427 ratings
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2

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4.25 avg rating — 99,833 ratings
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3

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4.17 avg rating — 360,366 ratings
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4

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4.16 avg rating — 67,151 ratings
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5

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4.28 avg rating — 1,046,230 ratings
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6

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4.05 avg rating — 27,383 ratings
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7

by
4.39 avg rating — 376,649 ratings
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8

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4.01 avg rating — 47,426 ratings
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9

by
3.68 avg rating — 13,517 ratings
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10

by
4.10 avg rating — 916,415 ratings
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11

by
4.19 avg rating — 7,269 ratings
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12

by
4.08 avg rating — 169,240 ratings
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13

by
3.96 avg rating — 41,505 ratings
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14

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3.80 avg rating — 3,836,697 ratings
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15

by
3.84 avg rating — 219,073 ratings
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16

by
4.07 avg rating — 172,314 ratings
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17

by
3.97 avg rating — 222,489 ratings
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18

by
3.94 avg rating — 383,821 ratings
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19

by
4.29 avg rating — 4,700,813 ratings
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20

by
4.16 avg rating — 2,283,963 ratings
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21

by
3.91 avg rating — 300,541 ratings
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22

by
4.21 avg rating — 835,959 ratings
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23

by
3.56 avg rating — 608,158 ratings
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24

by
3.71 avg rating — 368,447 ratings
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25

by
4.02 avg rating — 113,060 ratings
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26

by
3.86 avg rating — 193,811 ratings
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27

by
3.64 avg rating — 162,327 ratings
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28

by
3.69 avg rating — 404,517 ratings
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29

by
3.93 avg rating — 9,777 ratings
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30

by
3.83 avg rating — 1,169,985 ratings
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31

by
4.02 avg rating — 1,418 ratings
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32

by
4.51 avg rating — 8,150 ratings
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33

by
3.90 avg rating — 12,005 ratings
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34

by
3.91 avg rating — 74,211 ratings
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35

by
3.90 avg rating — 280,935 ratings
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36

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 759,583 ratings
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37

by
3.78 avg rating — 348,136 ratings
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38

by
4.03 avg rating — 176,794 ratings
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39

by
3.69 avg rating — 151,499 ratings
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40

by
4.03 avg rating — 111,269 ratings
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41

by
3.95 avg rating — 558,624 ratings
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42

by
3.96 avg rating — 20,205 ratings
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43

by
4.18 avg rating — 46,937 ratings
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44

by
4.29 avg rating — 52,012 ratings
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45

by
4.10 avg rating — 41,781 ratings
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46

by
4.27 avg rating — 11,651 ratings
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47

by
3.77 avg rating — 202,295 ratings
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48

by
4.17 avg rating — 3,429 ratings
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49

by
3.92 avg rating — 39,185 ratings
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50

by
4.06 avg rating — 2,192 ratings
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51

by
4.07 avg rating — 11,118 ratings
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52

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4.09 avg rating — 31,093 ratings
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52

by
3.89 avg rating — 294,308 ratings
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54

by
4.19 avg rating — 78,221 ratings
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55

by
4.02 avg rating — 306,281 ratings
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56

by
4.32 avg rating — 9,684 ratings
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57

by
3.52 avg rating — 235,920 ratings
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58

by
4.39 avg rating — 17,415 ratings
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59

by
4.09 avg rating — 194,922 ratings
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60

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1,015,303 ratings
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61

by
4.10 avg rating — 20,637 ratings
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62

by
3.98 avg rating — 45,071 ratings
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63

by
3.96 avg rating — 111,712 ratings
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64

by
4.18 avg rating — 332,831 ratings
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65

by
3.89 avg rating — 30,366 ratings
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66

by
3.97 avg rating — 5,318 ratings
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67

by
3.89 avg rating — 335,327 ratings
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68

by
3.94 avg rating — 40,169 ratings
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69

by
3.85 avg rating — 179,548 ratings
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70

by
3.88 avg rating — 34,606 ratings
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71

by
3.76 avg rating — 16,003 ratings
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72

by
3.93 avg rating — 136,437 ratings
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73

by
4.15 avg rating — 2,308 ratings
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74

by
3.87 avg rating — 3,578 ratings
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75

by
4.03 avg rating — 59,385 ratings
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76

by
4.38 avg rating — 3,334 ratings
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77

by
3.84 avg rating — 195,924 ratings
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78

by
4.15 avg rating — 9,626 ratings
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79

by
3.76 avg rating — 98,444 ratings
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79

by
4.03 avg rating — 22,958 ratings
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81

by
3.87 avg rating — 1,760 ratings
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82

by
4.19 avg rating — 13,014 ratings
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83

by
4.24 avg rating — 1,230 ratings
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84

by
4.11 avg rating — 3,652 ratings
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85

by
3.78 avg rating — 16,172 ratings
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86

by
4.19 avg rating — 32,829 ratings
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87

by
3.81 avg rating — 210,458 ratings
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88

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 49,567 ratings
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89

by
4.48 avg rating — 57,625 ratings
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90

by
4.04 avg rating — 92,425 ratings
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91

by
3.91 avg rating — 32,350 ratings
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91

by
3.59 avg rating — 9,255 ratings
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93

by
4.12 avg rating — 45,218 ratings
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94

by
3.51 avg rating — 29,790 ratings
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95

by
3.93 avg rating — 500,940 ratings
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96

by
3.84 avg rating — 376,271 ratings
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97

by
4.33 avg rating — 9,596 ratings
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98

by
4.02 avg rating — 25,238 ratings
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99

by
3.55 avg rating — 81,576 ratings
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100

by
3.82 avg rating — 8,785 ratings
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307 books · 153 voters · list created March 15th, 2012 by Holly Lindquist (votes) .
200 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Holly 1716 books
61 friends
Karen 1868 books
69 friends
A 1711 books
1 friend
Matthew 1287 books
25 friends
Read Between The Lines 6194 books
62 friends
buppyspek 392 books
13 friends
Samuel 1107 books
74 friends
Susanna - Censored by GoodReads 3385 books
853 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-20 of 20 (20 new)

dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by Limey (new)

Limey Here's a top tip: get hold of a hardback edition of one of these pompous books, cut out the middle couple of hundred or more pages of it, and then you can just put your usual, normal, real people's, non-hipster, pompless, friendly-neighborhood, genuinely readable, unpretentious, happybrow, fun, top-entertainment books inside it, so that people think you're ultra-hip and highbrow and can actually make sense of that wacko shit.


message 2: by Garrett (new)

Garrett Cash Read Ulysses today at the Social Security office (it's just what I happened to be reading!), so where do I pick up my pompous card?


message 3: by Cris (new)

Cris Pavon Only two women in this list! A little bit unbalanced...


Susanna - Censored by GoodReads I count 5 female authors in the top hundred, but that's still a very masculine list.


message 5: by Holly (new)

Holly Lindquist I'm personally thankful that so few female authors have to resort to being overbearingly pompous in order to write quality literature. If they don't make the list, I think that's a success, not a failure...because face it, this list is obnoxious! Pew!

PS: Although.. after some reflection I realize Sexual Personae by Camille Paglia belongs on the list. Very much so.


message 6: by Holly (new)

Holly Lindquist Perhaps a list for Genuinely Thought-Provoking Books or Deeply Intelligent Reading would have better diversity. I know several female authors that could wipe the floor with the competition in that case.


message 7: by Damon (last edited Jul 06, 2014 11:19AM) (new)

Damon Um. Why is the "The Road" on this list? Its an easy-to-read page turner that was turned into a blockbuster movie, and by far Cormac McCarthy's most accessible mass audience genre novel...


message 8: by Parf (new)

Parf ah yes, glenn beck, the most pompous of them all. riiiight...


message 9: by Chelsea (new)

Chelsea Hill This list is hilarious. *Bookmarked*


message 10: by Grant (new)

Grant must we be ironic and postmodern about good literature? perhaps you just want to read a good book when you read Ulysses.


message 11: by ~☆~Autumn (new)

~☆~Autumn so funny!


message 12: by Kirsten (new)

Kirsten Grant wrote: "must we be ironic and postmodern about good literature? perhaps you just want to read a good book when you read Ulysses."

Well, we are still in the "postmodern" era, so... yes.


message 13: by L (new)

L This list gave me ass cancer


message 14: by Ben (new)

Ben Mark wrote: "Here's a top tip: get hold of a hardback edition of one of these pompous books, cut out the middle couple of hundred or more pages of it, and then you can just put your usual, normal, real people's..."

this has to be satire


message 15: by The Final (new)

The Final Song ❀ Once i had fun.
It was horrifying


message 16: by Greg (new)

Greg But 'Ulysses' is flat out brilliant. It's one of a handful of books that make me laugh out loud, and yes several times in coffee shops. "Atlas Shrugged" is brilliant entertainment, but basically a pretentious soap opera! Proust is a magnificent writer!


message 17: by Greg (new)

Greg Mark wrote: "Here's a top tip: get hold of a hardback edition of one of these pompous books, cut out the middle couple of hundred or more pages of it, and then you can just put your usual, normal, real people's..."
Mark, well, in the 1st grade I had Agatha Christie books hidden within those silly readers like "See Jane Run." I had no other choice but to hide what I really wanted to read.


message 18: by Pasang (new)

Pasang smoothbrain cope list


message 19: by Nullifidian (new)

Nullifidian I'm glad to see Jacques Barzun on a list of pompous people. My only qualm is that he doesn't deserve to be on a list with writers of real ability and insight.


message 20: by Addy (new)

Addy Evenson Whoever you are: I love you.


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