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Meet your next favorite book
The book you know will go into the canon of literature, on par with Tolkien, Shakespeare, Austen and other greats. The books that will one day be part of a school curriculum, or are beginning to be accepted as such. These are the books in the last hundred years or so that have really touched many by their literary genius.
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 |
To Kill a Mockingbird
by
4.26 avg rating — 6,753,266 ratings
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2 |
The Handmaid’s Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1)
by
Margaret Atwood (Goodreads Author)
4.15 avg rating — 2,358,274 ratings
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3 |
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
by
4.20 avg rating — 772,240 ratings
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4 |
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1)
by
4.22 avg rating — 1,985,778 ratings
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5 |
The Outsiders
by
S.E. Hinton (Goodreads Author)
4.14 avg rating — 1,559,212 ratings
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6 |
The Kite Runner
by
Khaled Hosseini (Goodreads Author)
4.35 avg rating — 3,433,661 ratings
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7 |
The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)
by
4.35 avg rating — 9,700,202 ratings
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8 |
The Book Thief
by
Markus Zusak (Goodreads Author)
4.39 avg rating — 2,827,827 ratings
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9 |
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter, #3)
by
4.58 avg rating — 4,732,498 ratings
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10 |
The Color Purple
by
4.28 avg rating — 742,835 ratings
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11 |
In Cold Blood
by
4.09 avg rating — 716,734 ratings
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12 |
Atonement
by
Ian McEwan (Goodreads Author)
3.95 avg rating — 556,508 ratings
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13 |
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
by
3.89 avg rating — 1,579,308 ratings
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14 |
Catch-22
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3.99 avg rating — 878,277 ratings
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15 |
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter, #2)
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4.43 avg rating — 4,396,670 ratings
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16 |
The Giver (The Giver, #1)
by
Lois Lowry (Goodreads Author)
4.12 avg rating — 2,757,846 ratings
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17 |
The Princess Bride
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4.27 avg rating — 940,826 ratings
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18 |
The Bell Jar
by
4.05 avg rating — 1,178,885 ratings
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19 |
Watership Down (Watership Down, #1)
by
4.09 avg rating — 501,584 ratings
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20 |
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
by
4.30 avg rating — 4,384,119 ratings
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21 |
The Master and Margarita
by
4.28 avg rating — 408,223 ratings
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22 |
Dune (Dune #1)
by
4.29 avg rating — 1,590,947 ratings
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23 |
The Name of the Rose
by
4.14 avg rating — 390,446 ratings
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24 |
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
by
4.28 avg rating — 323,541 ratings
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25 |
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
by
4.09 avg rating — 502,559 ratings
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26 |
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou's Autobiography, #1)
by
4.30 avg rating — 573,415 ratings
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27 |
A Clockwork Orange
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 758,961 ratings
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28 |
Fight Club
by
Chuck Palahniuk (Goodreads Author)
4.18 avg rating — 633,794 ratings
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29 |
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #1)
by
4.24 avg rating — 3,090,995 ratings
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30 |
Water for Elephants
by
Sara Gruen (Goodreads Author)
4.11 avg rating — 1,687,823 ratings
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31 |
The Joy Luck Club
by
Amy Tan (Goodreads Author)
3.97 avg rating — 705,753 ratings
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32 |
The Fault in Our Stars
by
John Green (Goodreads Author)
4.12 avg rating — 5,628,318 ratings
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33 |
Ender’s Game (Ender's Saga, #1)
by
4.31 avg rating — 1,458,451 ratings
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34 |
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
by
4.24 avg rating — 1,966,464 ratings
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35 |
The Man Without Qualities
by
4.19 avg rating — 7,257 ratings
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36 |
The Remains of the Day
by
Kazuo Ishiguro (Goodreads Author)
4.14 avg rating — 349,756 ratings
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37 |
The Help
by
Kathryn Stockett (Goodreads Author)
4.47 avg rating — 2,981,687 ratings
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38 |
The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, #1)
by
4.03 avg rating — 1,601,974 ratings
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39 |
Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park, #1)
by
4.13 avg rating — 1,043,734 ratings
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40 |
Midnight’s Children
by
3.98 avg rating — 131,531 ratings
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41 |
The Alchemist
by
Paulo Coelho (Goodreads Author)
3.92 avg rating — 3,478,606 ratings
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42 |
Memoirs of a Geisha
by
4.16 avg rating — 2,092,487 ratings
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43 |
The Pillars of the Earth (Kingsbridge, #1)
by
Ken Follett (Goodreads Author)
4.35 avg rating — 816,836 ratings
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44 |
A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)
by
4.45 avg rating — 2,694,358 ratings
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45 |
Interview with the Vampire (The Vampire Chronicles, #1)
by
4.02 avg rating — 638,937 ratings
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46 |
The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge
by
3.93 avg rating — 9,761 ratings
score: 890,
and
9 people voted
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47 |
The Secret Life of Bees
by
Sue Monk Kidd (Goodreads Author)
4.10 avg rating — 1,343,207 ratings
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48 |
A Wrinkle in Time
by
3.97 avg rating — 1,269,494 ratings
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49 |
The Things They Carried
by
4.14 avg rating — 339,975 ratings
score: 834,
and
9 people voted
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50 |
Jaws (Jaws, #1)
by
3.95 avg rating — 176,835 ratings
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51 |
As I Lay Dying
by
3.72 avg rating — 184,103 ratings
score: 824,
and
9 people voted
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52 |
Love in the Time of Cholera
by
3.94 avg rating — 540,017 ratings
score: 823,
and
9 people voted
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53 |
The Cider House Rules
by
John Irving (Goodreads Author)
4.17 avg rating — 193,770 ratings
score: 802,
and
9 people voted
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54 |
The Godfather (The Godfather, #1)
by
4.40 avg rating — 456,936 ratings
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55 |
Lonesome Dove (Lonesome Dove, #1)
by
4.57 avg rating — 228,301 ratings
score: 779,
and
9 people voted
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56 |
Holes (Holes, #1)
by
Louis Sachar (Goodreads Author)
4.01 avg rating — 1,344,821 ratings
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57 |
Night
by
4.38 avg rating — 1,343,907 ratings
score: 720,
and
8 people voted
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58 |
Valley of the Dolls
by
3.86 avg rating — 76,157 ratings
score: 696,
and
8 people voted
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59 |
Matilda
by
4.33 avg rating — 1,087,452 ratings
score: 679,
and
8 people voted
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60 |
The Incredible Journey
by
4.16 avg rating — 52,590 ratings
score: 675,
and
8 people voted
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61 |
The Hunt for Red October (Jack Ryan, #3)
by
4.12 avg rating — 386,462 ratings
score: 669,
and
8 people voted
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62 |
The Neverending Story
by
4.18 avg rating — 217,852 ratings
score: 651,
and
8 people voted
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63 |
The World According to Garp
by
John Irving (Goodreads Author)
4.11 avg rating — 237,043 ratings
score: 629,
and
7 people voted
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64 |
Rosemary’s Baby (Rosemary's Baby, #1)
by
4.05 avg rating — 155,331 ratings
score: 618,
and
8 people voted
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65 |
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
by
4.04 avg rating — 92,393 ratings
score: 615,
and
7 people voted
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66 |
The Killer Angels (The Civil War Trilogy, #2)
by
4.33 avg rating — 90,977 ratings
score: 602,
and
7 people voted
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67 |
The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #1)
by
4.31 avg rating — 705,471 ratings
score: 599,
and
7 people voted
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68 |
The Poisonwood Bible
by
4.11 avg rating — 785,151 ratings
score: 593,
and
7 people voted
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69 |
The Thorn Birds
by
4.25 avg rating — 362,528 ratings
score: 590,
and
7 people voted
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70 |
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
by
3.87 avg rating — 251,845 ratings
score: 578,
and
7 people voted
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71 |
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
by
3.92 avg rating — 291,547 ratings
score: 573,
and
7 people voted
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72 |
The Shipping News
by
3.88 avg rating — 151,485 ratings
score: 568,
and
7 people voted
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73 |
Starship Troopers
by
4.01 avg rating — 243,448 ratings
score: 562,
and
7 people voted
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74 |
Contact
by
4.15 avg rating — 150,938 ratings
score: 559,
and
7 people voted
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75 |
Empire of the Sun
by
3.98 avg rating — 22,274 ratings
score: 550,
and
6 people voted
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76 |
The Shell Seekers
by
4.20 avg rating — 119,303 ratings
score: 538,
and
7 people voted
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77 |
The Bluest Eye
by
4.13 avg rating — 292,590 ratings
score: 536,
and
6 people voted
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77 |
American Gods (American Gods, #1)
by
Neil Gaiman (Goodreads Author)
4.10 avg rating — 983,305 ratings
score: 536,
and
6 people voted
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79 |
A Scanner Darkly
by
4.03 avg rating — 108,948 ratings
score: 530,
and
6 people voted
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80 |
Presumed Innocent (Kindle County Legal Thriller, #1)
by
Scott Turow (Goodreads Author)
4.09 avg rating — 125,009 ratings
score: 514,
and
6 people voted
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81 |
The Diary of a Young Girl
by
4.20 avg rating — 4,114,082 ratings
score: 510,
and
6 people voted
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82 |
Gilead (Gilead, #1)
by
3.85 avg rating — 122,314 ratings
score: 482,
and
5 people voted
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83 |
Rebecca
by
4.25 avg rating — 707,718 ratings
score: 470,
and
5 people voted
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84 |
Cold Mountain
by
3.89 avg rating — 248,824 ratings
score: 469,
and
6 people voted
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85 |
A Canticle for Leibowitz (St. Leibowitz, #1)
by
3.99 avg rating — 117,623 ratings
score: 467,
and
6 people voted
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86 |
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
by
4.25 avg rating — 815,385 ratings
score: 465,
and
6 people voted
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87 |
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
by
Jonathan Safran Foer (Goodreads Author)
3.97 avg rating — 433,065 ratings
score: 464,
and
5 people voted
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88 |
A Fine Balance
by
4.38 avg rating — 158,059 ratings
score: 434,
and
5 people voted
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89 |
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
by
4.30 avg rating — 504,245 ratings
score: 427,
and
6 people voted
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90 |
All the Pretty Horses (The Border Trilogy, #1)
by
4.06 avg rating — 142,530 ratings
score: 425,
and
5 people voted
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91 |
The Client
by
John Grisham (Goodreads Author)
4.06 avg rating — 460,129 ratings
score: 414,
and
5 people voted
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91 |
The Selfish Gene
by
Richard Dawkins (Goodreads Author)
4.16 avg rating — 190,331 ratings
score: 414,
and
5 people voted
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93 |
Coma
by
Robin Cook (Goodreads Author)
3.88 avg rating — 53,065 ratings
score: 393,
and
5 people voted
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94 |
Centennial
by
4.26 avg rating — 44,736 ratings
score: 375,
and
5 people voted
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94 |
The Blind Assassin
by
Margaret Atwood (Goodreads Author)
3.96 avg rating — 162,143 ratings
score: 375,
and
4 people voted
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96 |
The Pelican Brief
by
John Grisham (Goodreads Author)
4.06 avg rating — 444,623 ratings
score: 368,
and
5 people voted
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97 |
Howl’s Moving Castle (Howl’s Moving Castle, #1)
by
4.29 avg rating — 433,615 ratings
score: 339,
and
4 people voted
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97 |
Red Storm Rising
by
4.21 avg rating — 84,097 ratings
score: 339,
and
4 people voted
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99 |
The Andromeda Strain (Andromeda, #1)
by
3.91 avg rating — 268,931 ratings
score: 336,
and
5 people voted
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100 |
The Prince of Tides
by
4.26 avg rating — 214,818 ratings
score: 327,
and
4 people voted
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363 books ·
188 voters ·
list created March 30th, 2012
by Sam Sigelakis-Minski (votes) .
Sam
4184 books
192 friends
192 friends
Susanna - Censored by GoodReads
3384 books
853 friends
853 friends
Soumya
1374 books
38 friends
38 friends
JanBreesmom
2425 books
235 friends
235 friends
Joe
1336 books
45 friends
45 friends
Harry
43 books
13 friends
13 friends
Winnie
699 books
25 friends
25 friends
Michaela
502 books
62 friends
62 friends
More voters…
Comments Showing 1-18 of 18 (18 new)
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message 1:
by
Ayesha
(last edited Mar 23, 2013 06:13AM)
(new)
Mar 23, 2013 06:14AM

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Just cleaned it up a bit; please let me know if there are any other books you find should be removed.

Just cleaned it up a bit; please let me know if there are any other books you find should be removed.

The list does say "fifty years OR SO" for a reason; so that people can loosely interpret that and put books on here that they find are classics that have not entered the standard literary canon yet. That being said, I removed the books you think do not belong there so that there is no more problems.


It's easy to add books to lists; at the top of the list, at the tab next to "all votes."

I just ran the Goodreads "duplicate checker;" it has found and removed five duplicates from the list.

To Kill a Mockingbird (#1)
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (#32)
Native Son (#105)
Rebecca (#121)
A Town Like Alice (#129)
On the Beach (#134)
1984 (#246)
Jamaica Inn (#269)
Frenchman's Creek (#271)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (#302)

To Kill a Mockingbird (#1)
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (#32)
Native Son (#105)
Rebecca (#121)
A Town Like Alice (#129)
On the Beach (#134)
1984 (#246)
Jamaica I..."
What part of "or so" did you not understand?

That is a highly subjective opinion. This list is for the people to decide. You, as a person, can add books thst you feel are more fitting.

The Time Machine 1890s - over 100 years. More than twice 50 years.
If the list criteria had a firm date, it would make the list easier to maintain.

The Time Machine 1890s - over 100 years. More than twice 50 years.
If the list criteria had a firm date, it would make the li..."
Make your own list with firm criteria, then. This list was created literally seven years ago, and to be frank, I do not have time to maintain and edit it. People have the ability to add and subtract books at their own will. If you feel that strongly about this, I will change the description to 100 years.

From the Goodreads page:
"Important: if you're on this page you have been granted a special "librarian" status, and can edit list data. Don't take this responsibility lightly—if you can help correct any inaccuracies or add any missing data, please do so! But only make changes if you're sure they're correct."
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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.