Discover new books on Goodreads
Meet your next favorite book
Sign in with Facebook
I am on a mission to read and reread classic literature. I searched far and wide for a decent book list but all seem incomplete to me. Please add your favorite classic books to the list.
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 |
|
Pride and Prejudice
by
4.29 avg rating — 4,748,528 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 2 |
|
Jane Eyre
by
4.16 avg rating — 2,303,689 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 3 |
|
1984
by
4.20 avg rating — 5,387,377 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 4 |
|
The Count of Monte Cristo
by
4.32 avg rating — 1,014,169 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 5 |
|
Little Women (Little Women, #1)
by
4.17 avg rating — 2,436,453 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 6 |
|
Wuthering Heights
by
3.90 avg rating — 2,017,792 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 7 |
|
Frankenstein
by
3.90 avg rating — 1,857,767 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 8 |
|
The Great Gatsby
by
3.93 avg rating — 5,852,778 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 9 |
|
To Kill a Mockingbird
by
4.26 avg rating — 6,817,076 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 10 |
|
Sense and Sensibility
by
4.09 avg rating — 1,287,158 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 11 |
|
The Odyssey
by
3.83 avg rating — 1,181,002 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 12 |
|
A Tale of Two Cities
by
3.88 avg rating — 1,007,655 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 13 |
|
Great Expectations
by
3.80 avg rating — 868,914 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 14 |
|
Brave New World
by
3.99 avg rating — 2,058,939 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 15 |
|
Animal Farm
by
4.02 avg rating — 4,488,027 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 16 |
|
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Adventures of Tom and Huck, #2)
by
3.83 avg rating — 1,333,050 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 17 |
|
Dracula
by
4.02 avg rating — 1,459,745 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 18 |
|
Hamlet
by
4.03 avg rating — 1,041,305 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 19 |
|
Fahrenheit 451
by
3.97 avg rating — 2,799,049 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 20 |
|
Emma
by
4.05 avg rating — 973,875 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 21 |
|
The Canterbury Tales
by
3.53 avg rating — 237,018 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 22 |
|
Anna Karenina
by
4.10 avg rating — 923,809 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 23 |
|
The Catcher in the Rye
by
3.80 avg rating — 3,863,838 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 24 |
|
Romeo and Juliet
by
3.74 avg rating — 2,804,869 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 25 |
|
Persuasion
by
4.15 avg rating — 769,881 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 26 |
|
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
by
4.30 avg rating — 4,422,221 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 27 |
|
Rebecca
by
4.25 avg rating — 712,778 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 28 |
|
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass
by
4.06 avg rating — 605,993 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 29 |
|
The Scarlet Letter
by
3.44 avg rating — 913,779 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 30 |
|
Gone with the Wind
by
4.31 avg rating — 1,253,340 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 31 |
|
Les Misérables
by
4.21 avg rating — 839,373 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 32 |
|
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
by
3.94 avg rating — 575,700 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 33 |
|
The Picture of Dorian Gray
by
4.13 avg rating — 1,850,215 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 34 |
|
War and Peace
by
4.17 avg rating — 363,255 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 35 |
|
The Iliad
by
3.93 avg rating — 505,584 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 36 |
|
Crime and Punishment
by
4.29 avg rating — 1,064,236 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 37 |
|
Beowulf
by
3.50 avg rating — 344,247 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 38 |
|
The Complete Tales and Poems
by
4.40 avg rating — 294,748 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 39 |
|
The Three Musketeers
by
4.10 avg rating — 348,747 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 40 |
|
Macbeth
by
3.89 avg rating — 1,011,745 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 41 |
|
Oliver Twist
by
3.88 avg rating — 425,468 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 42 |
|
Moby-Dick or, The Whale
by
3.56 avg rating — 612,373 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 43 |
|
Mansfield Park
by
3.86 avg rating — 377,779 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 44 |
|
The Grapes of Wrath
by
4.03 avg rating — 987,732 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 45 |
|
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
by
3.89 avg rating — 275,006 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 46 |
|
The Republic
by
3.97 avg rating — 224,444 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 47 |
|
Catch-22
by
3.99 avg rating — 883,068 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 48 |
|
Madame Bovary
by
3.71 avg rating — 372,040 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 49 |
|
The Brothers Karamazov
by
4.39 avg rating — 381,519 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 50 |
|
The Lord of the Rings
by
4.54 avg rating — 726,796 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 51 |
|
King Lear
by
3.91 avg rating — 236,243 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 52 |
|
David Copperfield
by
4.04 avg rating — 257,125 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 53 |
|
Northanger Abbey
by
3.85 avg rating — 449,887 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 54 |
|
Don Quixote
by
3.91 avg rating — 303,230 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 55 |
|
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #1)
by
4.24 avg rating — 3,123,197 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 56 |
|
The Time Machine
by
3.89 avg rating — 561,670 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 57 |
|
Lord of the Flies
by
3.70 avg rating — 3,172,960 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 58 |
|
Journey to the Center of the Earth
by
3.85 avg rating — 223,309 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 59 |
|
Anne of Green Gables (Anne of Green Gables, #1)
by
4.33 avg rating — 1,103,582 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 60 |
|
Of Mice and Men
by
3.89 avg rating — 2,807,500 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 61 |
|
The Moonstone
by
3.91 avg rating — 98,495 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 62 |
|
Tess of the D’Urbervilles
by
3.84 avg rating — 301,380 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 63 |
|
Gulliver’s Travels
by
3.59 avg rating — 297,551 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 64 |
|
The Man Without Qualities
by
4.19 avg rating — 7,348 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 65 |
|
The Crucible
by
3.61 avg rating — 461,022 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 66 |
|
Candide
by
3.76 avg rating — 299,588 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 67 |
|
The Metamorphosis
by
3.90 avg rating — 1,399,671 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 68 |
|
The Phantom of the Opera
by
3.96 avg rating — 274,801 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 69 |
|
Vanity Fair
by
3.81 avg rating — 132,862 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 70 |
|
The Mayor of Casterbridge
by
3.86 avg rating — 65,853 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 71 |
|
Ivanhoe
by
3.76 avg rating — 98,802 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 72 |
|
J.R.R. Tolkien 4-Book Boxed Set: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings
by
4.62 avg rating — 143,458 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 73 |
|
Treasure Island
by
3.85 avg rating — 537,219 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 74 |
|
The War of the Worlds
by
3.83 avg rating — 347,546 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 75 |
|
Jude the Obscure
by
3.83 avg rating — 75,699 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 76 |
|
East of Eden
by
4.44 avg rating — 627,957 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 77 |
|
The Age of Innocence
by
3.97 avg rating — 194,355 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 78 |
|
Robinson Crusoe
by
3.68 avg rating — 329,749 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 79 |
|
Bleak House
by
4.02 avg rating — 113,673 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 80 |
|
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Oz, #1)
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 507,961 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 80 |
|
The Secret Garden
by
4.17 avg rating — 1,285,987 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 82 |
|
Paradise Lost
by
3.85 avg rating — 181,214 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 83 |
|
The Divine Comedy: Inferno - Purgatorio - Paradiso
by
4.08 avg rating — 170,914 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 84 |
|
Aesop’s Fables
by
4.05 avg rating — 129,380 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 85 |
|
Cry, the Beloved Country
by
3.93 avg rating — 79,308 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 86 |
|
The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Writings
by
4.19 avg rating — 244,431 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 87 |
|
The Histories
by
4.01 avg rating — 55,309 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 87 |
|
The Magician’s Nephew (Chronicles of Narnia, #6)
by
4.05 avg rating — 600,224 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 89 |
|
Their Eyes Were Watching God
by
3.99 avg rating — 384,077 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 90 |
|
The House of Mirth
by
3.97 avg rating — 105,369 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 91 |
|
The Pilgrim's Progress
by
4.07 avg rating — 157,554 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 92 |
|
The Woman in White
by
4.01 avg rating — 165,330 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 93 |
|
Alice in Wonderland
by
Jane Carruth (Adapted By)
4.03 avg rating — 396,567 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 94 |
|
The Aeneid
by
3.87 avg rating — 142,494 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 95 |
|
Lolita
by
3.87 avg rating — 937,994 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 96 |
|
The Little Prince
by
4.33 avg rating — 2,443,350 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 97 |
|
A Christmas Carol
by
4.09 avg rating — 914,763 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 98 |
|
The Giver (The Giver, #1)
by
Lois Lowry (Goodreads Author)
4.12 avg rating — 2,783,043 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 99 |
|
Julius Caesar
by
3.71 avg rating — 218,244 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 100 |
|
Heart of Darkness
by
3.43 avg rating — 555,013 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
634 books ·
522 voters ·
list created June 21st, 2008
by Crystal.
Tags:
classic, literature
Comments Showing 1-7 of 7 (7 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Tamora
(new)
Apr 04, 2009 11:38AM
I'm just clicking on what I've read, not on what I liked. When you're dealing with books like these, that generally drop into everyone's life before they're 20, what you like and what you don't like is highly individual. I don't think you can really go by the opinion of the next person, because you're all forming your opinions. I liked TARZAN, but had no interest in CHARLOTTE'S WEB. My classmates had spasms over CRIME AND PUNISHMENT, so much so that I never told them that I kinda liked it. They were okay with THE SCARLET LETTER, which made me crazy. You really have to try the books that our parents, teachers, and peers think are probably classic, and decide for yourself if they're good reads as far as you're concerned!
reply
|
flag
I would just like to say that I believe 'Les Miserables' by Victor Hugo is the best book on this list. And nooooo, I'm not basing it on the hit musical (even though I love that as well), because it did get a lot wrong. I'm currently reading A Tale of 2 Cities, nad let me say I've made a lot of connections to Les Miserables. It's just an amzing and epic Book!
I agree with Tamora, There are several books i've been told are must reads by people who don't read much themselves. I have been disappointed in many of them most books are classics because they've been around forever and a day. Much of the language is outdated and stale. occasionally you do stumble upon a book with a plot that holds up but it is a rare find. That being said, I loved Scarlett Letter and The hunchback of Notra Dame but found Pride and Prejudice tedious at best shallow and mindless at worst
i just discovered my interest in reading so i've read only a few. i just finished che's book on social revolution. so far from what i've read dracula is the best they describe the events as if one was there. my second best is lady chaterley's lover
This is a great list! I have this sort of mission too, although I gotta find a good library to hold all of these books. Too bad I don't have it in the area, or money to but some..
@CrystalI've tried adding other books than then ones originally written in English, apart from voting for the ones already on the list I mean, as there are so many great classics worth reading. All of which are available in English translations, by the way. Books I've added are, for instance, Alle fabels, Lustgebed, Avondgezichten, Het hoofdkussenboek, Het boek van Dede Korkoet, Nibelungenlied, De ring van de duif, Het boek der koningen, De rozentuin and Rubaiyat, to name just a few.
By the way, 'Classics' = 'Modern Classics' too? As there are plenty of those on your list.
Related News
As you might expect, we are book people here at Goodreads World Headquarters—rather intense book people, actually. And when the holidays roll...
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.
