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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.
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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.
| 201 |
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Out of Africa
by
3.91 avg rating — 47,798 ratings
score: 393,
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6 people voted
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| 202 |
|
The Sword in the Stone (Once and Future King, #1)
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3.89 avg rating — 28,293 ratings
score: 391,
and
7 people voted
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| 203 |
|
The Night Before Christmas
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4.40 avg rating — 127,337 ratings
score: 387,
and
9 people voted
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| 204 |
|
A Clockwork Orange
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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 765,419 ratings
score: 378,
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5 people voted
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| 205 |
|
Green Eggs and Ham
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4.31 avg rating — 841,893 ratings
score: 377,
and
7 people voted
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| 206 |
|
Howards End
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3.96 avg rating — 94,531 ratings
score: 376,
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7 people voted
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| 207 |
|
Our Town
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3.74 avg rating — 58,890 ratings
score: 355,
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6 people voted
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| 208 |
|
The Borrowers (The Borrowers, #1)
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4.03 avg rating — 100,922 ratings
score: 354,
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6 people voted
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| 209 |
|
Songs of Innocence and of Experience
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4.09 avg rating — 51,793 ratings
score: 348,
and
5 people voted
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| 210 |
|
4:50 from Paddington (Miss Marple, #7)
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3.97 avg rating — 75,720 ratings
score: 341,
and
5 people voted
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| 211 |
|
Dr. Faustus
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3.80 avg rating — 72,116 ratings
score: 337,
and
8 people voted
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| 211 |
|
Harold and the Purple Crayon (Harold, #1)
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4.28 avg rating — 147,237 ratings
score: 337,
and
5 people voted
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| 213 |
|
The Nine Tailors (Lord Peter Wimsey, #11)
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4.03 avg rating — 21,332 ratings
score: 332,
and
7 people voted
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| 214 |
|
Kristin Lavransdatter
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4.31 avg rating — 14,349 ratings
score: 329,
and
5 people voted
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| 215 |
|
The Emperor's New Clothes
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3.98 avg rating — 15,449 ratings
score: 326,
and
7 people voted
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| 216 |
|
Daisy Miller
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3.37 avg rating — 37,698 ratings
score: 315,
and
4 people voted
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| 217 |
|
Le Malade imaginaire
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3.62 avg rating — 19,257 ratings
score: 313,
and
5 people voted
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| 217 |
|
Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats
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4.07 avg rating — 29,693 ratings
score: 313,
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7 people voted
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| 219 |
|
Gulliver's Travels and ''A Modest Proposal''
by
3.92 avg rating — 5,887 ratings
score: 310,
and
6 people voted
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| 219 |
|
Dubliners
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3.83 avg rating — 174,630 ratings
score: 310,
and
5 people voted
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| 221 |
|
The Secret Agent
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3.58 avg rating — 24,757 ratings
score: 309,
and
5 people voted
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| 222 |
|
Island of the Blue Dolphins
by
3.88 avg rating — 348,854 ratings
score: 307,
and
6 people voted
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| 222 |
|
Watership Down (Watership Down, #1)
by
4.09 avg rating — 504,058 ratings
score: 307,
and
7 people voted
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| 224 |
|
Idylls of the King
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3.97 avg rating — 10,409 ratings
score: 305,
and
6 people voted
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| 225 |
|
Old Yeller
by
4.11 avg rating — 103,351 ratings
score: 301,
and
7 people voted
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| 226 |
|
The Custom of the Country
by
4.07 avg rating — 15,985 ratings
score: 298,
and
3 people voted
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| 227 |
|
Antigone (The Theban Plays, #3)
by
3.68 avg rating — 175,355 ratings
score: 297,
and
5 people voted
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| 228 |
|
Brave New World and Brave New World Revisited
by
4.16 avg rating — 171,280 ratings
score: 290,
and
5 people voted
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| 229 |
|
The Illustrated Man
by
4.13 avg rating — 107,282 ratings
score: 288,
and
6 people voted
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| 229 |
|
Cold Comfort Farm
by
3.88 avg rating — 54,768 ratings
score: 288,
and
4 people voted
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| 231 |
|
The Stranger
by
4.03 avg rating — 1,377,211 ratings
score: 287,
and
5 people voted
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| 232 |
|
Make Way for Ducklings
by
4.25 avg rating — 90,800 ratings
score: 286,
and
6 people voted
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| 233 |
|
A Study in Scarlet
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4.13 avg rating — 491,364 ratings
score: 285,
and
6 people voted
|
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| 233 |
|
An Inspector Calls
by
3.82 avg rating — 45,493 ratings
score: 285,
and
5 people voted
|
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| 235 |
|
The House at Pooh Corner (Winnie-the-Pooh, #2)
by
4.38 avg rating — 90,727 ratings
score: 283,
and
7 people voted
|
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| 236 |
|
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
by
3.77 avg rating — 154,219 ratings
score: 282,
and
4 people voted
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| 237 |
|
Sister Carrie
by
3.77 avg rating — 41,694 ratings
score: 280,
and
4 people voted
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| 238 |
|
Brideshead Revisited
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 126,008 ratings
score: 277,
and
5 people voted
|
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| 239 |
|
Pudd'nhead Wilson
by
3.75 avg rating — 19,439 ratings
score: 275,
and
4 people voted
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| 240 |
|
The Ugly Duckling
by
Jerry Pinkney (Adapter, Illustrator)
4.13 avg rating — 43,108 ratings
score: 267,
and
4 people voted
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| 241 |
|
The Waves
by
4.14 avg rating — 53,053 ratings
score: 266,
and
3 people voted
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| 242 |
|
The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings, #2)
by
4.50 avg rating — 1,114,167 ratings
score: 264,
and
6 people voted
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| 243 |
|
The History of the Kings of Britain
by
3.71 avg rating — 6,867 ratings
score: 257,
and
4 people voted
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| 243 |
|
The Snowy Day (Peter, #1)
by
4.20 avg rating — 119,145 ratings
score: 257,
and
4 people voted
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| 245 |
|
Kindred
by
4.31 avg rating — 268,349 ratings
score: 254,
and
3 people voted
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| 246 |
|
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
by
3.98 avg rating — 124,470 ratings
score: 251,
and
6 people voted
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| 246 |
|
The Turn of the Screw
by
3.38 avg rating — 178,592 ratings
score: 251,
and
4 people voted
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| 248 |
|
The Complete Fairy Tales
by
4.16 avg rating — 33,339 ratings
score: 249,
and
4 people voted
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| 249 |
|
Native Son
by
4.04 avg rating — 104,373 ratings
score: 248,
and
4 people voted
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| 250 |
|
Beloved (Beloved Trilogy, #1)
by
3.98 avg rating — 487,208 ratings
score: 246,
and
4 people voted
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| 251 |
|
Little Bear (Little Bear, #1)
by
4.25 avg rating — 59,420 ratings
score: 244,
and
4 people voted
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| 252 |
|
Harry the Dirty Dog
by
4.20 avg rating — 56,620 ratings
score: 242,
and
4 people voted
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| 253 |
|
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
by
3.92 avg rating — 1,012,556 ratings
score: 240,
and
5 people voted
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| 254 |
|
The Cask of Amontillado
by
4.07 avg rating — 87,608 ratings
score: 238,
and
5 people voted
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| 255 |
|
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
by
3.97 avg rating — 62,522 ratings
score: 236,
and
6 people voted
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| 256 |
|
Little Dorrit
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 49,740 ratings
score: 235,
and
6 people voted
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| 257 |
|
Melmoth the Wanderer
by
3.73 avg rating — 5,579 ratings
score: 234,
and
3 people voted
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| 257 |
|
Go Tell It on the Mountain
by
4.05 avg rating — 80,880 ratings
score: 234,
and
3 people voted
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| 259 |
|
Daddy-Long-Legs
by
4.13 avg rating — 75,136 ratings
score: 228,
and
3 people voted
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| 260 |
|
The Collected Poems of W.B. Yeats
by
4.23 avg rating — 39,996 ratings
score: 227,
and
5 people voted
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| 260 |
|
The Call of the Wild
by
3.91 avg rating — 469,530 ratings
score: 227,
and
3 people voted
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| 262 |
|
We the Living
by
3.96 avg rating — 30,712 ratings
score: 226,
and
3 people voted
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| 262 |
|
The Monk
by
3.86 avg rating — 33,343 ratings
score: 226,
and
3 people voted
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| 264 |
|
Lord Jim
by
3.61 avg rating — 32,890 ratings
score: 225,
and
5 people voted
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| 265 |
|
The Selfish Giant
by
4.07 avg rating — 10,083 ratings
score: 223,
and
3 people voted
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| 266 |
|
The Kreutzer Sonata
by
3.86 avg rating — 35,233 ratings
score: 222,
and
3 people voted
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| 267 |
|
When We Were Very Young (Winnie-the-Pooh, #3)
by
4.23 avg rating — 26,912 ratings
score: 221,
and
5 people voted
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| 268 |
|
The Murders in the Rue Morgue: The Dupin Tales (C. Auguste Dupin, #1-3)
by
3.74 avg rating — 11,877 ratings
score: 219,
and
5 people voted
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| 268 |
|
Guess How Much I Love You
by
4.39 avg rating — 147,011 ratings
score: 219,
and
3 people voted
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| 268 |
|
How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
by
4.38 avg rating — 444,751 ratings
score: 219,
and
5 people voted
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| 271 |
|
Lonesome Dove (Lonesome Dove, #1)
by
4.57 avg rating — 235,684 ratings
score: 217,
and
4 people voted
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| 272 |
|
The Rage of Achilles
by
Terence Hawkins (Goodreads Author)
3.42 avg rating — 196 ratings
score: 216,
and
3 people voted
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| 273 |
|
The Haunting of Hill House
by
3.81 avg rating — 389,384 ratings
score: 212,
and
3 people voted
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| 274 |
|
The Souls of Black Folk
by
4.31 avg rating — 44,731 ratings
score: 204,
and
3 people voted
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| 275 |
|
Five Children and It (The Psammead Trilogy, #1)
by
3.86 avg rating — 28,131 ratings
score: 203,
and
4 people voted
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| 276 |
|
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
by
4.21 avg rating — 53,834 ratings
score: 201,
and
4 people voted
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| 277 |
|
12 Years a Slave
by
4.23 avg rating — 124,548 ratings
score: 200,
and
2 people voted
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| 278 |
|
Where the Wild Things Are
by
4.25 avg rating — 1,056,844 ratings
score: 199,
and
5 people voted
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| 279 |
|
The Nightingale
by
Fiona Black (Adaptation)
4.06 avg rating — 1,863 ratings
score: 198,
and
3 people voted
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| 280 |
|
The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds
by
3.80 avg rating — 5,582 ratings
score: 197,
and
2 people voted
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| 280 |
|
The Pigman (The Pigman, #1)
by
3.60 avg rating — 28,672 ratings
score: 197,
and
2 people voted
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| 282 |
|
Holy Bible: New International Version
by
4.63 avg rating — 96,065 ratings
score: 189,
and
4 people voted
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| 283 |
|
A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle, #1)
by
4.01 avg rating — 357,993 ratings
score: 186,
and
2 people voted
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| 284 |
|
U.S. Constitution (Saddlewire) (Books of American Wisdom)
by
4.52 avg rating — 27,135 ratings
score: 183,
and
4 people voted
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| 285 |
|
A Town Like Alice
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4.16 avg rating — 61,625 ratings
score: 181,
and
3 people voted
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| 286 |
|
Wind in the Willows
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4.02 avg rating — 239,274 ratings
score: 179,
and
7 people voted
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| 287 |
|
Light in August
by
3.94 avg rating — 66,472 ratings
score: 176,
and
3 people voted
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| 288 |
|
The Pearl
by
3.56 avg rating — 268,972 ratings
score: 175,
and
5 people voted
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| 289 |
|
The Book Thief
by
Markus Zusak (Goodreads Author)
4.39 avg rating — 2,854,887 ratings
score: 174,
and
2 people voted
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| 290 |
|
Lady Susan
by
3.66 avg rating — 52,436 ratings
score: 171,
and
4 people voted
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| 290 |
|
Agnes Grey
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3.71 avg rating — 81,244 ratings
score: 171,
and
5 people voted
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| 290 |
|
Three Men in a Boat
by
3.83 avg rating — 79,735 ratings
score: 171,
and
3 people voted
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| 293 |
|
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
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4.03 avg rating — 159,896 ratings
score: 170,
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4 people voted
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| 294 |
|
The Big Sleep (Philip Marlowe, #1)
by
3.94 avg rating — 167,586 ratings
score: 168,
and
4 people voted
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| 294 |
|
A Girl of the Limberlost
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4.17 avg rating — 22,663 ratings
score: 168,
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3 people voted
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| 296 |
|
The Pit and the Pendulum
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4.14 avg rating — 72,116 ratings
score: 166,
and
5 people voted
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| 297 |
|
The Fall
by
4.03 avg rating — 133,448 ratings
score: 165,
and
3 people voted
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| 298 |
|
Green Mansions
by
3.69 avg rating — 3,323 ratings
score: 164,
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3 people voted
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| 299 |
|
The Purloined Letter (C. Auguste Dupin, #3)
by
3.62 avg rating — 14,020 ratings
score: 163,
and
4 people voted
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| 300 |
|
The Declaration of Independence / The Constitution of the United States
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4.44 avg rating — 27,288 ratings
score: 159,
and
4 people voted
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634 books ·
522 voters ·
list created June 21st, 2008
by Crystal.
Tags:
classic, literature
Comments Showing 1-7 of 7 (7 new)
date
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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!
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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.
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