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A list of books whose book designs or inherent literary structure pushed limits at the time of their publication, or whose book designs are well-known for their incredible artistry.
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 |
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House of Leaves
by
Mark Z. Danielewski (Goodreads Author)
4.09 avg rating — 198,144 ratings
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| 2 |
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S.
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3.85 avg rating — 28,654 ratings
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| 3 |
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Cloud Atlas
by
4.01 avg rating — 266,444 ratings
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| 4 |
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If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler
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4.02 avg rating — 110,892 ratings
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| 5 |
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Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
by
Jonathan Safran Foer (Goodreads Author)
3.97 avg rating — 434,312 ratings
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| 6 |
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Tree of Codes
by
Jonathan Safran Foer (Goodreads Author)
3.84 avg rating — 3,794 ratings
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| 7 |
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Night Film
by
Marisha Pessl (Goodreads Author)
3.78 avg rating — 95,476 ratings
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| 8 |
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Pale Fire
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4.17 avg rating — 57,167 ratings
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| 9 |
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Griffin & Sabine (Griffin & Sabine #1)
by
4.03 avg rating — 76,245 ratings
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| 10 |
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The Raw Shark Texts
by
Steven Hall (Goodreads Author)
3.83 avg rating — 21,591 ratings
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| 11 |
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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
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3.89 avg rating — 1,588,204 ratings
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| 12 |
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Invisible Cities
by
4.10 avg rating — 96,338 ratings
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| 13 |
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Ulysses
by
3.76 avg rating — 137,276 ratings
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| 14 |
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The Book Thief
by
Markus Zusak (Goodreads Author)
4.39 avg rating — 2,854,054 ratings
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| 15 |
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Illuminae (The Illuminae Files, #1)
by
Amie Kaufman (Goodreads Author)
4.24 avg rating — 160,791 ratings
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| 16 |
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Only Revolutions
by
Mark Z. Danielewski (Goodreads Author)
3.23 avg rating — 5,867 ratings
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| 17 |
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The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet
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3.88 avg rating — 8,739 ratings
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| 18 |
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Dracula
by
4.02 avg rating — 1,461,271 ratings
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| 19 |
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Ella Minnow Pea
by
3.94 avg rating — 57,845 ratings
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| 20 |
|
Wreck This Journal
by
Keri Smith (Goodreads Author)
4.10 avg rating — 15,042 ratings
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| 21 |
|
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
by
4.22 avg rating — 189,198 ratings
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| 22 |
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Hopscotch
by
4.20 avg rating — 48,644 ratings
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| 23 |
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Building Stories
by
4.33 avg rating — 7,373 ratings
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| 24 |
|
A Clockwork Orange
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 765,224 ratings
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| 25 |
|
Kafka on the Shore
by
4.12 avg rating — 543,420 ratings
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| 26 |
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Dictionary of the Khazars
by
4.17 avg rating — 7,578 ratings
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| 27 |
|
The Fifty Year Sword
by
Mark Z. Danielewski (Goodreads Author)
3.59 avg rating — 6,180 ratings
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| 28 |
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The Neverending Story
by
4.18 avg rating — 219,653 ratings
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| 29 |
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The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman
by
3.73 avg rating — 22,982 ratings
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| 30 |
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The Princess Bride
by
4.27 avg rating — 944,800 ratings
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| 31 |
|
Bats of the Republic: An Illuminated Novel
by
Zachary Thomas Dodson (Goodreads Author)
3.52 avg rating — 2,424 ratings
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| 32 |
|
A Visit from the Goon Squad
by
Jennifer Egan (Goodreads Author)
3.70 avg rating — 248,217 ratings
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| 33 |
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The Sound and the Fury
by
3.86 avg rating — 195,121 ratings
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| 34 |
|
The Lover's Dictionary
by
David Levithan (Goodreads Author)
3.86 avg rating — 47,872 ratings
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| 35 |
|
Nox
by
4.37 avg rating — 4,004 ratings
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| 36 |
|
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore (Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, #1)
by
Robin Sloan (Goodreads Author)
3.72 avg rating — 215,715 ratings
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| 37 |
|
Everything is Illuminated
by
Jonathan Safran Foer (Goodreads Author)
3.89 avg rating — 183,604 ratings
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| 38 |
|
One Rainy Day in May (The Familiar, #1)
by
Mark Z. Danielewski (Goodreads Author)
3.65 avg rating — 4,204 ratings
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| 39 |
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Mrs. Dalloway
by
3.78 avg rating — 353,325 ratings
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| 40 |
|
POENA DAMNI: THE TRILOGY (3-Book Box Set)
by
4.68 avg rating — 91 ratings
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| 41 |
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The People of Paper
by
4.07 avg rating — 5,458 ratings
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| 42 |
|
Wittgenstein’s Mistress
by
3.92 avg rating — 7,259 ratings
score: 840,
and
9 people voted
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| 43 |
|
A Very Minor Prophet
by
James Bernard Frost (Goodreads Author)
3.95 avg rating — 114 ratings
score: 771,
and
8 people voted
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| 44 |
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The Strange Library
by
3.55 avg rating — 69,236 ratings
score: 767,
and
8 people voted
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| 45 |
|
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide: Five Complete Novels and One Story (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1-5)
by
4.38 avg rating — 337,299 ratings
score: 750,
and
8 people voted
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| 46 |
|
A Humument: A Treated Victorian Novel
by
4.34 avg rating — 1,000 ratings
score: 675,
and
7 people voted
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| 47 |
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Codex Seraphinianus. Ein Orbis Pictus des Universums der Phantasie.
by
4.50 avg rating — 3,878 ratings
score: 670,
and
7 people voted
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| 48 |
|
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
by
Neil Gaiman (Goodreads Author)
4.01 avg rating — 655,682 ratings
score: 654,
and
7 people voted
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| 49 |
|
Sabine's Notebook (Griffin & Sabine #2)
by
4.19 avg rating — 11,226 ratings
score: 648,
and
7 people voted
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| 50 |
|
The New York Trilogy (New York Trilogy, #1-3)
by
3.86 avg rating — 86,300 ratings
score: 646,
and
7 people voted
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| 51 |
|
Autobiography of Red
by
4.25 avg rating — 35,942 ratings
score: 643,
and
7 people voted
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| 52 |
|
Z213: EXIT
by
4.27 avg rating — 242 ratings
score: 592,
and
6 people voted
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| 53 |
|
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Hercule Poirot, #4)
by
4.26 avg rating — 341,063 ratings
score: 568,
and
6 people voted
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| 54 |
|
Slade House
by
3.81 avg rating — 69,375 ratings
score: 567,
and
6 people voted
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| 55 |
|
A Greater Monster
by
David David Katzman (Goodreads Author)
3.64 avg rating — 170 ratings
score: 561,
and
6 people voted
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| 56 |
|
The Sorrows of Young Werther
by
3.69 avg rating — 153,662 ratings
score: 554,
and
6 people voted
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| 57 |
|
Foucault’s Pendulum
by
3.91 avg rating — 74,615 ratings
score: 536,
and
6 people voted
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| 58 |
|
THE FIRST DEATH (Poena Damni #3)
by
4.55 avg rating — 167 ratings
score: 495,
and
5 people voted
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| 59 |
|
Woman's World
by
4.01 avg rating — 596 ratings
score: 493,
and
5 people voted
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| 60 |
|
How to be Both
by
3.66 avg rating — 27,370 ratings
score: 487,
and
5 people voted
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| 61 |
|
The Unfortunates
by
3.87 avg rating — 1,149 ratings
score: 485,
and
5 people voted
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| 62 |
|
City of Saints and Madmen (Ambergris, #1)
by
Jeff Vandermeer (Goodreads Author)
3.87 avg rating — 8,071 ratings
score: 480,
and
5 people voted
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| 63 |
|
Finnegans Wake
by
3.68 avg rating — 13,579 ratings
score: 478,
and
5 people voted
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| 64 |
|
Composition No. 1
by
3.51 avg rating — 86 ratings
score: 476,
and
5 people voted
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| 65 |
|
The Tattooed Map
by
3.74 avg rating — 1,238 ratings
score: 472,
and
5 people voted
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| 66 |
|
As I Lay Dying
by
3.72 avg rating — 185,900 ratings
score: 470,
and
5 people voted
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| 67 |
|
Wonderstruck
by
4.16 avg rating — 59,627 ratings
score: 468,
and
5 people voted
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| 67 |
|
Peter Pan
by
4.03 avg rating — 372,756 ratings
score: 468,
and
5 people voted
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| 69 |
|
Life: A User's Manual
by
4.18 avg rating — 10,078 ratings
score: 464,
and
5 people voted
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| 70 |
|
The Dark Tower (The Dark Tower, #7)
by
Stephen King (Goodreads Author)
4.29 avg rating — 188,592 ratings
score: 458,
and
5 people voted
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| 71 |
|
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
by
3.99 avg rating — 432,944 ratings
score: 455,
and
5 people voted
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| 72 |
|
Six Characters in Search of an Author
by
3.83 avg rating — 22,436 ratings
score: 446,
and
5 people voted
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| 73 |
|
The Decameron
by
3.88 avg rating — 43,372 ratings
score: 436,
and
5 people voted
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| 74 |
|
We of the Forsaken World...
by
Kiran Bhat (Goodreads Author)
4.21 avg rating — 1,315 ratings
score: 400,
and
4 people voted
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| 75 |
|
Here
by
Richard McGuire (Author/Illustrator)
4.18 avg rating — 17,242 ratings
score: 398,
and
4 people voted
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| 76 |
|
With the People from the Bridge (Poena Damni Book 2)
by
4.56 avg rating — 104 ratings
score: 397,
and
4 people voted
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| 77 |
|
A Life In Books: The Rise and Fall of Bleu Mobley
by
Warren Lehrer (Goodreads Author)
3.90 avg rating — 61 ratings
score: 394,
and
4 people voted
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| 78 |
|
Multiple Choice
by
Alejandro Zambra (Goodreads Author)
3.89 avg rating — 6,748 ratings
score: 391,
and
4 people voted
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| 79 |
|
The French Lieutenant’s Woman
by
3.88 avg rating — 55,389 ratings
score: 380,
and
4 people voted
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| 79 |
|
Landscape Painted with Tea
by
4.01 avg rating — 1,770 ratings
score: 380,
and
4 people voted
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| 81 |
|
The Bone Clocks
by
3.85 avg rating — 100,154 ratings
score: 377,
and
4 people voted
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| 82 |
|
Be Here Now
by
4.34 avg rating — 43,165 ratings
score: 376,
and
4 people voted
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| 83 |
|
The Golden Mean (Griffin & Sabine #3)
by
4.16 avg rating — 9,952 ratings
score: 375,
and
4 people voted
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| 84 |
|
This Is Not a Novel
by
4.02 avg rating — 1,598 ratings
score: 371,
and
4 people voted
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| 85 |
|
The Waves
by
4.14 avg rating — 53,030 ratings
score: 368,
and
4 people voted
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| 86 |
|
Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life
by
3.95 avg rating — 7,242 ratings
score: 346,
and
4 people voted
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| 87 |
|
I am an Island
by
Jonathan Culver (Goodreads Author)
3.73 avg rating — 26 ratings
score: 300,
and
3 people voted
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| 87 |
|
My Dirty California
by
Jason Mosberg (Goodreads Author)
3.93 avg rating — 330 ratings
score: 300,
and
3 people voted
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| 89 |
|
The Exquisite Book: 100 Artists Play a Collaborative Game (Julia Rothman x Chronicle Books)
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 205 ratings
score: 299,
and
3 people voted
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| 90 |
|
Moby-Dick in Pictures: One Drawing for Every Page
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4.28 avg rating — 360 ratings
score: 298,
and
3 people voted
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| 90 |
|
Eunoia
by
4.04 avg rating — 1,778 ratings
score: 298,
and
3 people voted
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| 90 |
|
JPod
by
Douglas Coupland (Goodreads Author)
3.71 avg rating — 20,315 ratings
score: 298,
and
3 people voted
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| 90 |
|
The Mind
by
John Fitzgerald (Goodreads Author)
4.67 avg rating — 21 ratings
score: 298,
and
3 people voted
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| 94 |
|
The Road to London
by
Adriano Bulla (Goodreads Author)
3.92 avg rating — 40 ratings
score: 297,
and
3 people voted
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| 95 |
|
Cane
by
3.82 avg rating — 11,523 ratings
score: 296,
and
3 people voted
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| 96 |
|
The White Hotel
by
3.85 avg rating — 5,132 ratings
score: 295,
and
3 people voted
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| 97 |
|
Radi Os
by
4.17 avg rating — 295 ratings
score: 294,
and
3 people voted
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| 98 |
|
Super
by
Aaron Dietz (Goodreads Author)
4.22 avg rating — 59 ratings
score: 293,
and
3 people voted
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| 98 |
|
Newspaper Blackout
by
Austin Kleon (Goodreads Author)
3.92 avg rating — 2,459 ratings
score: 293,
and
3 people voted
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| 98 |
|
Go Ask Alice
by
Beatrice Sparks (as "Anonymous")
3.74 avg rating — 291,161 ratings
score: 293,
and
3 people voted
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305 books ·
550 voters ·
list created October 5th, 2010
by Aaron Dietz (votes) .
Comments Showing 1-12 of 12 (12 new)
date
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message 1:
by
Sharon
(new)
Jan 20, 2014 11:00AM
Why isn't the book Night Fim on this list? It should definitely be added!
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|
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Night Film? Agreed, it looks terrific! I haven't read it yet, but I've added it to the list. You can add books, too, and/or vote for them/others to move them up in the order. Thanks for mentioning Night Film!
I haven't actually read these books yet, but they certainly have intriguing design. There's Tristano, a novel that is printed in different order every copy, and also 10,000 Ghost Stories.It doesn't look like Tristano is all that well received, but that's not a criteria, is it?
Well received or actually being good is not a criteria--I imagine this to be a list of books pushing boundaries and often those are failed experiments (in terms of final impact) yet still great opportunities for others to study them and learn from them. Thanks for the comment!
I'm not sure "The Road" really pushed boundaries, at least at the time it was published. Maybe it would have in the 19th century. What does it do besides not use quotation marks for dialogue?
Thanks, Lobstergirl, I haven't read it myself. Do you recommend I remove it?
Yes, I don't really think it's innovative in terms of design or structure. It's a good book though.
Yeah, I've been very much meaning to read it, but...being already familiar with the story it's hard to get excited about it. Thanks for the tip! I'll remove it from the list.
Oh, looks like the joke's on me--I can only remove the books I voted for, which probably still only removes the vote I contributed. So it looks like this book is here to stay. Working on an experimental fiction course, though, and I'll definitely remove it from the list of works for students. Thanks again!
Not sure that Eating animals by Jonathan Safran Foer belongs on this list... I haven't read it though, so perhaps it does.
You definitely can add all the comics from Marc Antoine Mathieu like the Julius Corentin Acquefaques series.Unflattening from Nick Sousanis , which is a phD thesis on comics in form of a comic book, my preferred one.
Un cadeau , which is a comic book you unfold that is destructible
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.
