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At Penguin Classics our mission has always been to make the best books ever written available to everyone. And that also means constantly redefining and refreshing exactly what makes a ‘classic’.
That’s where Modern Classics come in. Since 1961 they have been an organic, ever-growing and ever-evolving list of books that we believe will continue to be read over and over again.
Note: Do not add non Penguin Modern Classics editions. They will be summarily deleted. If you require assistance regarding adding the correct edition, please comment accordingly.
That’s where Modern Classics come in. Since 1961 they have been an organic, ever-growing and ever-evolving list of books that we believe will continue to be read over and over again.
Note: Do not add non Penguin Modern Classics editions. They will be summarily deleted. If you require assistance regarding adding the correct edition, please comment accordingly.
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.
| 200 |
|
Despair
by
3.91 avg rating — 11,455 ratings
score: 254,
and
4 people voted
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| 202 |
|
Queer
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3.50 avg rating — 22,374 ratings
score: 252,
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4 people voted
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| 203 |
|
Rhinoceros / The Chairs / The Lesson
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4.02 avg rating — 6,079 ratings
score: 248,
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4 people voted
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| 204 |
|
The Ballad of Peckham Rye
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3.44 avg rating — 2,777 ratings
score: 247,
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4 people voted
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| 205 |
|
Gormenghast (Gormenghast Trilogy, #2)
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4.10 avg rating — 14,777 ratings
score: 246,
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4 people voted
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| 206 |
|
Fever Pitch
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3.78 avg rating — 43,422 ratings
score: 243,
and
3 people voted
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| 207 |
|
The Myth of Sisyphus
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4.17 avg rating — 87,589 ratings
score: 240,
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4 people voted
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| 208 |
|
Shooting an Elephant
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4.06 avg rating — 11,040 ratings
score: 239,
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3 people voted
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| 209 |
|
Heroes and Villains
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3.53 avg rating — 3,136 ratings
score: 238,
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5 people voted
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| 210 |
|
If Not Now, When?
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4.23 avg rating — 4,065 ratings
score: 236,
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4 people voted
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| 211 |
|
A Rage In Harlem (Harlem Cycle, #1)
by
3.89 avg rating — 7,507 ratings
score: 229,
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4 people voted
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| 211 |
|
Call for the Dead (George Smiley #1)
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3.85 avg rating — 45,798 ratings
score: 229,
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3 people voted
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| 213 |
|
The Golden Apples
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3.80 avg rating — 1,230 ratings
score: 224,
and
3 people voted
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| 214 |
|
The Great Railway Bazaar
by
3.89 avg rating — 21,247 ratings
score: 223,
and
3 people voted
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| 214 |
|
There Once Lived a Woman Who Tried to Kill Her Neighbour's Baby: Scary Fairy Tales
by
3.61 avg rating — 4,553 ratings
score: 223,
and
3 people voted
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| 216 |
|
The Tunnel
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4.02 avg rating — 91,007 ratings
score: 215,
and
3 people voted
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| 217 |
|
The Fire Next Time
by
4.55 avg rating — 117,236 ratings
score: 214,
and
3 people voted
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| 218 |
|
Anthills of the Savannah
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3.85 avg rating — 4,526 ratings
score: 212,
and
4 people voted
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| 219 |
|
Seven Gothic Tales
by
Isak Dinesen (Pseudonym)
3.87 avg rating — 3,719 ratings
score: 208,
and
4 people voted
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| 220 |
|
The Claudius Novels
by
4.24 avg rating — 72,275 ratings
score: 203,
and
3 people voted
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| 221 |
|
Modern Classics The Merry Go Round In The Sea
by
3.81 avg rating — 691 ratings
score: 201,
and
3 people voted
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| 222 |
|
Madonna in a Fur Coat
by
4.36 avg rating — 90,275 ratings
score: 200,
and
2 people voted
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| 223 |
|
Count Belisarius
by
4.02 avg rating — 2,872 ratings
score: 199,
and
3 people voted
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| 224 |
|
Tristes Tropiques
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4.14 avg rating — 4,029 ratings
score: 197,
and
3 people voted
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| 224 |
|
Italian Folk Tales
by
4.18 avg rating — 4,688 ratings
score: 197,
and
2 people voted
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| 226 |
|
Selected Poems
by
4.14 avg rating — 787 ratings
score: 195,
and
3 people voted
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| 227 |
|
Complete Stories
by
4.36 avg rating — 3,993 ratings
score: 194,
and
2 people voted
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| 227 |
|
Closely Watched Trains
by
3.72 avg rating — 12,643 ratings
score: 194,
and
2 people voted
|
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| 227 |
|
The Black Cloud
by
3.90 avg rating — 5,211 ratings
score: 194,
and
2 people voted
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| 230 |
|
Howl, Kaddish and Other Poems
by
3.99 avg rating — 3,483 ratings
score: 193,
and
2 people voted
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| 230 |
|
Death Comes for the Archbishop
by
3.97 avg rating — 42,402 ratings
score: 193,
and
2 people voted
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| 232 |
|
Bastard Out of Carolina
by
4.14 avg rating — 47,349 ratings
score: 191,
and
2 people voted
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| 233 |
|
The Graduate
by
3.35 avg rating — 11,792 ratings
score: 189,
and
2 people voted
|
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| 234 |
|
The Birds
by
4.14 avg rating — 7,459 ratings
score: 188,
and
2 people voted
|
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| 235 |
|
Requiem for a Dream
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4.11 avg rating — 63,600 ratings
score: 183,
and
2 people voted
|
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| 236 |
|
The Assistant
by
3.99 avg rating — 1,675 ratings
score: 182,
and
2 people voted
|
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| 237 |
|
Memoirs
by
3.94 avg rating — 1,188 ratings
score: 181,
and
3 people voted
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| 238 |
|
On Photography
by
3.87 avg rating — 55,290 ratings
score: 177,
and
3 people voted
|
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| 239 |
|
Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and Its Metaphors
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 7,523 ratings
score: 176,
and
3 people voted
|
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| 240 |
|
Man's Fate
by
3.74 avg rating — 6,418 ratings
score: 173,
and
3 people voted
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| 241 |
|
Anna of the Five Towns
by
3.68 avg rating — 1,812 ratings
score: 172,
and
2 people voted
|
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| 242 |
|
Territory of Light
by
3.59 avg rating — 10,000 ratings
score: 171,
and
2 people voted
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| 243 |
|
Shosha
by
3.99 avg rating — 2,880 ratings
score: 169,
and
3 people voted
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| 244 |
|
O Pioneers!
by
3.90 avg rating — 57,820 ratings
score: 168,
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2 people voted
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| 245 |
|
Thousand Cranes
by
3.70 avg rating — 15,162 ratings
score: 167,
and
2 people voted
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| 246 |
|
A Capote Reader
by
4.41 avg rating — 479 ratings
score: 165,
and
3 people voted
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| 247 |
|
The Education of a British-Protected Child: Essays
by
4.04 avg rating — 964 ratings
score: 163,
and
2 people voted
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| 248 |
|
Invitation to a Beheading
by
3.92 avg rating — 19,648 ratings
score: 160,
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2 people voted
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| 249 |
|
The Well of Loneliness
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3.76 avg rating — 19,121 ratings
score: 159,
and
2 people voted
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| 250 |
|
The Gentleman from San Francisco and Other Stories
by
3.99 avg rating — 1,998 ratings
score: 158,
and
2 people voted
|
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| 251 |
|
Season of Migration to the North
by
3.72 avg rating — 32,779 ratings
score: 157,
and
3 people voted
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| 252 |
|
Someone Like You
by
3.94 avg rating — 4,992 ratings
score: 155,
and
3 people voted
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| 252 |
|
The Black Unicorn: Poems
by
4.33 avg rating — 3,567 ratings
score: 155,
and
2 people voted
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| 254 |
|
A Day in the Life of a Smiling Woman: The Collected Stories
by
3.73 avg rating — 1,010 ratings
score: 153,
and
3 people voted
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| 255 |
|
The Face of Another
by
3.74 avg rating — 5,526 ratings
score: 152,
and
3 people voted
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| 255 |
|
First Love and Other Novellas
by
3.74 avg rating — 2,443 ratings
score: 152,
and
3 people voted
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| 255 |
|
The Uses of Literacy: Aspects of Working-Class Life
by
3.81 avg rating — 444 ratings
score: 152,
and
2 people voted
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| 258 |
|
Terra Amata
by
3.63 avg rating — 218 ratings
score: 151,
and
2 people voted
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| 259 |
|
The Lonely Londoners
by
3.70 avg rating — 13,299 ratings
score: 150,
and
3 people voted
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| 259 |
|
Other Voices, Other Rooms
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3.75 avg rating — 17,473 ratings
score: 150,
and
2 people voted
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| 261 |
|
Reflections in a Golden Eye
by
3.84 avg rating — 7,170 ratings
score: 148,
and
2 people voted
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| 261 |
|
Lust, Caution and Other Stories
by
3.58 avg rating — 759 ratings
score: 148,
and
2 people voted
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| 263 |
|
Go
by
3.81 avg rating — 1,861 ratings
score: 146,
and
2 people voted
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| 264 |
|
The Forsyte Saga, Volume One
by
4.18 avg rating — 20,585 ratings
score: 141,
and
2 people voted
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| 265 |
|
The Dharma Bums
by
3.93 avg rating — 100,541 ratings
score: 139,
and
2 people voted
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| 266 |
|
In Dubious Battle
by
3.93 avg rating — 15,923 ratings
score: 137,
and
4 people voted
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| 266 |
|
Winter's Tales
by
3.85 avg rating — 2,531 ratings
score: 137,
and
2 people voted
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| 268 |
|
The Andy Warhol Diaries
by
3.93 avg rating — 3,085 ratings
score: 136,
and
2 people voted
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| 268 |
|
Henry and June
by
3.93 avg rating — 13,412 ratings
score: 136,
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2 people voted
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| 270 |
|
Homage to Catalonia
by
4.09 avg rating — 69,463 ratings
score: 135,
and
2 people voted
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| 271 |
|
The Complete Short Stories
by
4.18 avg rating — 2,849 ratings
score: 134,
and
2 people voted
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| 271 |
|
The Philosophy of Andy Warhol
by
3.84 avg rating — 48,277 ratings
score: 134,
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2 people voted
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| 273 |
|
Junky
by
3.85 avg rating — 70,507 ratings
score: 133,
and
3 people voted
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| 273 |
|
The Labyrinth of Solitude
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4.10 avg rating — 14,539 ratings
score: 133,
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3 people voted
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| 275 |
|
Diary of a Provincial Lady
by
3.90 avg rating — 6,474 ratings
score: 132,
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2 people voted
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| 275 |
|
The Book of Daniel
by
3.85 avg rating — 5,878 ratings
score: 132,
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2 people voted
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| 277 |
|
Titus Alone
by
3.45 avg rating — 6,108 ratings
score: 130,
and
3 people voted
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| 278 |
|
Manhattan Transfer
by
3.64 avg rating — 7,118 ratings
score: 129,
and
3 people voted
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| 279 |
|
A Heart so White
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4.02 avg rating — 17,646 ratings
score: 128,
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3 people voted
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| 279 |
|
Homer's Daughter
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3.77 avg rating — 1,045 ratings
score: 128,
and
2 people voted
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| 281 |
|
The Wild Boys
by
3.53 avg rating — 4,236 ratings
score: 127,
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3 people voted
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| 282 |
|
Pale Horse, Pale Rider: The Short Stories
by
3.96 avg rating — 4,847 ratings
score: 126,
and
3 people voted
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| 283 |
|
Literature and Evil
by
3.96 avg rating — 1,507 ratings
score: 125,
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2 people voted
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| 284 |
|
A Russian Journal
by
4.09 avg rating — 4,454 ratings
score: 124,
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2 people voted
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| 285 |
|
The Captive Mind
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4.27 avg rating — 4,812 ratings
score: 121,
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2 people voted
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| 286 |
|
Hangover Square
by
4.13 avg rating — 5,690 ratings
score: 119,
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4 people voted
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| 286 |
|
The Sundial
by
3.79 avg rating — 7,617 ratings
score: 119,
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2 people voted
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| 288 |
|
The Old Patagonian Express: By Train Through the Americas
by
3.94 avg rating — 11,514 ratings
score: 118,
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3 people voted
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| 289 |
|
The Man-Eater of Malgudi
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3.84 avg rating — 3,423 ratings
score: 115,
and
2 people voted
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| 290 |
|
The Seven Sisters
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3.37 avg rating — 1,845 ratings
score: 114,
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2 people voted
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| 290 |
|
Let It Come Down
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3.87 avg rating — 2,313 ratings
score: 114,
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2 people voted
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| 292 |
|
The Guide
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3.93 avg rating — 10,857 ratings
score: 112,
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2 people voted
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| 293 |
|
According To Mark
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3.70 avg rating — 790 ratings
score: 111,
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2 people voted
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| 294 |
|
The Book of Sand and Shakespeare's Memory
by
4.10 avg rating — 16,200 ratings
score: 103,
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2 people voted
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| 295 |
|
100 Artists' Manifestos: From the Futurists to the Stuckists
by
Alex Danchev (Editor)
4.05 avg rating — 461 ratings
score: 100,
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1 person voted
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| 295 |
|
Is Rosemary Your Daughter?
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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating
score: 100,
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1 person voted
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| 295 |
|
The Co-Wife and Other Stories
by
3.96 avg rating — 67 ratings
score: 100,
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1 person voted
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| 295 |
|
Life is a Dream
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3.49 avg rating — 152 ratings
score: 100,
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1 person voted
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| 295 |
|
Monkey Grip
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3.68 avg rating — 7,781 ratings
score: 100,
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1 person voted
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| 295 |
|
The Benefactor
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3.56 avg rating — 542 ratings
score: 100,
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1 person voted
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1008 likes · Like
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Comments Showing 1-39 of 39 (39 new)
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message 1:
by
Luke
(new)
Apr 04, 2014 06:14PM
Ha. I've only read 23.
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|
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One can criticize Penguin for many things, but this is a pretty great list of books. I have read 68 of them and, apart from a couple, all are 4-5 star worthy.
Uh oh people are adding Vintage editions to the list now. Aubrey, maybe you should disable the settings where anyone is allowed to add books.
Samadrita wrote: "Uh oh people are adding Vintage editions to the list now. Aubrey, maybe you should disable the settings where anyone is allowed to add books."yeah - not quite sure why people do that sort of thing! But yes Aubrey, maybe you should delete those and change the settings...
Sigh. I wanted this list to work out the way the NYRB one did with 100% correct editions with community adding, but people will be idiots. I'll deal with the damage later and decide whether to request it be frozen then.
The reason is that when GR gives you the option to search for a book, unless you're searching for one that's on your shelf and you've already shelved the Penguin edition, it only gives you the option of adding one edition. So then (unless I'm missing something - I'm far from expert at lists) you have to go find the right edition, add it to your books, and then search for it in your books. (Not that I'm excusing adding Vintage editions - obviously it defeats the purpose.)
One can also search within the GR database proper and add the PMC edition via ISBN. I would rather people request additions in the comments that I as a librarian could more easily enable, rather than adding something that will inevitably be deleted. As such, I have modified the description.
Aha, the ISBN, of course! I noticed someone deleted Borges's Labyrinths from the list - was that you? I couldn't see a reason for it so I added it again, seeing as how it is the Penguin Modern Classic which most reorganised my head. But I'll add nothing more.
I made the mistake of checking for duplicates (instinctive these days) and merged the proper one with the incorrect one someone else had added, of which the incorrect ended up triumphing and was subsequently deleted. Thank you for adding it back.
I haven't read a lot but have many on my tbr. Also I didn't finish Ficciones so I'm not counting that. Some I may have read in other editions.
What I want to know is when Penguin is going to acquire the rights to Juan Rulfo's Pedro Paramo. It's an incredible oversight on Penguin's part: this is probably (with Ficciones and One Hundred Years of Solitude) one of the three most influential works in modern Latin American literature. Though Penguin Modern Classics have been a major influence on me, it's lapses like this that make me realise how arbitrary their choices really are.
(How about a new list: "Books we'd like to see in Penguin Classics"?)
You may create the list if you wish, Ben, although a personal shelf would be a safer bet. The general populace has a far different view of modern classics than you or I.
You may add Penguin Modern Classics of his work, if they exist.
"Though Penguin Modern Classics have been a major influence on me, it's lapses like this that make me realise how arbitrary their choices really are."It's not about choice on the part of Penguin; it's about rights determined by agents, authors and estates.
Yeah, I wondered about that. But surely any agent or estate, in this instance, would rather sell to Penguin than Serpent's Tail (who last published Rulfo in English)?
Depends on dozens of needlessly complex, melodramatic and frustrating variables.
Not surprising, I guess. So the Penguin list (and, by extension, the whole western canon?) is arbitrary because of legal issues, not taste. Should I be relieved or depressed?I notice you just rated Walser's Selected Stories. "Kleist in Thun" - now that is a classic.
A "Books We'd Like to See in Penguin Classics" list would be great.
"Kleist" mesmerized me start to finish. It felt extraordinarily real.
Jeremy wrote: "A "Books We'd Like to See in Penguin Classics" list would be great."Nice idea, Jeremy!
Jeremy wrote: ""Kleist" mesmerized me start to finish. It felt extraordinarily real."Good to hear it! In all this talk about Walser that's snowballed over the past 10 or so years, and the common perception of Susan Bernofsky as his only worthwhile translator, the fact that he wrote one of the greatest short stories in any language seems to have been forgotten.
Re the list, do you think it'd do any good? I guess (in my naivety) I thought maybe the staff at Penguin might notice it and act on it. But even in the unlikely event that they did, maybe they'd be powerless.
(view spoiler)[Penguin Modern Classics edition 
edition that is added to the listPenguin Modern Classics edition
edition that is added to the listPenguin Modern Classics edition
edition that is added to the list (hide spoiler)]
That's the second edition that's been switched to the wrong one somehow, along with The Wretched of the Earth. Ugh. What screwy thing are the data autocompilers up to now.
If editions are combined, the more popular one wins; that may be the cause here.
I wish it were, Susanna. However, the number of voters would have changed between combinations, as would have the number of books in the list, neither of which happened here.
Then I have no idea what it was. With the screwy things the database does, who knows what caused it?
My thoughts exactly. I'll just have to keep swatting at the bugs.
Finally, a list without 'Twilight' in it.
I've come to this list late, but like it. Is the ranking still being updated?
I have added a couple of books if this list is still active.
You could add it. It's easy to add books to lists; at the top of the list, at the tab next to "all votes."
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Anyone can add books to this list.
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