Canon Books

Showing 1-50 of 31,036
The Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby (Paperback)
by (shelved 100 times as canon)
avg rating 3.93 — 5,892,389 ratings — published 1925
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The Odyssey The Odyssey (Paperback)
by (shelved 82 times as canon)
avg rating 3.83 — 1,188,113 ratings — published -700
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The Catcher in the Rye The Catcher in the Rye (Paperback)
by (shelved 81 times as canon)
avg rating 3.80 — 3,882,181 ratings — published 1951
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Pride and Prejudice Pride and Prejudice (Hardcover)
by (shelved 74 times as canon)
avg rating 4.29 — 4,781,178 ratings — published 1813
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To Kill a Mockingbird To Kill a Mockingbird (Paperback)
by (shelved 74 times as canon)
avg rating 4.26 — 6,859,614 ratings — published 1960
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1984 1984 (Paperback)
by (shelved 72 times as canon)
avg rating 4.20 — 5,432,203 ratings — published 1949
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Frankenstein: The 1818 Text Frankenstein: The 1818 Text (Paperback)
by (shelved 70 times as canon)
avg rating 3.91 — 1,875,853 ratings — published 1818
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Wuthering Heights Wuthering Heights (Paperback)
by (shelved 67 times as canon)
avg rating 3.90 — 2,036,101 ratings — published 1847
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Hamlet Hamlet (Paperback)
by (shelved 66 times as canon)
avg rating 4.03 — 1,047,297 ratings — published 1601
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Jane Eyre Jane Eyre (Paperback)
by (shelved 66 times as canon)
avg rating 4.16 — 2,315,824 ratings — published 1847
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The Metamorphosis The Metamorphosis (Mass Market Paperback)
by (shelved 65 times as canon)
avg rating 3.90 — 1,415,961 ratings — published 1915
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The Picture of Dorian Gray The Picture of Dorian Gray (Paperback)
by (shelved 65 times as canon)
avg rating 4.13 — 1,867,557 ratings — published 1890
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Moby-Dick or, The Whale Moby-Dick or, The Whale (Paperback)
by (shelved 59 times as canon)
avg rating 3.57 — 614,521 ratings — published 1851
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The Iliad The Iliad (Hardcover)
by (shelved 57 times as canon)
avg rating 3.93 — 508,082 ratings — published -800
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Don Quixote Don Quixote (Paperback)
by (shelved 54 times as canon)
avg rating 3.91 — 304,457 ratings — published 1615
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The Stranger The Stranger (Paperback)
by (shelved 54 times as canon)
avg rating 4.03 — 1,391,067 ratings — published 1942
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Crime and Punishment Crime and Punishment (Paperback)
by (shelved 53 times as canon)
avg rating 4.29 — 1,074,122 ratings — published 1866
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Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet (Mass Market Paperback)
by (shelved 53 times as canon)
avg rating 3.74 — 2,815,867 ratings — published 1590
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Anna Karenina Anna Karenina (Paperback)
by (shelved 52 times as canon)
avg rating 4.10 — 928,569 ratings — published 1878
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Macbeth Macbeth (Paperback)
by (shelved 52 times as canon)
avg rating 3.89 — 1,017,098 ratings — published 1623
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The Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter (Paperback)
by (shelved 51 times as canon)
avg rating 3.44 — 917,475 ratings — published 1850
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Animal Farm Animal Farm (Mass Market Paperback)
by (shelved 51 times as canon)
avg rating 4.02 — 4,526,959 ratings — published 1945
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Of Mice and Men Of Mice and Men (Paperback)
by (shelved 49 times as canon)
avg rating 3.90 — 2,825,023 ratings — published 1937
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Adventures of Tom and Huck, #2) The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Adventures of Tom and Huck, #2)
by (shelved 48 times as canon)
avg rating 3.83 — 1,335,408 ratings — published 1885
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Brave New World Brave New World (Paperback)
by (shelved 47 times as canon)
avg rating 3.99 — 2,069,934 ratings — published 1932
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Lolita Lolita (Kindle Edition)
by (shelved 47 times as canon)
avg rating 3.87 — 942,624 ratings — published 1955
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The Grapes of Wrath The Grapes of Wrath (Hardcover)
by (shelved 47 times as canon)
avg rating 4.03 — 991,745 ratings — published 1939
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Great Expectations Great Expectations (Paperback)
by (shelved 46 times as canon)
avg rating 3.80 — 872,079 ratings — published 1861
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Fahrenheit 451 Fahrenheit 451 (Kindle Edition)
by (shelved 45 times as canon)
avg rating 3.97 — 2,822,226 ratings — published 1953
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The Aeneid The Aeneid (Kindle Edition)
by (shelved 45 times as canon)
avg rating 3.87 — 143,089 ratings — published -19
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The Old Man and the Sea The Old Man and the Sea (Hardcover)
by (shelved 44 times as canon)
avg rating 3.81 — 1,307,348 ratings — published 1952
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Ulysses Ulysses (Paperback)
by (shelved 43 times as canon)
avg rating 3.76 — 137,613 ratings — published 1922
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Madame Bovary Madame Bovary (Paperback)
by (shelved 43 times as canon)
avg rating 3.71 — 373,753 ratings — published 1856
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Paradise Lost Paradise Lost (Paperback)
by (shelved 43 times as canon)
avg rating 3.86 — 182,093 ratings — published 1667
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Heart of Darkness Heart of Darkness (Paperback)
by (shelved 43 times as canon)
avg rating 3.43 — 557,170 ratings — published 1899
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Mrs. Dalloway Mrs. Dalloway (Hardcover)
by (shelved 43 times as canon)
avg rating 3.78 — 355,365 ratings — published 1925
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Dracula Dracula (Paperback)
by (shelved 42 times as canon)
avg rating 4.02 — 1,470,573 ratings — published 1897
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A Midsummer Night’s Dream A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Mass Market Paperback)
by (shelved 40 times as canon)
avg rating 3.94 — 577,443 ratings — published 1595
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The Bell Jar The Bell Jar (Paperback)
by (shelved 40 times as canon)
avg rating 4.05 — 1,213,335 ratings — published 1963
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Little Women (Little Women, #1) Little Women (Little Women, #1)
by (shelved 40 times as canon)
avg rating 4.17 — 2,451,666 ratings — published 1868
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The Brothers Karamazov The Brothers Karamazov (Paperback)
by (shelved 40 times as canon)
avg rating 4.39 — 384,575 ratings — published 1880
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War and Peace War and Peace (Paperback)
by (shelved 39 times as canon)
avg rating 4.17 — 364,976 ratings — published 1869
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A Tale of Two Cities A Tale of Two Cities (Paperback)
by (shelved 39 times as canon)
avg rating 3.88 — 1,010,709 ratings — published 1859
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The Divine Comedy: Inferno - Purgatorio - Paradiso The Divine Comedy: Inferno - Purgatorio - Paradiso (Hardcover)
by (shelved 39 times as canon)
avg rating 4.08 — 171,822 ratings — published 1320
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The Sound and the Fury The Sound and the Fury (Paperback)
by (shelved 39 times as canon)
avg rating 3.86 — 195,665 ratings — published 1929
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The Canterbury Tales The Canterbury Tales (Paperback)
by (shelved 39 times as canon)
avg rating 3.53 — 237,606 ratings — published 1400
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One Hundred Years of Solitude One Hundred Years of Solitude (Mass Market Paperback)
by (shelved 37 times as canon)
avg rating 4.12 — 1,100,766 ratings — published 1967
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Catch-22 Catch-22 (Paperback)
by (shelved 37 times as canon)
avg rating 3.99 — 885,240 ratings — published 1961
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Middlemarch Middlemarch (Mass Market Paperback)
by (shelved 35 times as canon)
avg rating 4.04 — 178,818 ratings — published 1872
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The Hobbit, or There and Back Again The Hobbit, or There and Back Again (Paperback)
by (shelved 35 times as canon)
avg rating 4.30 — 4,442,189 ratings — published 1937
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Harold Bloom
“Pragmatically, aesthetic value can be recognized or experienced, but it cannot be conveyed to those who are incapable of grasping its sensations and perceptions. To quarrel on its behalf is always a blunder.”
Harold Bloom

Pavel Florensky
“Между тем, истинный художник хочет не своего во что бы то ни стало, а прекрасного, объективно-прекрасного, то есть художественно воплощенной истины вещей, и вовсе не занят мелочным смаолюбивым вопросом, первым ли или сотым говорит он об истине. Лишь бы это была истина, - и тогда ценность происведения сама собою установится. Как всякий, кто живет, занят мыслью, живет ли он по правде или нет, а не тем, оказывается ли его жизнь похожей на жизнь соседа, - живет сам в себе для истины и убежден, что искренняя жизнь для истины непременно индивидуальна и в самой сути своей никак не повторима, истинной же может быть лишь в потоке всечеловеческой истории, а не как нарочито-выдумываемая - так не иначе и жизнь художественная: и художник, опираясь на всечеловеческие художественные каноны, когда таковые здесь или там найдены, чрез них и в них находит силу воплощать подлинно созерцаемую действительность и твердо знает, что дело его, если оно свободнои, не окажется удвоением чужого дела, хотя предмет беспокойства его - не это совподение с кем-то, а истинность изображенного им.”
Pavel Florensky, Iconostasis

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