The Greatest Books of All Time

This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 254 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books.

500 records

Rank Title Author Published Country Original Language Page Range Word Count
1 One Hundred Years of Solitude Gabriel Garcia Marquez 1967 Colombian spanish 300-500 144,000
2 The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald 1925 American english 47-180 47,000
3 Ulysses James Joyce 1922 Irish english 730-1000 265,000
4 In Search of Lost Time Marcel Proust 1913 French french 3000-4300 1,200,000
5 The Catcher in the Rye J. D. Salinger 1945 American english 220-277 73,440
6 Nineteen Eighty Four George Orwell 1949 British english 300-400 88,942
7 Lolita Vladimir Nabokov 1955 American english 300-400 112,473
8 Moby Dick Herman Melville 1851 American english 600-700 212,000
9 Don Quixote Miguel de Cervantes 1605 Spanish spanish 800-1000 500,000
10 Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen 1813 British english 432 122,189
11 To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee 1960 American english 281-500 100,388
12 Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoevsky 1866 Russian russian 430-600 211,591
13 Wuthering Heights Emily Brontë 1847 British english 300-400 107,945
14 Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy 1877 Russian russian 800-1000 349,000
15 War and Peace Leo Tolstoy 1869 Russian russian 1225-1500 587,287
16 The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck 1939 American english 464 169,481
17 Beloved Toni Morrison 1987 American english 275-350 90,000
18 The Sound and the Fury William Faulkner 1929 American english 320 97,000
19 Catch-22 Joseph Heller 1961 American english 450-550 174,269
20 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Lewis Carroll 1865 British english 92-202 26,429
21 Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad 1899 British english 70-200 38,000
22 Madame Bovary Gustave Flaubert 1857 French french 300-450 117,000
23 The Lord of the Rings J. R. R. Tolkien 1954 British english 1000-1500 455,125
24 The Odyssey Homer -700 Greek ancient greek 300-500 120,000
25 The Divine Comedy Dante Alighieri 1301 Italian italian 300-500 100,000
26 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain 1884 American english 200-400 109,571
27 The Bible Christian Church 101 Jewish hebrew, aramaic, greek 783,137
28 The Stranger Albert Camus 1946 French french 100-200 35,000
29 The Brothers Karamazov Fyodor Dostoevsky 1880 Russian russian 700-800 364,000
30 Middlemarch George Eliot 1871 British english 700-900 310,000
31 Invisible Man Ralph Ellison 1952 American english 200-600 95,000
32 Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte 1847 British english 300-500 183,858
33 The Iliad Homer -750 Greek ancient greek 300-700 155,000
34 Great Expectations Charles Dickens 1861 British english 500-600 186,000
35 Midnight's Children Salman Rushdie 1981 British, Indian english 450-550 208,000
36 Frankenstein Mary Shelley 1831 British english 280-320 78,000
37 To the Lighthouse Virginia Woolf 1927 British english 200-300 70,000
38 The Trial Franz Kafka 1925 Czech german 200-300 80,000
39 On the Road Jack Kerouac 1957 American english 310 86,921
40 Mrs. Dalloway Virginia Woolf 1925 British english 150-200 64,000
41 The Magic Mountain Thomas Mann 1924 German german 700-1000 264,000
42 The Master and Margarita Mikhail Bulgakov 1966 Russian russian 250-500 134,000
43 Absalom, Absalom! William Faulkner 1936 American english 300-400 120,000
44 The Sun Also Rises Ernest Hemingway 1926 American english 200-300 68,000
45 David Copperfield Charles Dickens 1850 British english 600-900 358,000
46 Brave New World Aldous Huxley 1931 British english 200-300 64,000
47 The Color Purple Alice Walker 1982 American english 250-350 66,000
48 Gone With the Wind Margaret Mitchell 1937 American english 959-1037 418,053
49 Gulliver's Travels Jonathan Swift 1726 British english 300-400 107,349
50 A Passage to India E. M. Forster 1924 British english 200-400 120,000
51 Les Misérables Victor Hugo 1862 French french 1200-1500 530,982
52 The Red and the Black Stendhal 1830 French french 300-500 217,000
53 Slaughterhouse-Five Kurt Vonnegut 1969 American english 275-320 49,000
54 Lord of the Flies William Golding 1954 British english 224 59,960
55 Their Eyes Were Watching God Zora Neale Hurston 1937 American english 200-300 59,000
56 Tristram Shandy Laurence Sterne 1759 British english 400-600 175,000
57 Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone J. K Rowling 1997 British english 223-332 76,944
58 Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe 1958 Nigerian english 200-250 60,000
59 Rebecca Daphne du Maurier 1938 British english 300-400 115,500
60 One Thousand and One Nights 1704 arabic
61 A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man James Joyce 1917 Irish english 200-300 86,332
62 The Little Prince Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 1943 French french 93-96 16,000
63 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams 1979 British english 150-200 46,972
64 As I Lay Dying William Faulkner 1930 American english 200-300 56,000
65 The Handmaid's Tale Margaret Atwood 1985 Canadian english 300-400 94,000
66 The Aeneid Virgil 19 Roman latin 128,000
67 The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne 1850 American english 200-300 63,500
68 The Portrait of a Lady Henry James 1881 American english 400-600 188,000
69 The Diary of a Young Girl Anne Frank 1944 Dutch dutch 220-340 70,000
70 Animal Farm George Orwell 1946 British english 50-150 29,500
71 Candide Voltaire 1759 French french 100-200 30,000
72 Oedipus the King Sophocles -429 Greek ancient greek 26,000
73 Fictions Jorge Luis Borges 1935 Argentinian spanish 174
74 Native Son Richard Wright 1940 American english 350-500 100,000
75 Walden Henry David Thoreau 1854 American english 200-350 114,000
76 Pale Fire Vladimir Nabokov 1962 American english 200-300 95,000
77 Hamlet William Shakespeare 1603 British english 100-200 30,000
78 Leaves of Grass Walt Whitman 1855 American english 95-438 154,835
79 Silent Spring Rachel Carson 1962 American english 200-300 61,000
80 Love in the Time of Cholera Gabriel Garcia Marquez 1985 Colombian spanish 348 62,000
81 The Tin Drum Günter Grass 1959 German german 500-600 203,000
82 For Whom the Bell Tolls Ernest Hemingway 1940 American english 450-500 174,632
83 Faust Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1808 German german Varies 90,000
84 The Stories of Anton Chekhov Anton Chekhov 1961 Russian russian
85 The Old Man and the Sea Ernest Hemingway 1952 American english 120-140 27,000
86 In Cold Blood Truman Capote 1966 American english 300-400 94,000
87 Little Women Louisa May Alcott 1868 American english 300-500 189,000
88 The Big Sleep Raymond Chandler 1939 American english 200-300 69,000
89 A Clockwork Orange Anthony Burgess 1962 British english 192 64,000
90 The Unbearable Lightness of Being Milan Kundera 1984 Czech czech 200-400 85,000
91 Waiting for Godot Samuel Beckett 1953 Irish french 60-128 30,000
92 Emma Jane Austen 1815 British english 300-500
93 The Leopard Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa 1958 Italian italian 200-300 72,000
94 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Ken Kesey 1962 American english 320 104,000
95 Charlotte's Web E. B. White 1952 American english 192 32,000
96 The Canterbury Tales Geoffrey Chaucer 1401 British middle english 300-500 17,000
97 The Idiot Fyodor Dostoevsky 1868 Russian russian 600-800 208,000
98 Under the Volcano Malcolm Lowry 1947 British english 300-400 144,000
99 Tess of the d'Urbervilles Thomas Hardy 1891 British english 400-500 151,097
100 All Quiet on the Western Front Erich Maria Remarque 1929 German german 200-300 61,000
101 The Good Soldier Ford Madox Ford 1915 British english 200-300 72,000
102 The Age of Innocence Edith Wharton 1920 American english 300-400 101,572
103 Paradise Lost John Milton 1667 British english 200-500 80,000
104 Robinson Crusoe Daniel Defoe 1719 British english 200-300 121,961
105 Dracula Bram Stoker 1897 British english 300-500 160,000
106 Journey to the End of The Night Louis-Ferdinand Céline 1932 French french 400-600 158,000
107 Vanity Fair William Makepeace Thackeray 1847 British english 900-1000 346,089
108 The Metamorphosis Franz Kafka 1915 Czech german 40-100 22,000
109 The Corrections Jonathan Franzen 2001 American english 576 196,000
110 Essays Michel de Montaigne 1580 French french 800-1500 1,070,000
111 Demons Fyodor Dostoevsky 1872 Russian russian 500-800 332,000
112 The Hound of the Baskervilles Arthur Conan Doyle 1901 British english 174-256 59,860
113 The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde 1890 British english 220-320 78,000
114 The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe 1850 American english 1000-1500
115 The Bell Jar Sylvia Plath 1963 American english 200-300 84,000
116 The Name of the Rose Umberto Eco 1980 Italian italian 500-600 174,000
117 The Castle Franz Kafka 1926 Czech german 200-300 98,000
118 The Prince Niccolo Machiavelli 1532 Italian italian 70-140 26,000
119 Treasure Island Robert Louis Stevenson 1881 British english varies 66,922
120 Atonement Ian McEwan 2002 British english 350-400 123,378
121 The Golden Notebook Doris Lessing 1962 British english 576-640 200,000
122 White Teeth Zadie Smith 2000 British english 448-560 169,000
123 The Count of Monte Cristo Alexandre Dumas 1844 French french 1200-1400 461,111
124 American Pastoral Philip Roth 1997 American english 423 145,000
125 First Folio William Shakespeare 1623 British english 900 884,647
126 The Man Without Qualities Robert Musil 1930 Austrian german 1000-2000 177,000
127 Doctor Zhivago Boris Pasternak 1957 Russian russian 450-700 204,000
128 Tom Jones Henry Fielding 1749 British english 800-1000 346,733
129 My Antonia Willa Cather 1918 American english 200-400 99,780
130 Antigone Sophocles -441 Greek ancient greek 12,000
131 Dune Frank Herbert 1965 American english 400-500 188,000
132 A Farewell to Arms Ernest Hemingway 1929 American english 300-500 67,000
133 The Wind in the Willows Kenneth Grahame 1908 British english 240-320 58,500
134 Sons and Lovers D. H. Lawrence 1913 British english 400-500 153,000
135 Doctor Faustus Thomas Mann 1947 German german 500-700 184,000
136 Dead Souls Nikolai Gogol 1842 Russian russian 300-550 84,000
137 Disgrace J M Coetzee 1999 South African english 220 79,000
138 The Interpretation of Dreams Sigmund Freud 1899 Austrian german 600-700 203,000
139 Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury 1953 American english 158-190 46,000
140 The Road Cormac McCarthy 2006 American english 287 58,000
141 Franz Kafka: The Complete Stories Franz Kafka 1971 Czech german 450-550
142 Portnoy's Complaint Philip Roth 1969 American english 200-300 78,500
143 The Tale of Genji Murasaki Shikibu 1001 Japanese japanese 1000-1200 267,000
144 Rabbit, Run John Updike 1960 American english 250-350 121,000
145 The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay Michael Chabon 2000 American english 639 216,000
146 Song of Solomon Toni Morrison 1977 American english 337-372 92,944
147 Orlando: A Biography Virginia Woolf 1923 British english 200-300 70,000
148 Steppenwolf Hermann Hesse 1927 German german 200-300 68,000
149 The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Junot Diaz 2007 Dominican english 300-400 207,500
150 Howards End E. M. Forster 1910 British english 320-400 111,025
151 Confessions Augustine 397 Roman latin 200-400 110,000
152 The Plague Albert Camus 1947 French french 200-300 72,000
153 The Secret History Donna Tartt 1992 American english 523 223,000
154 Lord Jim Joseph Conrad 1900 British english 300-500 78,000
155 Blood Meridian Cormac McCarthy 1986 American english 300-350 98,000
156 The Autobiography of Malcolm X Alex Haley 1965 American english 460-500 134,000
157 Fathers and Sons Ivan Turgenev 1862 Russian russian 200-300 64,000
158 The Waste Land T. S. Eliot 1965 British english 64-88 434
159 A Confederacy of Dunces John Kennedy Toole 1980 American english 300-400 121,000
160 Light in August William Faulkner 1932 American english 480-512 123,672
161 The Woman in White Wilkie Collins 1859 British english 500-700 264,000
162 The House of the Spirits Isabel Allende 1982 Chilean spanish 400-500 145,000
163 All the King's Men Robert Penn Warren 1946 American english 400-500 286,000
164 The Maltese Falcon Dashiell Hammett 1930 American english 213-224 59,000
165 Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream Hunter S. Thompson 1971 American english 200-220 42,000
166 Infinite Jest David Foster Wallace 1996 American english 1079 543,000
167 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Maya Angelou 1969 American english 200-300 78,000
168 On the Origin of Species Charles Darwin 1859 British english 502 155,000
169 The Long Goodbye: A Novel Raymond Chandler 1953 American english 250-400 96,000
170 Winnie the Pooh A. A Milne 1926 British english 100-160 26,000
171 Tender Is the Night F. Scott Fitzgerald 1934 American english 260-400 104,925
172 Buddenbrooks Thomas Mann 1901 German german 700-1000 178,462
173 The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter Carson McCullers 1940 American english 300-400 121,960
174 Gravity's Rainbow Thomas Pynchon 1973 American english 760-776 305,000
175 The Call of the Wild Jack London 1903 American english 60-100 32,000
176 The Second Sex Simone de Beauvoir 1949 French french 800-1000 267,000
177 The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle Haruki Murakami 1994 Japanese japanese 610-640 208,000
178 Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats 1933 Irish english Varies
179 The God of Small Things Arundhati Roy 1997 Indian english 320 134,000
180 The Remains of the Day Kazuo Ishiguro 1989 British english 200-250 72,000
181 Poems of Emily Dickinson Emily Dickinson 1955 American english
182 A Visit From The Goon Squad Jennifer Egan 2010 American english 288-352 108,000
183 The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor Flannery O'Connor 1971 American english 500-600
184 U.S.A. Trilogy John Dos Passos 1938 American english 1200-1500 310,000
185 The Three Musketeers Alexandre Dumas 1844 French french 400-700 228,000
186 Watership Down Richard Adams 1972 British english 400-500 156,154
187 The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Muriel Spark 1961 British, Scottish english 128-160 65,000
188 Nostromo Joseph Conrad 1904 British english 500-600 170,000
189 A Room of One's Own Virginia Woolf 1929 British english 112-148 37,500
190 The Charterhouse of Parma Stendhal 1839 French french 300-500 210,000
191 An American Tragedy Theodore Dreiser 1925 American english 800-900 215,000
192 The Republic Plato 380 Greek ancient greek 300-500 118,000
193 The Moviegoer Walker Percy 1961 American english 224 60,000
194 One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 1962 Russian russian 100-200 50,000
195 Bleak House Charles Dickens 1852 British english 800-1000 360,000
196 The House of Mirth Edith Wharton 1905 American english 350-400 140,391
197 The Stand Stephen King 1978 American english 823-1152 472,000
198 The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA James D. Watson 1968 American english 200-300 64,000
199 His Dark Materials Philip Pullman 1995 British english 400-550 520,000
200 Decameron Giovanni Boccaccio 1353 Italian italian 800-1000 100,000
201 Fairy Tales and Stories Hans Christian Andersen 1843 Danish danish
202 Herzog Saul Bellow 1964 American english 300-400 103,000
203 The Things They Carried Tim O'Brien 1990 American english 233 62,000
204 The Ambassadors Henry James 1903 American english 400-500 112,000
205 Macbeth William Shakespeare 1606 British english 100-150 17,000
206 Women in Love D. H. Lawrence 1920 British english 400-500 134,000
207 A Prayer for Owen Meany John Irving 1989 American english 600-700 236,061
208 If on a Winter's Night a Traveller Italo Calvino 1979 Italian italian 200-300 56,000
209 The Talented Mr. Ripley Patricia Highsmith 1950 American english 250-300 89,000
210 A Wrinkle In Time Madeleine L'Engle 1962 American english 200-300 49,565
211 Wide Sargasso Sea Jean Rhys 1966 British english 120-200 64,000
212 Kim Rudyard Kipling 1901 British english 200-500 95,000
213 The Alchemist Paulo Coelho 1988 Brazilian portuguese 163-208 45,000
214 Middlesex Jeffrey Eugenides 2002 American english 529 196,000
215 Lady Chatterley's Lover D. H. Lawrence 1928 British english 300-400 114,000
216 2666 Roberto Bolaño 2004 Chilean spanish 900-1100 325,000
217 King Lear William Shakespeare 1608 British english 100-200 26,147
218 The World According to Garp John Irving 1978 American english 437-609 191,473
219 Jude the Obscure Thomas Hardy 1895 British english 400-500 145,000
220 Stories of Ernest Hemingway Ernest Hemingway 1987 American english
221 If This Is a Man Primo Levi 1947 Italian italian 100-200 38,000
222 The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe C. S. Lewis 1950 British english 100-200 38,867
223 Communist Manifesto Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels 1848 German german 30-40 19,000
224 The Gulag Archipelago Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 1973 Russian russian 1600-2200 660,000
225 Atlas Shrugged Ayn Rand 1957 American english 1000-1200 645,000
226 The Good Soldier Svejk Jaroslav Hašek 1923 Czech czech 600-750 208,000
227 Austerlitz W. G. Sebald 2001 German german 200-300 128,000
228 Never Let Me Go Kazuo Ishiguro 2005 British, Japanese english 288 88,500
229 Democracy in America Alexis de Tocqueville 1840 French french 300-900 700,000
230 Bonfire of the Vanities Tom Wolfe 1987 American english 600-700 190,000
231 The Adventures of Augie March Saul Bellow 1953 American english 500-600 156,000
232 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Betty Smith 1943 American english 300-500 145,092
233 The Jungle Upton Sinclair 1906 American english 300-500 154,000
234 The Awakening Kate Chopin 1899 American english 100-200 39,000
235 Brideshead Revisited Evelyn Waugh 1945 British english 300-400 142,000
236 The Book Thief Markus Zusak 2005 German english 550-600 118,000
237 Lucky Jim Kingsley Amis 1954 British english 200-300 84,000
238 Nausea Jean Paul Sartre 1938 French french 150-250 70,000
239 The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Robert Louis Stevenson 1886 British english 64-178 25,000
240 Molloy Samuel Beckett 1951 Irish french 200-300 72,000
241 Gargantua and Pantagruel Francois Rabelais 1532 French french 1000-1200 240,000
242 Oedipus at Colonus Sophocles -401 Greek ancient greek
243 The Hobbit J. R. R. Tolkien 1937 British english 300-400 95,022
244 The Pickwick Papers Charles Dickens 1837 British english 800-1000 183,349
245 Medea Euripides -431 Greek ancient greek 18,000
246 The Poisonwood Bible Barbara Kingsolver 1998 American english 500-600 196,000
247 Dangerous Liaison Pierre Choderlos de Laclos 1782 French french 400-500 175,000
248 The Savage Detectives Roberto Bolaño 1998 Chilean spanish 500-600 208,000
249 Housekeeping Marilynne Robinson 1980 American english 200-300 78,000
250 The Joy Luck Club Amy Tan 1989 American english 288-332 91,084
251 The Time Machine H. G. Wells 1895 British english 80-120 32,000
252 The Shining Stephen King 1977 American english 447-659 163,000
253 The Complete Sherlock Holmes Arthur Conan Doyle 1887 British english 800-1200 608,000
254 Epic of Gilgamesh -2100 Unknown sumerian 20,000
255 The Spy Who Came in From the Cold John le Carré 1963 British english 200-300 62,500
256 A Suitable Boy Vikram Seth 1994 Indian english 1349-1500 591,554
257 A Season in Hell Arthur Rimbaud 1873 French french 50-100 5,000
258 A House for Mr. Biswas V. S. Naipaul 1961 Trinidadian english 350-500 206,000
259 And Then There Were None Agatha Christie 1939 British english 200-300 64,312
260 The Structure of Scientific Revolutions Thomas Kuhn 1962 American english 200-300 114,000
261 A Sentimental Education Gustave Flaubert 1869 French french 300-500 145,000
262 The Counterfeiters André Gide 1925 French french 200-400 95,000
263 Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck 1937 American english 100-200 29,000
264 Money Martin Amis 1984 British english 300-400 134,000
265 Tropic of Cancer Henry Miller 1934 American english 300-400 80,000
266 War of the Worlds H. G. Wells 1898 British english 200-300 60,000
267 Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban J. K Rowling 1999 British english 317-435 107,253
268 Cold Comfort Farm Stella Gibbons 1932 British english 200-300 95,000
269 Siddhartha Hermann Hesse 1922 German german 152 50,000
270 Confessions of Zeno Italo Svevo 1923 Italian italian 400-500 126,000
271 Possession A. S. Byatt 1990 British english 500-700 186,000
272 Memoirs of Hadrian Marguerite Yourcenar 1951 French french 300-400 72,000
273 The Flowers of Evil Charles Baudelaire 1857 French french 100-200
274 Metamorphoses Ovid 8 Roman latin 200-800 250,000
275 Gilead Marilynne Robinson 2004 American english 247 84,000
276 Cloud Atlas David Mitchell 2004 British english 509-544 172,000
277 Man's Fate Andre Malraux 1934 French french 200-350
278 The Poems of Robert Frost Robert Frost 1969 American english
279 Father Goriot Honoré de Balzac 1835 French french 300-400 95,000
280 Hunger Knut Hamsun 1890 Norwegian norwegian 100-300 64,000
281 The End of the Affair Graham Greene 1951 British english 160-200 63,000
282 I, Claudius Robert Graves 1934 British english 300-500 100,000
283 Out of Africa Isak Dinesen 1937 Danish english 300-400 104,960
284 The Once and Future King T. H. White 1958 British english 600-700 288,000
285 Go Tell it on the Mountain James Baldwin 1953 American english 256-320 78,500
286 Oresteia Aeschylus -458 Greek ancient greek 24,000
287 The Tempest William Shakespeare 1623 British english 70-100 17,000
288 Americanah Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 2013 Nigerian english 477 151,960
289 Berlin Alexanderplatz Alfred Döblin 1929 German german 200-600 150,000
290 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire J. K Rowling 2000 British english 636-734 190,637
291 The Godfather Mario Puzo 1969 American english 400-500 141,000
292 Underworld Don DeLillo 1997 American english 800-900 335,000
293 Wolf Hall Hilary Mantel 2009 British english 650-700 200,000
294 A Tale of Two Cities Charles Dickens 1859 British english 200-500 135,420
295 The Tartar Steppe Dino Buzzati 1940 Italian italian 200-300 60,000
296 The Stories of John Cheever John Cheever 1978 American english 700-800 200,000
297 Pedro Páramo Juan Rulfo 1955 Mexican spanish 120-200 23,000
298 The Lover Marguerite Duras 1984 French french 117-148 42,000
299 The Chronicles of Narnia C. S. Lewis 1950 British english 100-250 778,045
300 Clarissa Samuel Richardson 1748 British english 1000-1500 984,000
301 Neuromancer William Gibson 1984 American, Canadian english 271-320 78,973
302 Winesburg, Ohio Sherwood Anderson 1919 American english 200-300 52,000
303 White Noise Don DeLillo 1985 American english 300-400 78,500
304 Mahabharata Vyasa -400 Indian sanskrit 7000-10000 1,800,000
305 Thus Spake Zarathustra Friedrich Nietzsche 1883 German german 300-500 64,000
306 Anne of Green Gables L. M. Montgomery 1908 Canadian english 300-400 97,000
307 Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret Judy Blume 1970 American english 150-200 25,000
308 Brighton Rock Graham Greene 1938 British english 200-300 67,282
309 Labyrinths Jorge Luis Borges 1962 Argentinian spanish 200-300
310 Persuasion Jane Austen 1818 British english 230-300 87,022
311 The Da Vinci Code Dan Brown 2006 American english 450-600 138,882
312 Rabbit Redux John Updike 1971 American english 350-450 121,000
313 A Bend in the River V. S. Naipaul 1979 Trinidadian english 278-350 78,000
314 The Turn of the Screw Henry James 1898 American english 120-200 42,960
315 The Adventures of Oliver Twist Charles Dickens 1837 British english 300-500 158,723
316 Babbitt Sinclair Lewis 1922 American english 300-400 95,000
317 The Year of Magical Thinking Joan Didion 2005 American english 227-240 64,500
318 The Shipping News Annie Proulx 1993 American english 300-350 98,430
319 The Life of Samuel Johnson James Boswell 1823 British english 1400-1500 208,000
320 Oblomov Ivan Goncharov 1859 Russian russian 200-600 200,000
321 Zorba the Greek Nikos Kazantzakis 1946 Greek greek 300-500 70,000
322 The Mayor of Casterbridge Thomas Hardy 1886 British english 300-500 105,000
323 Uncle Tom's Cabin Harriet Beecher Stowe 1852 American english 300-500 166,622
324 A Wizard of Earthsea Ursula K. Le Guin 1968 American english 180-205 56,000
325 A Good Man Is Hard to Find Flannery O'Connor 1955 American english 30-50
326 Household Tales Brothers Grimm 1812 German german 160,000
327 Foundation Isaac Asimov 1951 American english 200-300 70,000
328 A Room With a View E. M. Forster 1908 British english 200-300 65,000
329 Death of Virgil Hermann Broch 1945 Austrian german 400-500 153,000
330 Pensées Blaise Pascal 1670 French french 70,000
331 Ragtime E. L. Doctorow 1975 American english 250-350 72,000
332 Naked Lunch William S. Burroughs 1959 American english 200-250 58,950
333 Finnegans Wake James Joyce 1939 Irish english 590-628 215,000
334 Darkness at Noon Arthur Koestler 1940 British german 200-300 80,000
335 A Fine Balance Rohinton Mistry 1995 Indian english 600-750 192,000
336 Rabbit Is Rich John Updike 1981 American english 450-560 135,000
337 The Moonstone Wilkie Collins 1868 British english 400-500 197,790
338 American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis 1991 American english 384 203,774
339 The Confessions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau 1782 French french 600-800 267,000
340 Our Mutual Friend Charles Dickens 1865 British english 800-900 168,000
341 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Mark Twain 1876 American english 180-250 70,400
342 The Complete Works of Plato Plato 1401 Greek ancient greek
343 The Sorrows of Young Werther Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1774 German german 100-200 64,000
344 Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea Jules Verne 1870 French french 320-480 138,126
345 The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money John Maynard Keynes 1936 British english 400-500 134,000
346 Watchmen Alan Moore 1986 American, British english 416
347 Pippi Longstocking Astrid Lindgren 1945 Swedish swedish 100-200 30,000
348 Rabbit at Rest John Updike 1990 American english 450-500 156,000
349 Independent People Halldor Laxness 1946 Icelandic icelandic 400-500 200,000
350 The Murder of Roger Ackroyd Agatha Christie 1926 British english 300-400 58,000
351 The Sea, The Sea Iris Murdoch 1978 British english 500-550 200,000
352 East of Eden John Steinbeck 1952 American english 600-800 225,000
353 The Good Earth Pearl S. Buck 1931 American english 300-400 97,000
354 The Waves Virginia Woolf 1931 British english 200-300 83,000
355 Invisible Cities Italo Calvino 1972 Italian italian 165 36,000
356 At Swim Two-Birds Flann O'Brien 1939 Irish english 200-300 72,000
357 Regeneration Pat Barker 1991 British english 250-300 90,000
358 Ferdydurke Witold Gombrowicz 1937 Polish polish 200-300 62,000
359 A Dance to the Music of Time Anthony Powell 1951 British english 240-300
360 Let Us Now Praise Famous Men James Agee 1941 American english 400-500 128,000
361 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince J. K Rowling 2005 British english 607-652 168,923
362 Selected Stories of Alice Munro Alice Munro 1996 Canadian english
363 Perfume Patrick Suskind 1985 German german 250-300 51,000
364 A Brief History of Time Stephen Hawking 1988 British english 200-256 41,000
365 Life of Pi Yann Martel 2001 Canadian english 300-400 100,000
366 The Affluent Society John Kenneth Galbraith 1958 American english 200-300 103,000
367 So Long, See You Tomorrow William Maxwell 1981 American english 135-160 59,000
368 The Old Wives' Tale Arnold Bennett 1908 British english 600-800 190,983
369 The Day of the Locust Nathanael West 1939 American english 160-180 50,000
370 The Elements of Style E. B. White, William Strunk Jr. 1918 American english 50-100 20,000
371 The Crying of Lot 49 Thomas Pynchon 1966 American english 150-200 49,000
372 Gone Girl Gillian Flynn 2012 American english 400-500 145,000
373 Dubliners James Joyce 1914 Irish english 152-224 65,000
374 The Hunchback of Notre-Dame Victor Hugo 1831 French french 300-500 183,000
375 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix J. K Rowling 2003 British english 766-870 257,045
376 A Doll's House Henrik Ibsen 1879 Norwegian norwegian 70-100 30,000
377 Look Homeward, Angel Thomas Wolfe 1929 American english 500-600 209,000
378 Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets J. K Rowling 1998 British english 251-360 85,141
379 Germinal Émile Zola 1885 French french 300-600 196,000
380 Le Morte d'Arthur Thomas Malory 1485 British middle english 800-1000 209,000
381 Malone Dies Samuel Beckett 1951 Irish french 100-200 31,000
382 The Histories of Herodotus Herodotus -449 Greek ancient greek 200,000
383 The Last of the Mohicans James Fenimore Cooper 1826 American english 300-500 145,462
384 A Game of Thrones George R. R. Martin 1996 American english 694-835 298,000
385 2001: A Space Odyssey Arthur C. Clarke 1951 British english 200-300 64,000
386 Persepolis Marjane Satrapi 2000 Iranian french 153
387 The Golden Bowl Henry James 1904 American english 500-600 197,000
388 Leviathan Thomas Hobbes 1651 British english 300-500 150,000
389 The Death of Ivan Ilyich Leo Tolstoy 1886 Russian russian 50-150 22,000
390 Speak, Memory Vladimir Nabokov 1951 American english 300-350 97,000
391 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz L. Frank Baum 1900 American english 200-300 40,000
392 Giovanni's Room James Baldwin 1956 American english 150-200 62,000
393 The Haunting of Hill House Shirley Jackson 1959 American english 182-246 80,274
394 Birdsong Sebastian Faulks 1993 British english 400-500 123,000
395 The Princess of Cleves Madame de La Fayette 1678 French french 200-300 70,000
396 Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Philip K. Dick 1968 American english 210-256 61,000
397 Ethan Frome Edith Wharton 1911 American english 100-200 30,000
398 Where the Wild Things Are Maurice Sendak 1963 American english 40 338
399 Nine Stories J. D. Salinger 1953 American english 200-300 63,000
400 The Bacchae Euripides -405 Greek ancient greek 12,000
401 Stranger in a Strange Land Robert A. Heinlein 1961 American english 408-528 220,000
402 Electra Sophocles -409 Greek ancient greek 12,000
403 Bonjour Tristesse Francoise Sagan 1954 French french 100-200 30,000
404 The Known World Edward P. Jones 2003 American english 388 138,885
405 Waiting for the Barbarians J M Coetzee 1980 South African english 150-200 56,000
406 The Pillars Of The Earth Ken Follett 1989 British english 800-1100 312,000
407 Bastard Out of Carolina Dorothy Allison 1993 American english 320 104,000
408 Wise Blood Flannery O'Connor 1952 American english 224 64,000
409 Das Kapital Karl Marx 1867 German german varies 330,000
410 Life and Fate Vasily Grossman 1959 Russian russian 800-900 290,000
411 The Quran 651 Arabic arabic 77,430
412 The Hunger Games Suzanne Collins 2008 American english 374 99,750
413 The Rainbow D. H. Lawrence 1915 British english 400-500 161,460
414 The Alexandria Quartet Lawrence Durrell 1957 British english 200-300 per book 495,000
415 Eugene Onegin Alexander Pushkin 1825 Russian russian 200-300 49,000
416 The Giver Lois Lowry 1993 American english 180-240 43,000
417 Maus Art Spiegelman 1986 American english 296
418 Crash: A Novel J. G. Ballard 1973 British english 224 62,000
419 Joseph and His Brothers Thomas Mann 1933 German german 1200-1500 365,000
420 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows J. K Rowling 2007 British english 607-759 198,227
421 The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge Rainer Maria Rilke 1910 German german 200-300 50,000
422 Kristin Lavransdatter Sigrid Undset 1920 Norwegian norwegian 1000-1400 360,000
423 Cry, the Beloved Country Alan Paton 1948 South African english 200-300 83,000
424 The Fifth Season N. K. Jemisin 2015 American english 468 152,000
425 The Unnamable Samuel Beckett 1953 Irish french 100-150 27,000
426 The Federalist Papers Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay 1787 American english 400-500 85,000
427 Beowulf 101 Unknown old english 160-200 3,182
428 The Man Who Loved Children Christina Stead 1940 Australian english 500-600 200,000
429 The Book of Disquiet Fernando Pessoa 1982 Portuguese portuguese 240-544 80,000
430 The Mill on the Floss George Eliot 1860 British english 500-700 203,000
431 The Red Badge of Courage Stephen Crane 1895 American english 100-200 47,000
432 Ivanhoe Walter Scott 1820 British english 400-600 183,858
433 Of Human Bondage W. Somerset Maugham 1915 British english 600-700 250,000
434 A Hero of Our Time Mikhail Lermontov 1840 Russian russian 150-200 64,000
435 The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett 1911 British english 200-400 80,000
436 The Phantom Tollbooth Norton Juster 1961 American english 256 39,000
437 Notes from the Underground Fyodor Dostoevsky 1864 Russian russian 70-150 67,000
438 Half of a Yellow Sun Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 2007 Nigerian english 433 146,500
439 The Forsyte Saga John Galsworthy 1922 British english 300-400 555,000
440 The Feminine Mystique Betty Friedan 1963 American english 300-400 178,000
441 Sophie's Choice William Styron 1979 American english 500-600 169,481
442 The Third Policeman Flann O'Brien 1967 Irish english 200-300 59,000
443 Collected Poems Wallace Stevens 1955 American english 300-500
444 High Fidelity Nick Hornby 1995 British english 300-350 96,422
445 Tarzan of the Apes Edgar Rice Burroughs 1912 American english 200-400 70,000
446 The Confusions of Young Törless Robert Musil 1906 Austrian german 150-300 70,000
447 Life, a User's Manual Georges Perec 1978 French french 500-600 156,000
448 Homage to Catalonia George Orwell 1938 British english 230-300 70,000
449 Nightwood Djuna Barnes 1936 American english 160-200 50,000
450 A Christmas Carol Charles Dickens 1843 British english 28-116 28,945
451 The Left Hand Of Darkness Ursula K. Le Guin 1969 American english 300-350 97,000
452 All the Pretty Horses Cormac McCarthy 1992 American english 280-320 98,000
453 Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Robert M. Pirsig 1974 American english 412-540 121,951
454 The Civil War Shelby Foote 1974 American english 2934 1,200,000
455 The Thorn Birds Colleen McCullough 1977 Australian english 500-700 197,000
456 Noughts and Crosses Malorie Blackman 2001 British english 400-500 62,000
457 We Yevgeny Zamyatin 1921 Russian russian 200-300 50,000
458 The Glass Bead Game Hermann Hesse 1943 German german 500-600 137,000
459 Lysistrata Aristophanes 411 Greek ancient greek 21,803
460 Through the Looking Glass Lewis Carroll 1871 British english 200-300 27,498
461 Hopscotch Julio Cortázar 1963 Argentinian spanish 500-600 155,000
462 The Namesake Jhumpa Lahiri 2003 American english 291 80,000
463 Wings of the Dove Henry James 1902 American english 400-500 150,000
464 The Way We Live Now Anthony Trollope 1875 British english 800-1000 362,000
465 The Fountainhead Ayn Rand 1943 American english 700-800 311,596
466 Ada or Ardor Vladimir Nabokov 1969 American english 589-624 144,000
467 The Human Stain Philip Roth 2000 American english 361 136,000
468 Bridget Jones's Diary Helen Fielding 1996 British english 200-300 71,000
469 The Prophet Kahlil Gibran 1923 Lebanese english 90-130 12,000
470 Henderson The Rain King Saul Bellow 1959 American english 341 104,000
471 Murder on the Orient Express Agatha Christie 1934 British english 200-350 68,000
472 Testament Of Youth Vera Brittain 1933 British english 600-700 250,000
473 Relativity Albert Einstein 1917 German german 130-150 30,000
474 Satanic Verses Salman Rushdie 1988 British english 200-600 143,000
475 Pilgrim's Progress John Bunyan 1678 British english 300-400 108,000
476 The Magus John Fowles 1966 British english 656-725 203,000
477 The Right Stuff Tom Wolfe 1979 American english 336-448 143,000
478 The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini 2003 Afghan english 372 101,000
479 Loving Henry Green 1945 British english 224
480 Call It Sleep Henry Roth 1934 American english 400-500 121,000
481 Another Country James Baldwin 1962 American english 400-448 166,121
482 Silas Marner George Eliot 1861 British english 150-300 72,000
483 The Postman Always Rings Twice James M. Cain 1934 American english 100-200 37,000
484 Lonesome Dove Larry McMurtry 1985 American english 843 365,712
485 I Capture the Castle Dodie Smith 1934 British english 300-400 143,000
486 The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Edward Gibbon 1776 British english 3000-4000 1,300,000
487 A Vindication of the Rights of Woman Mary Wollstonecraft 1792 British english 200-300 74,921
488 Nights At The Circus Angela Carter 1984 British english 295 135,000
489 The Hour of the Star Clarice Lispector 1977 Brazilian portuguese 80-96 23,000
490 Love Medicine Louise Erdrich 1984 American english 275-333 97,000
491 The Daughter of Time Josephine Tey 1951 British english 206 58,270
492 In Our Time Ernest Hemingway 1925 American english 130-160 27,000
493 The Varieties of Religious Experience Will James 1902 American english 400-500 134,000
494 Roots Alex Haley 1977 American english 576-688 587,287
495 Season of Migration to the North Al-Tayyib Salih 1966 Sudanese arabic 139-169 50,000
496 Goodnight Moon Margaret Wise Brown 1947 American english 30-32 130
497 Cold Mountain Charles Frazier 1997 American english 350-500 161,511
498 The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas Gertrude Stein 1933 American english 200-300 64,500
499 The Thirty-Nine Steps John Buchan 1915 British english 100-200 60,988
500 Gormenghast Mervyn Peake 1950 British english 400-500 205,000

Notes

  • Last updated on April 1, 2024
  • The Greatest Books of All Time data as of April 1, 2024 courtesy of The Greatest LLC..