I was wondering what the list for books is. Like the equivalent to the S&S list. Modern Library seems the closest? The voting for this was in 1998 and 1999. There's a best nonfiction list too but I'm ignoring that.
1. ULYSSES by James Joyce
Still feels far off. Now that I'm into short stories I may return to Dubliners
2. THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Didn't like this, think I read it in college. Might've avoided it in high school? That doesn't seem possible...
3. A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN by James Joyce
Wow Joyce again!
4. LOLITA by Vladimir Nabokov
This seems like a difficult mindspace to occupy. In a recent search for chess books, I uncovered The Luzhin Defense. So that's a more probable entrypoint
5. BRAVE NEW WORLD by Aldous Huxley
I've like completely forgotten this
6. THE SOUND AND THE FURY by William Faulkner
Every time I open a Faulkner it doesn't look great. But at some point when it happens this'll likely be the book
7. CATCH-22 by Joseph Heller
Doesn't seem appealing, but who knows
8. DARKNESS AT NOON by Arthur Koestler
Is this like Kafka?
9. SONS AND LOVERS by D.H. Lawrence
Seems like Lawrence is for gays and women?
10. THE GRAPES OF WRATH by John Steinbeck
For some reason I still feel there's a lot under this rock
11. UNDER THE VOLCANO by Malcolm Lowry
I know nothing about this. It's linked with Tropic of Cancer for me--not sure why
12. THE WAY OF ALL FLESH by Samuel Butler
Assume this is 18th century or something
13. 1984 by George Orwell
I just picked up a volume of this plus Animal Farm today. Could be fun to revisit it (and get around to the other)
14. I, Claudius by Robert Graves
Hmm what is this
15. TO THE LIGHTHOUSE by Virginia Woolf
Woolf's intimidating to me. I associate her with the lyrical styles of Morrison and Plath that haven't gone well for me. Maybe I'm just talking about women. I think Hurston feels similar? I like McCullers but that felt like a different thing. And she seems more tomboyish? So maybe a different archetype
16. AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY by Theodore Dreiser
Hmm
17. THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers
Not surprised
18. SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE by Kurt Vonnegut
Vonnegut doesn't seem appealing anymore
19. INVISIBLE MAN by Ralph Ellison
This could be fun to return to. It might have more layers similar to say COL49
20. NATIVE SON by Richard Wright
Seems like a tough hang
21. HENDERSON THE RAIN KING by Saul Bellow
Interesting that this is the top Bellow. I recall a podcast ep I listened to (while mopping Farwell) where the hosts praised this one, and perhaps Mr. Sammler's Planet as well. They trashed Herzog, which colored my perception of that book for quite awhile
22. APPOINTMENT IN SAMARRA by John O’Hara
I might've come close to reading this once or twice. Iirc it's one of the thinner options on this list
23. U.S.A.(trilogy) by John Dos Passos
People seem to love this
24. WINESBURG, OHIO by Sherwood Anderson
Idk
25. A PASSAGE TO INDIA by E.M. Forster
Could be interesting
26. THE WINGS OF THE DOVE by Henry James
I wonder which Henry James is the least impossible
27. THE AMBASSADORS by Henry James
This is one of the ones I've considered attempting
28. TENDER IS THE NIGHT by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Not really into Fitzgerald
29. THE STUDS LONIGAN TRILOGY by James T. Farrell
Never hear of this
30. THE GOOD SOLDIER by Ford Madox Ford
Nor this
31. ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell
For some reason this novel has always seemed goofy. Like an allegory in an extreme way that doesn't escape the bit
32. THE GOLDEN BOWL by Henry James
Phenomenal title
33. SISTER CARRIE by Theodore Dreiser
Wow this guy's second appearance
34. A HANDFUL OF DUST by Evelyn Waugh
Idk
35. AS I LAY DYING by William Faulkner
why does Franco like this
36. ALL THE KING’S MEN by Robert Penn Warren
Apparently great
37. THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY by Thornton Wilder
Haven't heard of
38. HOWARDS END by E.M. Forster
Hmm
39. GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN by James Baldwin
I once read the beginning of this and was super into it
40. THE HEART OF THE MATTER by Graham Greene
So this is the top Greene! I'm really interested in him at the moment. The Human Factor was great. This won't be next, but could come at some point
41. LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding
One of the books that got me into literature
42. DELIVERANCE by James Dickey
Interesting. I always assumed this was more of an airplane novel
43. A DANCE TO THE MUSIC OF TIME (series) by Anthony Powell
Haven't heard of
44. POINT COUNTER POINT by Aldous Huxley
Nor this
45. THE SUN ALSO RISES by Ernest Hemingway
This brings me such a cozy summer feeling. The wine drinking in this novel...
46. THE SECRET AGENT by Joseph Conrad
Hmm. Conrad's sort of interesting. This might be an angle
47. NOSTROMO by Joseph Conrad
Never heard of
48. THE RAINBOW by D.H. Lawrence
Great title
49. WOMEN IN LOVE by D.H. Lawrence
First chapter seems sort of appealing
50. TROPIC OF CANCER by Henry Miller
Not into the goofball thing
51. THE NAKED AND THE DEAD by Norman Mailer
I liked the movie. Though a long war novel is a tough sell
52. PORTNOY’S COMPLAINT by Philip Roth
Not really interested in reading about masturbation
53. PALE FIRE by Vladimir Nabokov
His most intimidating work?
54. LIGHT IN AUGUST by William Faulkner
Maybe?
55. ON THE ROAD by Jack Kerouac
Didn't like so much. But nostalgia helps it. And now I have a Denver frame of reference...
56. THE MALTESE FALCON by Dashiell Hammett
I'm not really into mysteries
57. PARADE’S END by Ford Madox Ford
Another one from this guy
58. THE AGE OF INNOCENCE by Edith Wharton
I've thought about reading this
59. ZULEIKA DOBSON by Max Beerbohm
Hmm never heard of
60. THE MOVIEGOER by Walker Percy
Ah. Is this guy better than Faulkner? It seems like his reputation is largely based on this novel. The others are cast aside
61. DEATH COMES FOR THE ARCHBISHOP by Willa Cather
A woman recommended this in the Decorah thrift shop. So I was peer pressured into buying. So it's one of the lesser items on my shelf. I assume it's for women
62. FROM HERE TO ETERNITY by James Jones
Maybe I'll see the movie instead
63. THE WAPSHOT CHRONICLE by John Cheever
Would've thought Falconer would appear first. His prose is a bit plain so I'm not too interested at this point
64. THE CATCHER IN THE RYE by J.D. Salinger
I lost/gave away my copy of this. I miss it. It might've been a casualty of the Gomersall exchanges
65. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE by Anthony Burgess
Not so appealing. 70s Britain is among the scariest periods
66. OF HUMAN BONDAGE by W. Somerset Maugham
Another one highly recommended on that same podcast ep
67. HEART OF DARKNESS by Joseph Conrad
Has to happen at some point right? It's not that long
68. MAIN STREET by Sinclair Lewis
Babbit seems more likely
69. THE HOUSE OF MIRTH by Edith Wharton
I wonder what this is about
70. THE ALEXANDRIA QUARTET by Lawrence Durrell
Hmm what is this
71. A HIGH WIND IN JAMAICA by Richard Hughes
I've only heard of the movie
72. A HOUSE FOR MR BISWAS by V.S. Naipaul
This guy's pretty famous
73. THE DAY OF THE LOCUST by Nathanael West
Didn't like. Think I checked it out at the Litchfield library
74. A FAREWELL TO ARMS by Ernest Hemingway
Hemingway's prose is a tough hurdle
75. SCOOP by Evelyn Waugh
Surely the Woody movie was an adaptation of this?
76. THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE by Muriel Spark
Spark was also recommended on that podcast
77. FINNEGANS WAKE by James Joyce
Once I reviewed the opener of each Joyce and found this most appealing
78. KIM by Rudyard Kipling
Not a great title
79. A ROOM WITH A VIEW by E.M. Forster
Another entry for this guy
80. BRIDESHEAD REVISITED by Evelyn Waugh
Hmm
81. THE ADVENTURES OF AUGIE MARCH by Saul Bellow
Saw this at the local bookshop today. Not too seductive
82. ANGLE OF REPOSE by Wallace Stegner
Stegner isn't ideal. But the most appealing one is The Spectator Bird
83. A BEND IN THE RIVER by V.S. Naipaul
Surely the Mann movie wasn't adapted from this!? I'm not sure it could capture the charm of that though? But what if it did!? (I checked. Sadly no relation)
84. THE DEATH OF THE HEART by Elizabeth Bowen
Hmm what is this
85. LORD JIM by Joseph Conrad
Conrad wrote a lot about boating seems like
86. RAGTIME by E.L. Doctorow
I want to watch the Jim Cagney movie
87. THE OLD WIVES’ TALE by Arnold Bennett
The origin of an idiom?
88. THE CALL OF THE WILD by Jack London
Think I read this and really liked it? Might jump into his short stories
89. LOVING by Henry Green
Hmm. what is this
90. MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN by Salman Rushdie
Magical realism type author?
91. TOBACCO ROAD by Erskine Caldwell
Maybe I'll check out the John Ford adaptation
92. IRONWEED by William Kennedy
Only know about the Meryl Streep movie
93. THE MAGUS by John Fowles
what is this
94. WIDE SARGASSO SEA by Jean Rhys
Or this
95. UNDER THE NET by Iris Murdoch
She's well regarded
96. SOPHIE’S CHOICE by William Styron
Isn't this sort of an airplane novel? Maybe it's middlebrow
97. THE SHELTERING SKY by Paul Bowles
Ah. I've only heard about the movie. It's Bertolucci, so might check it out
98. THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE by James M. Cain
This was pretty boring :(
99. THE GINGER MAN by J.P. Donleavy
Intriguing title
100. THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS by Booth Tarkington
I assume this is 1000 pages
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