According to TIME magazine that is. I’m not sure how I feel about top ten lists, especially when it comes to literature. Every couple of years I decide that I need to brush up on “the classics” – the definition of which is probably different for everyone. For me, that’s anything by Jane Austen, O’Henry and Steinbeck, basically mandatory high school reading material. That’s not to say that it’s not enjoyable. If it wasn’t for high school english I would have never been introduced to some of my absolute favorite authors to this day – Ray Bradbury, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Toni Morrison to name a few. This time around, after a particularly frothy chick-lit binge, I stumbled upon a round-up of TIME magazine’s 10 Greatest Books of All Time. Lots of number crunching was involved to compile the list – it’s derived from the top ten lists of “125 of the world’s most celebrated writers” – again, not sure who decides this. Either way, I think it’s a great list. Granted, I’ve only read half of these books but at least now I know what classics to brush up on! Do you guys agree with this list? Any of your favorites make the cut?
Book cover images: Lolita, In Search of Lost Time, Anna Karenina, Hamlet, Middlemarch, The Great Gatsby, Huckleberry Finn, The Essential Tales of Chekhov, War and Peace, Madame Bovary
Beautiful book cover designs. My favorite design has to be the Lolita cover. Funny but it looks similar to something I’m working on. Guess I’m in good company.
xo
thanks for sharing this, I need to update my kindle!
Yes, thank you for sharing this list. The Great Gatsby is one of my favorites. (Hm, I think it deserves a reread sometime soon.) It’s funny, in 2011 I made a new year’s resolution to read one classic every month. I thought that goal was manageable and doable. I got to March! SO much to read, so little time.
I read Madam Bovary in high school French and was not impressed, but I’ve been meaning to give it another shot for years. You and I have already gone over our love of The Great Gatsby, and I’m not at all surprised to see it made the list. However, 2 Tolstoy novels? Wow. I bought Anna Karenina after watching “The Last Station” with Christopher Plummer playing Tolstoy and Helen Mirren as his wife (an amazing movie, I cried my eyes out) but found it incredibly difficult to commit to. I’m a total Shakespeare junkie but I’d have picked Macbeth over Hamlet
No female writers on that list! What’s that about?
Ummm…good point!!! what’s up with that?? Jane Austen should have made the cut, no? That’s funny – Anna Karenina is one of my favorites, I read it after seeing the ballet (Barishnikov was sitting in the row behind me…eek) I agree it’s a little slow paced but so beautiful. I love Shakespeare as well – if it was up to me Midsummer Night’s Dream would be on the list!
Kate
Oh, yes! Midsummer Night’s Dream! Or Twelfth Night. Or King Lear!
So cool you were right in front of Barishnikov! Cool and intimidating, I mean
I agree about Macbeth. I think it’s really overlooked!
One of the greatest accomplishments of my life was getting through Anna Kerenina! It’s a difficult one. Lolita is so lyrical and beautifully written, but the subject just gives me the shivers. The Great Gatsby is my favorite book of all time and Madame Bovary is next on my list. That is, after I finish Game of Thrones! I love this post.
Lolita is a good one…and yes, The Great Gatsby seems to be a favorite for many of us
Kate
Aww, I’ve only read two of these :/ (Great Gatsby and Middlemarch)
I wish I would have seen this on Tuesday– I just bought two new books I’ve never even heard of. I prefer to read classics because it makes me feel more cultural. I never read in high school, so I feel like I’m catching up. I’ve managed to read all of Jane Austen and some other classics, but now that I think of it, I manly read English literature. I should branch out!
The Great Gatsby will blow you away. Really, you’ll love it! Don’t see the movie until you’ve read it!
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3 Russians huh.