100 Best Novels

[Darren Dirt]

I was reading the Wikipedia entry for a certain well-known but probably-rarely-actually-read classic, and there was a link to this interesting list...

http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/100bestnovels.html

...brought to you by The Modern Library

The list on the right (from "The Readers") is actually very agreeable IMHO -- Over the last few years I have bought copies of quite a few of the top 30, and I think they are rightfully considered classics:


1. ATLAS SHRUGGED by Ayn Rand (bought this, thoroughly enjoyed listening to the Edward Hermann 20+hours audio "book" last summer from the library; actually read only some portions including Galt's 60-page "speech")

2. THE FOUNTAINHEAD by Ayn Rand (bought this, thoroughly enjoyed the film version from the library)

3. BATTLEFIELD EARTH by L. Ron Hubbard (been meaning to buy this -- I've heard it's actually a pretty good story)

4. THE LORD OF THE RINGS by J.R.R. Tolkien (read years ago but want to re-read it with a "new set of eyes")

5. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee

6. 1984 by George Orwell (been meaning to buy this, have seen the John Hurt film version and have read excerpts from the book over the years)

7. ANTHEM by Ayn Rand (bought this, IMHO pretty much a perfect novella)

8. WE THE LIVING by Ayn Rand (bought this but it's horribly dull reading, at least at first)

9. MISSION EARTH by L. Ron Hubbard

10. FEAR by L. Ron Hubbard

11. ULYSSES by James Joyce (been meaning to buy this)

12. CATCH-22 by Joseph Heller (been meaning to buy this)

13. THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald (read years ago but want to re-read it with a "new set of eyes")

14. DUNE by Frank Herbert (read years ago but want to re-read it with a "new set of eyes")

15. THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS by Robert Heinlein (bought this, one of the best Sci Fi ever, IMHO pretty much a perfect novel, wonderfully memorable characters)

16. STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND by Robert Heinlein (bought this, one of the best Sci Fi ever, IMHO pretty much a perfect novel, wonderfully memorable characters)

17. A TOWN LIKE ALICE by Nevil Shute

18. BRAVE NEW WORLD by Aldous Huxley (bought this and have read excerpts from the book over the years)

19. THE CATCHER IN THE RYE by J.D. Salinger (been meaning to buy this -- especially after seeing the film "Conspiracy Theory" )

20. ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell (read years ago but want to re-read it with a "new set of eyes")

21. GRAVITY'S RAINBOW by Thomas Pynchon (been meaning to buy this)

22. THE GRAPES OF WRATH by John Steinbeck (read years ago but want to re-read it with a "new set of eyes")

23. SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE by Kurt Vonnegut (been meaning to buy this)

24. GONE WITH THE WIND by Margaret Mitchell (been meaning to buy this)

25. LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding (read years ago but want to re-read it with a "new set of eyes")

26. SHANE by Jack Schaefer

27. TRUSTEE FROM THE TOOLROOM by Nevil Shute

28. A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY by John Irving

29. THE STAND by Stephen King (read years ago but want to re-read it with a "new set of eyes")

30. THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT'S WOMAN by John Fowles

31. BELOVED by Toni Morrison

32. THE WORM OUROBOROS by E.R. Eddison

33. THE SOUND AND THE FURY by William Faulkner

34. LOLITA by Vladimir Nabokov

35. MOONHEART by Charles de Lint

36. ABSALOM, ABSALOM! by William Faulkner

37. OF HUMAN BONDAGE by W. Somerset Maugham

38. WISE BLOOD by Flannery O'Connor

39. UNDER THE VOLCANO by Malcolm Lowry

40. FIFTH BUSINESS by Robertson Davies

41. SOMEPLACE TO BE FLYING by Charles de Lint

42. ON THE ROAD by Jack Kerouac (been meaning to buy this)

43. HEART OF DARKNESS by Joseph Conrad (read years ago but want to re-read it with a "new set of eyes")

44. YARROW by Charles de Lint

45. AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS by H.P. Lovecraft

46. ONE LONELY NIGHT by Mickey Spillane

47. MEMORY AND DREAM by Charles de Lint 

48. TO THE LIGHTHOUSE by Virginia Woolf

49. THE MOVIEGOER by Walker Percy

50. TRADER by Charles de Lint

51. THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY by Douglas Adams (bought this)

52. THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers

53. THE HANDMAID'S TALE by Margaret Atwood (read years ago but want to re-read it with a "new set of eyes")

54. BLOOD MERIDIAN by Cormac McCarthy

55. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE by Anthony Burgess (been meaning to buy this)

56. ON THE BEACH by Nevil Shute (been meaning to buy this)

57. A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN by James Joyce

58. GREENMANTLE by Charles de Lint

59. ENDER'S GAME by Orson Scott Card (been meaning to buy this)

60. THE LITTLE COUNTRY by Charles de Lint

61. THE RECOGNITIONS by William Gaddis

62. STARSHIP TROOPERS by Robert Heinlein (bought this, very well-written even though I find the theme contrary to my own beliefs)

63. THE SUN ALSO RISES by Ernest Hemingway (been meaning to buy this)

64. THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP by John Irving (been meaning to buy this)

65. SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES by Ray Bradbury (been meaning to buy this)

66. THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE by Shirley Jackson

67. AS I LAY DYING by William Faulkner

68. TROPIC OF CANCER by Henry Miller (been meaning to buy this)

69. INVISIBLE MAN by Ralph Ellison

70. THE WOOD WIFE by Terri Windling

71. THE MAGUS by John Fowles

72. THE DOOR INTO SUMMER by Robert Heinlein

73. ZEN AND THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE by Robert Pirsig

74. I, CLAUDIUS by Robert Graves

75. THE CALL OF THE WILD by Jack London (read years ago but want to re-read it with a "new set of eyes")

76. AT SWIM-TWO-BIRDS by Flann O'Brien

77. FARENHEIT 451 by Ray Bradbury (been meaning to buy this)

78. ARROWSMITH by Sinclair Lewis (been meaning to buy this)

79. WATERSHIP DOWN by Richard Adams (read years ago but want to re-read it with a "new set of eyes")

80. NAKED LUNCH by William S. Burroughs (been meaning to buy this)

81. THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER by Tom Clancy (been meaning to buy this)

82. GUILTY PLEASURES by Laurell K. Hamilton

83. THE PUPPET MASTERS by Robert Heinlein (been meaning to buy this)

84. IT by Stephen King (read years ago but want to re-read it with a "new set of eyes")

85. V. by Thomas Pynchon (been meaning to buy this)

86. DOUBLE STAR by Robert Heinlein

87. CITIZEN OF THE GALAXY by Robert Heinlein (been meaning to buy this)

88. BRIDESHEAD REVISITED by Evelyn Waugh

89. LIGHT IN AUGUST by William Faulkner

90. ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST by Ken Kesey (been meaning to buy this)

91. A FAREWELL TO ARMS by Ernest Hemingway (been meaning to buy this)

92. THE SHELTERING SKY by Paul Bowles

93. SOMETIMES A GREAT NOTION by Ken Kesey

94. MY ANTONIA by Willa Cather

95. MULENGRO by Charles de Lint

96. SUTTREE by Cormac McCarthy

97. MYTHAGO WOOD by Robert Holdstock

98. ILLUSIONS by Richard Bach

99. THE CUNNING MAN by Robertson Davies

100. THE SATANIC VERSES by Salman Rushdie (been meaning to buy this -- I've heard it's actually a pretty good story)

[Tom]

I really enjoyed LotR, Dune, and 1984. To kill a mocking bird is a good book as well.

[Mr. Analog]

I'm not so sure about this list:

3. BATTLEFIELD EARTH by L. Ron Hubbard

[Tom]

Apparently the book isn't all that bad.

[Mr. Analog]

Apparently the book isn't all that bad.

Better than Lord of the Rings? Possibly the greatest book ever written in both literary terms and for creating a genre / mythos all unto itself?

My problem with Battlefield Earth, the book, being up near the top is that it has extremely mixed reivews and is a bit anomalous. If this list is based on sales figures alone it has to be noted that Scientologists started a movement in the early 80s to boost the sales of the book by buying as many copies as they could.

I also see a high concentration of Heinlen books which are also contestable by many critics.

Just sayin'

[Tom]

I don't think anything could be as bad as the movie

[Mr. Analog]

I don't think anything could be as bad as the movie

Manos: Hands of Fate is much, much worse. Well beyond this B-Movie fan's tolerance (actually it's more like a Z-Movie).

[Tom]

Does that rule out "Water World" as well?

[Darren Dirt]

Apparently the book isn't all that bad.

That's also what I've heard, hence this...

3. BATTLEFIELD EARTH by L. Ron Hubbard (been meaning to buy this -- I've heard it's actually a pretty good story)

"Enjoyable mind candy, Scientology aspects are well hidden" -- that's what a February 20, 1999 review on Amazon has to say.

In regards to the "love-it vs. hate-it," "Scientology vs. critics" reviews of "Battlefield Earth" seen here, I should state that I have been an outspoken critic of Scientology for the past several years. Nevertheless, I will still say that "Battlefield Earth" is an entertaining book -- it's far from the "greatest science fiction saga ever written," and it really bogs down in the middle, but it's an enjoyable read nonetheless.

There ya go -- so it's not just pro-Scientology sheep who liked it.



Not saying it's better or worse than any others, and to be honest the "1..100" ranking is presumably a defacto "popularity contest", and not a measure of the quality of writing.

After all, Rand's first novel "We The Living" was up in the top 10 -- egad. And Heinlein's first novel "For Us, The Living" wasn't, and trust me, it's better written and an easier read.

Yes, I also observed a disproportionate # of Heinlein novels, some of which I've never even heard of -- yet none of the Lazarus Long books were in there so I'm not sure how they determined the "winners". But a whole lot of well-known, long-enduring titles are in the list, so at the very least it's a good "awareness campaign, literacy promotion" type of thing.

Reading is still fun, even to the "Nintendo Generation" (my son chose to get a bunch of Calvin & Hobbes books from his most recent Scholastic book order, instead of some cool "spy" toys and such -- and he read through HHGG in just a couple of days; he's still extremely addicted to video games but at least he also loves reading)


And remember kids, this is a list of NOVELS, not FILM ADAPTATIONS OF NOVELS. I've heard some people say that reading 2001 is a chore, though they enjoy the film. *ducks waiting for Analog flame *

[Mags]

Having read Battlefield Earth, this list is complete bunk. Must be a Scientaligy list.

[Mr. Analog]

The book 2001 is a novelisation of the film, and it's not a book that takes you anywhere particularily new (unless you wanted descriptions about how some of the technology was supposed to work).

The Sentinel (1948) however, also written by Clarke is the short story on which 2001 is loosly based and is a much better read. In fact I highly reccomend going back and reading as much old pulp Sci-Fi as possible (old Analog magazines are plentiful) for every five crappy stories you get one interesing one.

Also, if you want a good read by Clarke you should read Rendezvous with Rama (though I would skip the sequels).

[Thorin]

Me, I would've liked to have seen The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson on there.  But wait, that's the problem with lists of favourite items - they're opinion-based, so people will never completely agree.

As for the review of Battlefield Earth on Amazon, well, who's to say the reviewer isn't a Scientologist trying to reduce the association between the book and Scientology so that more people will read it and thus perhaps more open to the Scientologist movement?  That'd be sneaky and underhanded, but certainly possible.