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100 Must-Read American Novels

All books listed here are from the Bloomsbury Good Reading Guide by Nick Rennison & Ed Wood. The title is a bit misleading as there are several short story collections listed. However, it is an excellent way to get a feel for the diversity of American literature. From Poe to Foer, you can't go wrong. I only listed the books with separate entries as about every title is followed by a few others by the same writer, & a few more on the same theme.There are also a dozen theme lists scattered throughout the book. Have fun & stay tuned for more lists from this series.
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A Death in the Family (James Agee)
A Death in the Family
1
James Agee
Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
Little Women
2
Louisa May Alcott
The New York Trilogy (Paul Auster)
The New York Trilogy
3
Paul Auster
Go Tell It on the Mountain (James Baldwin)
Go Tell It on the Mountain
4
James Baldwin
The Adventures of Augie March (Saul Bellow)
The Adventures of Augie March
5
Saul Bellow
Little Big Man (Thomas Berger)
Little Big Man
6
Thomas Berger
Are You There God? It's Me Margaret (Judy Blume)
Are You There God? It's Me Margaret
7
Judy Blume
World's End
World's End
8
Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury)
Fahrenheit 451
9
Ray Bradbury
Ham on Rye (Charles Bukowski)
Ham on Rye
10
Charles Bukowski
Naked Lunch (William S. Burroughs)
Naked Lunch
11
William S. Burroughs
Breakfast at Tiffany's (Truman Capote)
Breakfast at Tiffany's
12
Truman Capote
What We Talk About When We Talk About Love (Raymond Carver)
What We Talk About When We Talk About Love
13
Raymond Carver
My Antonia (Willa Cather)
My Antonia
14
Willa Cather
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (Michael Chabon)
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
15
Michael Chabon
The Big Sleep (Raymond Chandler)
The Big Sleep
16
Raymond Chandler
The Wapshot Chronicle
The Wapshot Chronicle
17
The Awakening (Kate Chopin)
The Awakening
18
Kate Chopin
Last of the Mohicans (James Fenimore Cooper)
Last of the Mohicans
19
James Fenimore Cooper
The Red Badge of Courage (Stephen Crane)
The Red Badge of Courage
20
Stephen Crane
Underworld (Don Delillo)
Underworld
21
Don Delillo
The Man in the High Castle (Philip K. Dick)
The Man in the High Castle
22
Philip K. Dick
Ragtime (E.L. Doctorow)
Ragtime
23
E.L. Doctorow
Manhattan Transfer (John Dos Passos)
Manhattan Transfer
24
John Dos Passos
An American Tragedy (Theodore Dreiser)
An American Tragedy
25
Theodore Dreiser
You Shall Know Our Velocity
You Shall Know Our Velocity
26
American Psycho
American Psycho
27
Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison)
Invisible Man
28
Ralph Ellison
The Black Dahlia (James Ellroy)
The Black Dahlia
29
James Ellroy
Love Medicine (Louise Erdrich)
Love Medicine
30
Louise Erdrich
The Virgin Suicides (Jeffrey Eugenides)
The Virgin Suicides
31
Jeffrey Eugenides
The Sound and the Fury (William Faulkner)
The Sound and the Fury
32
William Faulkner
The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
The Great Gatsby
33
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Everything Is Illuminated (Jonathan Safran Foer)
Everything Is Illuminated
34
Jonathan Safran Foer
The Sportswriter
The Sportswriter
35
The Corrections (Jonathan Franzen)
The Corrections
36
Jonathan Franzen
Neuromancer (William Gibson)
Neuromancer
37
William Gibson
The Glass Key
The Glass Key
38
The Scarlet Letter (Nathaniel Hawthorne)
The Scarlet Letter
39
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
Catch-22
40
Joseph Heller
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