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A Bucket List of Books (1,500 Novels, Biographies, Essays, Memoirs, Plays, Science, Science Fiction and Sports Books). Updated to 2021 - Page 25

Most lists of "essential books" are flawed in some manner. They are either too short ("top 50 books for men", or too old (no books from the last 50 years). Other book lists fail to include essays, plays, rock and roll memoirs, science books, and science fiction. Other lists fall short in providing a true world view. I tried to get a solid sampling from every genre and from most countries. This list was created by taking the best of 15 lists. I then added several years of recommended books from the The Week, and foreign language recommended books. I then added my favorites to the list if they were not already there. Enjoy!
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Page 25 of 38
The October Country (Ray Bradbury)
The October Country
961
Ray Bradbury
The Odyssey (Homer)
The Odyssey
962
Homer
Oedipus at Colonus (Sophocles)
Oedipus at Colonus
963
Sophocles
Oedipus the King (Sophocles)
Oedipus the King
964
Sophocles
Of a Fire on the Moon (Norman Mailer)
Of a Fire on the Moon
965
Norman Mailer
Of Human Bondage (W. Somerset Maugham)
Of Human Bondage
966
W. Somerset Maugham
Of Mice and Men (John Steinbeck)
Of Mice and Men
967
John Steinbeck
The Old Man and the Sea (Ernest Hemingway)
The Old Man and the Sea
968
Ernest Hemingway
The Old Drift (Namwali Serpell)
The Old Drift
969
Namwali Serpell
Olive Kitteridge (Elizabeth Strout)
Olive Kitteridge
970
Elizabeth Strout
Oliver Twist (Charles Dickens)
Oliver Twist
971
Charles Dickens
On Beauty (Zadie Smith)
On Beauty
972
Zadie Smith
On Black Sisters' Street (Chika Unigwe)
On Black Sisters' Street
973
Chika Unigwe
On the Brink (Hank Paulson)
On the Brink
974
Hank Paulson
On Liberty (John Stuart Mill)
On Liberty
975
John Stuart Mill
On the Origin of Species (Charles Darwin)
On the Origin of Species
976
Charles Darwin
On the Road (Jack Kerouac)
On the Road
977
Jack Kerouac
On Writing (Stephen King)
On Writing
978
Stephen King
The Once and Future King (T.H. White)
The Once and Future King
979
T.H. White
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovtich (Alexander Solzhenitsyn)
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovtich
980
Alexander Solzhenitsyn
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Ken Kesey)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
981
Ken Kesey
One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
One Hundred Years of Solitude
982
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
One of Us (Åsne Seierstad,)
One of Us
983
Åsne Seierstad,
One Thousand and One Nights (Anonymous)
One Thousand and One Nights
984
Anonymous
The One: The Life and Music of James Brown (R.J. Smith)
The One: The Life and Music of James Brown
985
R.J. Smith
Open City (Teju Cole)
Open City
986
Teju Cole
Operating Instructions (Anne Lamott)
Operating Instructions
987
Anne Lamott
Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victor (Ben Macintyre)
Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victor
988
Ben Macintyre
The Optimist's Daughter (Eudora Welty)
The Optimist's Daughter
989
Eudora Welty
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (Jeanette Winterson)
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit
990
Jeanette Winterson
The Orestia Trilogy (Aeschylus)
The Orestia Trilogy
991
Aeschylus
Orlando (Virginia Woolf)
Orlando
992
Virginia Woolf
The Orphan Master's Son (Adam Johnson)
The Orphan Master's Son
993
Adam Johnson
Oryx and Crake (Margaret Atwood)
Oryx and Crake
994
Margaret Atwood
Oscar and Lucinda (Peter Carey)
Oscar and Lucinda
995
Peter Carey
Othello (Shakespeare, William)
Othello
996
Shakespeare, William
The Other Black Girl (Zakiya Dalila Harris)
The Other Black Girl
997
Zakiya Dalila Harris
Our Bodies, Ourselves
Our Bodies, Ourselves
998
Our Man in Havana (Graham Greene)
Our Man in Havana
999
Graham Greene
Our Town (Thornton Wilder)
Our Town
1000
Thornton Wilder
Page 25 of 38
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