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60 Classic Books Everyone Ought to Read

There's a lot of debate as to what makes certain books 'classics' – is it longevity, popularity, literary merit or all of the above? Are all the books we view as 'classic' deserving of that title? Should some lesser-known books be considered 'classics' instead?
There are no easy answers to these questions, and opinions as to which classic books should be read by everyone will always vary. Listed below is a variety of books which are, however, a good starting point.
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
1
Mark Twain
Alice in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll)
Alice in Wonderland
2
Lewis Carroll
All Quiet on the Western Front (Erich Maria Remarque)
All Quiet on the Western Front
3
Erich Maria Remarque
Americanah (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)
Americanah
4
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy)
Anna Karenina
5
Leo Tolstoy
Beloved (Toni Morrison)
Beloved
6
Toni Morrison
The Canterbury Tales (Geoffrey Chaucer)
The Canterbury Tales
7
Geoffrey Chaucer
The Color Purple (Alice Walker)
The Color Purple
8
Alice Walker
Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoevsky)
Crime and Punishment
9
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Don Quixote (Miguel De Cervantes)
Don Quixote
10
Miguel De Cervantes
Dubliners (James Joyce)
Dubliners
11
James Joyce
Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury)
Fahrenheit 451
12
Ray Bradbury
Ficciones (Jorge Luis Borges)
Ficciones
13
Jorge Luis Borges
Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)
Frankenstein
14
Mary Shelley
The God of Small Things (Arundhati Roy)
The God of Small Things
15
Arundhati Roy
Great Expectations (Charles Dickens)
Great Expectations
16
Charles Dickens
The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
The Great Gatsby
17
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Hamlet (William Shakespeare)
Hamlet
18
William Shakespeare
The Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood)
The Handmaid's Tale
19
Margaret Atwood
Homegoing (Yaa Gyasi)
Homegoing
20
Yaa Gyasi
Inferno (Dante)
Inferno
21
Dante
Interpreter of Maladies (Jhumpa Lahiri)
Interpreter of Maladies
22
Jhumpa Lahiri
Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison)
Invisible Man
23
Ralph Ellison
Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
Jane Eyre
24
Charlotte Bronte
The Joy Luck Club (Amy Tan)
The Joy Luck Club
25
Amy Tan
Lady Chatterley's Lover (D.H. Lawrence)
Lady Chatterley's Lover
26
D.H. Lawrence
Les Miserables (Victor Hugo)
Les Miserables
27
Victor Hugo
Like Water for Chocolate (Laura Esquivel)
Like Water for Chocolate
28
Laura Esquivel
Lolita (Vladimir Nabokov)
Lolita
29
Vladimir Nabokov
Lost Illusions (Honoré De Balzac)
Lost Illusions
30
Honoré De Balzac
Madame Bovary (Gustave Flaubert)
Madame Bovary
31
Gustave Flaubert
Metamorphoses (Ovid)
Metamorphoses
32
Ovid
Midnight's Children (Salman Rushdie)
Midnight's Children
33
Salman Rushdie
Mrs. Dalloway (Virginia Woolf)
Mrs. Dalloway
34
Virginia Woolf
Never Let Me Go (Kazuo Ishiguro)
Never Let Me Go
35
Kazuo Ishiguro
The Odyssey (Homer)
The Odyssey
36
Homer
Of Mice and Men (John Steinbeck)
Of Mice and Men
37
John Steinbeck
The Old Man and the Sea (Ernest Hemingway)
The Old Man and the Sea
38
Ernest Hemingway
One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
One Hundred Years of Solitude
39
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Oscar and Lucinda (Peter Carey)
Oscar and Lucinda
40
Peter Carey
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