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The Ultimate List of Classic & Popular Works of Literature So You Can Be Well-Read Before You Die

This is a fine collection of books that also happens to be a concise and updated version of my humungous list "The BBC Believes That Only 6 People Are Bold Enough to Do This Book Challenge". The latter was intended to be a comprehensive collection of books with which to compile challenges for you. However it proved to be too unwieldy and slow in practice. So I have carefully distilled the most popular and acclaimed books to create this "compact" version, which is reduced by nearly two thirds.
Alphabetical by title, so as to be useful to me. I welcome your suggestions regarding books to be included in a future version of this list. Or any other comments.
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"Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" (Richard P. Feynman)
"Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!"
1
Richard P. Feynman
The 101 Dalmatians (Dodie Smith)
The 101 Dalmatians
2
Dodie Smith
The 13 Clocks (James Thurber)
The 13 Clocks
3
James Thurber
1776 (David McCullough)
1776
4
David McCullough
1919 (John Dos Passos)
1919
5
John Dos Passos
1984 (George Orwell)
1984
6
George Orwell
1Q84 (Haruki Murakami)
1Q84
7
Haruki Murakami
1st to Die (James Patterson)
1st to Die
8
James Patterson
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Jules Verne)
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
9
Jules Verne
2001: A Space Odyssey (Arthur C. Clarke)
2001: A Space Odyssey
10
Arthur C. Clarke
2010: Odyssey Two (Arthur C. Clarke)
2010: Odyssey Two
11
Arthur C. Clarke
2666 (Roberto Bolaño)
2666
12
Roberto Bolaño
3001: The Final Odyssey (Arthur C. Clarke)
3001: The Final Odyssey
13
Arthur C. Clarke
4:50 From Paddington (Agatha Christie)
4:50 From Paddington
14
Agatha Christie
The 42nd Parallel (John Dos Passos)
The 42nd Parallel
15
John Dos Passos
44 Scotland Street (Alexander McCall Smith)
44 Scotland Street
16
Alexander McCall Smith
The 5th Wave (Rick Yancey)
The 5th Wave
17
Rick Yancey
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Stephen R. Covey)
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
18
Stephen R. Covey
The ABC Murders (Agatha Christie)
The ABC Murders
19
Agatha Christie
About a Boy (Nick Hornby)
About a Boy
20
Nick Hornby
Absalom, Absalom! (William Faulkner)
Absalom, Absalom!
21
William Faulkner
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Sherman Alexie)
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
22
Sherman Alexie
The Accidental Tourist (Anne Tyler)
The Accidental Tourist
23
Anne Tyler
Adam Bede (George Eliot)
Adam Bede
24
George Eliot
Ada or Ardor (Vladimir Nabokov)
Ada or Ardor
25
Vladimir Nabokov
The Adventures of Augie March (Saul Bellow)
The Adventures of Augie March
26
Saul Bellow
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
27
Mark Twain
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Arthur Conan Doyle)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
28
Arthur Conan Doyle
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain)
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
29
Mark Twain
The Aeneid (Virgil)
The Aeneid
30
Virgil
Aesop's Fables (Aesop)
Aesop's Fables
31
Aesop
After You (Jojo Moyes)
After You
32
Jojo Moyes
Agamemnon (Aeschylus)
Agamemnon
33
Aeschylus
The Age of Innocence (Edith Wharton)
The Age of Innocence
34
Edith Wharton
The Age of Reason (Thomas Paine)
The Age of Reason
35
Thomas Paine
Agnes Grey (Anne Brontë)
Agnes Grey
36
Anne Brontë
The Agony and the Ecstasy (Irving Stone)
The Agony and the Ecstasy
37
Irving Stone
Ajax (Sophocles)
Ajax
38
Sophocles
The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
The Alchemist
39
Paulo Coelho
The Aleph and Other Stories (Jorge Luis Borges)
The Aleph and Other Stories
40
Jorge Luis Borges
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