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Independent's 40 Best Books to Read Before You Die

Losing yourself in a great novel is one of life's joys. Here Independent's critics Ceri Radford and Chris Harvey pick the books you need to read.
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from independent.co.uk · made by Crybaby21sg
avg. score: 14 of 40 (35%)
required scores: 1, 6, 11, 15, 21 
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Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
Pride and Prejudice
1
Jane Austen
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾ (Sue Townsend)
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾
2
Sue Townsend
Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
Catch-22
3
Joseph Heller
Tess of the D'urbervilles (Thomas Hardy)
Tess of the D'urbervilles
4
Thomas Hardy
Things Fall Apart (Chinua Achebe)
Things Fall Apart
5
Chinua Achebe
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
To Kill a Mockingbird
6
Harper Lee
1984 (George Orwell)
1984
7
George Orwell
Great Expectations (Charles Dickens)
Great Expectations
8
Charles Dickens
The God of Small Things (Arundhati Roy)
The God of Small Things
9
Arundhati Roy
Wolf Hall (Hilary Mantel)
Wolf Hall
10
Hilary Mantel
The Code of the Woosters (Wodehouse)
The Code of the Woosters
11
Wodehouse
Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)
Frankenstein
12
Mary Shelley
Lord of the Flies (William Golding)
Lord of the Flies
13
William Golding
Midnight's Children (Salman Rushdie)
Midnight's Children
14
Salman Rushdie
Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
Jane Eyre
15
Charlotte Bronte
Middlemarch (George Eliot)
Middlemarch
16
George Eliot
Americanah (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)
Americanah
17
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Secret History (Donna Tartt)
The Secret History
18
Donna Tartt
Beloved (Toni Morrison)
Beloved
19
Toni Morrison
Cold Comfort Farm (Stella Gibbons)
Cold Comfort Farm
20
Stella Gibbons
Dune (Frank Herbert)
Dune
21
Frank Herbert
Brideshead Revisited (Evelyn Waugh)
Brideshead Revisited
22
Evelyn Waugh
Wuthering Heights (Emily Brontë)
Wuthering Heights
23
Emily Brontë
The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
The Great Gatsby
24
F. Scott Fitzgerald
A Clockwork Orange (Anthony Burgess)
A Clockwork Orange
25
Anthony Burgess
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Philip K. Dick)
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
26
Philip K. Dick
Lolita (Vladimir Nabokov)
Lolita
27
Vladimir Nabokov
Dracula (Bram Stoker)
Dracula
28
Bram Stoker
Heart of Darkness (Joseph Conrad)
Heart of Darkness
29
Joseph Conrad
The Big Sleep (Raymond Chandler)
The Big Sleep
30
Raymond Chandler
The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
The Catcher in the Rye
31
J.D. Salinger
Vanity Fair (William Makepeace Thackeray)
Vanity Fair
32
William Makepeace Thackeray
The Bell Jar (Sylvia Plath)
The Bell Jar
33
Sylvia Plath
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Roald Dahl)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
34
Roald Dahl
Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy)
Anna Karenina
35
Leo Tolstoy
Dangerous Liaisons (Pierre Choderlos De Laclos)
Dangerous Liaisons
36
Pierre Choderlos De Laclos
The Trial (Franz Kafka)
The Trial
37
Franz Kafka
One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
One Hundred Years of Solitude
38
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Rebecca (Daphne Du Maurier)
Rebecca
39
Daphne Du Maurier
The Leopard (Giuseppe Di Lampedusa)
The Leopard
40
Giuseppe Di Lampedusa
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