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Pan MacMillan's 50 Best Books of All Time

So many books, so little time. Many book lovers know the temptation of buying a beautiful new hardback, but what are the essential must reads? Spanning all genres and periods, our edit of the best books to read before you die is here to help. This list isn't ranked, and provides the best books from the following genres: literary fiction, classic books, sci-fi and fantasy, non-fiction, crime and thrillers, historical fiction, books in translation and dystopian books.
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Shuggie Bain (Douglas Stuart)
Shuggie Bain
1
Douglas Stuart
A Little Life (Hanya Yanagihara)
A Little Life
2
Hanya Yanagihara
White Noise (Don Delillo)
White Noise
3
Don Delillo
American Psycho (Bret Easton Ellis)
American Psycho
4
Bret Easton Ellis
Blood Meridian (Cormac McCarthy)
Blood Meridian
5
Cormac McCarthy
The Line of Beauty (Alan Hollinghurst)
The Line of Beauty
6
Alan Hollinghurst
Americanah (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)
Americanah
7
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The God of Small Things (Arundhati Roy)
The God of Small Things
8
Arundhati Roy
Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
Jane Eyre
9
Charlotte Bronte
Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
Pride and Prejudice
10
Jane Austen
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
11
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Don Quixote (Miguel De Cervantes)
Don Quixote
12
Miguel De Cervantes
David Copperfield (Charles Dickens)
David Copperfield
13
Charles Dickens
Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
Wuthering Heights
14
Emily Bronte
The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
The Great Gatsby
15
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Middlemarch (George Eliot)
Middlemarch
16
George Eliot
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (Frederick Douglass)
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
17
Frederick Douglass
Children of Time (Adrian Tchaikovsky)
Children of Time
18
Adrian Tchaikovsky
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
19
Douglas Adams
The War of the Worlds (H.G. Wells)
The War of the Worlds
20
H.G. Wells
Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)
Frankenstein
21
Mary Shelley
Zone One (Colson Whitehead)
Zone One
22
Colson Whitehead
Dune (Frank Herbert)
Dune
23
Frank Herbert
Stories of Your Life and Others (2002) (Ted Chiang)
Stories of Your Life and Others (2002)
24
Ted Chiang
Bad Blood (John Carreyrou)
Bad Blood
25
John Carreyrou
Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty (Patrick Radden Keefe)
Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty
26
Patrick Radden Keefe
This Is Going to Hurt (Adam Kay)
This Is Going to Hurt
27
Adam Kay
Black and British (David Olusoga)
Black and British
28
David Olusoga
A Room of One's Own (Virginia Woolf)
A Room of One's Own
29
Virginia Woolf
A Brief History of Time (Stephen Hawking)
A Brief History of Time
30
Stephen Hawking
How to Win Friends and Influence People (Dale Carnegie)
How to Win Friends and Influence People
31
Dale Carnegie
Brighton Rock (Graham Greene)
Brighton Rock
32
Graham Greene
Last Bus to Woodstock (Colin Dexter)
Last Bus to Woodstock
33
Colin Dexter
Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn)
Gone Girl
34
Gillian Flynn
Murder on the Orient Express (Agatha Christie)
Murder on the Orient Express
35
Agatha Christie
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (John Le Carré)
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
36
John Le Carré
Absolute Power (David Baldacci)
Absolute Power
37
David Baldacci
Burial Rites (Hannah Kent)
Burial Rites
38
Hannah Kent
The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
The Pillars of the Earth
39
Ken Follett
Beloved (Toni Morrison)
Beloved
40
Toni Morrison
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