List Challenges
Movies Books Travel Food Other
Trending
New
Popular
Sign In
 Make a List Browse Lists Search Lists Leaders Help / Contact Newsletter

Patti Smith's Fifty Favorite Books

By Maria Popova at the Marginalian
"After finding herself under a monthlong spell of obsessively reading nothing but Haruki Murakami, Smith considers how great books bewitch the human spirit:
'There are two kinds of masterpieces. There are the classic works monstrous and divine like Moby-Dick or Wuthering Heights or Frankenstein: A Modern Prometheus. And then there is the type wherein the writer seems to infuse living energy into words as the reader is spun, wrung, and hung out to dry. Devastating books. Like 2666 or The Master and Margarita. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is such a book. I finished it and was immediately obliged to reread it. For one thing I did not wish to exit its atmosphere. But also, the ghost of a phrase was eating at me. Something that untied a neat knot and let the frayed edges brush against my cheek as I slept.' "
Read More
484 users · 2,040 views
 
from themarginalian.org · made by EJBC
avg. score: 6 of 50 (12%)
required scores: 1, 3, 5, 6, 9 
type to search

How many have you read?

Page 1 of 2
After Nature (W.G. Sebald)
After Nature
1
W.G. Sebald
The Thief's Journal (Jean Genet)
The Thief's Journal
2
Jean Genet
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (Haruki Murakami)
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
3
Haruki Murakami
A Wild Sheep Chase (Haruki Murakami)
A Wild Sheep Chase
4
Haruki Murakami
Kafka on the Shore (Haruki Murakami)
Kafka on the Shore
5
Haruki Murakami
Dance Dance Dance (Haruki Murakami)
Dance Dance Dance
6
Haruki Murakami
2666 (Roberto Bolano)
2666
7
Roberto Bolano
Amulet (Roberto Bolaño)
Amulet
8
Roberto Bolaño
The First Man (Albert Camus)
The First Man
9
Albert Camus
The Divine Comedy (Dante Alighieri)
The Divine Comedy
10
Dante Alighieri
The Story of Davy Crockett (Enid Meadowcroft)
The Story of Davy Crockett
11
Enid Meadowcroft
The Little Lame Prince (Rosemary Wells)
The Little Lame Prince
12
Rosemary Wells
Ariel (Sylvia Plath)
Ariel
13
Sylvia Plath
The Master and Margarita (Mikhail Bulgakov)
The Master and Margarita
14
Mikhail Bulgakov
Winter Trees (Sylvia Plath)
Winter Trees
15
Sylvia Plath
Four Major Plays (Henrik Ibsen)
Four Major Plays
16
Henrik Ibsen
After-Dinner Declarations (Nicanor Parra)
After-Dinner Declarations
17
Nicanor Parra
Letters From Iceland (W.H. Auden, Louis Macneice)
Letters From Iceland
18
W.H. Auden, Louis Macneice
The Petting Zoo (Jim Carroll)
The Petting Zoo
19
Jim Carroll
Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (Ludwig Wittgenstein)
Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus
20
Ludwig Wittgenstein
A Dog of Flanders (Ouida (Aka Marie Louise De La Ramée))
A Dog of Flanders
21
Ouida (Aka Marie Louise De La Ramée)
The Prince and the Pauper (Mark Twain)
The Prince and the Pauper
22
Mark Twain
The Blue Bird (Maurice Maeterlinck)
The Blue Bird
23
Maurice Maeterlinck
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew (Margaret Sidney)
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew
24
Margaret Sidney
Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
Little Women
25
Louisa May Alcott
Through the Looking Glass (Lewis Carroll)
Through the Looking Glass
26
Lewis Carroll
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
27
Betty Smith
The Glass Bead Game (Hermann Hesse)
The Glass Bead Game
28
Hermann Hesse
The Journey to the East (Hermann Hesse)
The Journey to the East
29
Hermann Hesse
Lolita (Vladimir Nabokov)
Lolita
30
Vladimir Nabokov
An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter
An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter
31
A Night of Serious Drinking (René Daumal)
A Night of Serious Drinking
32
René Daumal
Wittgenstein's Poker (Edmunds & Eidinow)
Wittgenstein's Poker
33
Edmunds & Eidinow
The Complete Sherlock Holmes (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The Complete Sherlock Holmes
34
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Orphée (Jean Cocteau)
Orphée
35
Jean Cocteau
The Fabulous Life of Diego Rivera (Bertram David Wolfe)
The Fabulous Life of Diego Rivera
36
Bertram David Wolfe
Anthology (Artaud)
Anthology
37
Artaud
The Confusions of Young Törless (Robert Musil)
The Confusions of Young Törless
38
Robert Musil
Women of Cairo (Gerard De Nerval)
Women of Cairo
39
Gerard De Nerval
Black Spring (Henry Miller)
Black Spring
40
Henry Miller
Page 1 of 2
Click books you've read
Lists Similar to 'Patti Smith's Fifty Favorite Books'
All Similar Lists
Newsletter · Help/Contact · Privacy · Copyright Claim   © 2025 App Spring, Inc. · This product uses the TMDb API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDb.
Seen It - Movies & TV 
Android & iOS
Seen It is a new app from the creators of List Challenges. You can view movies and shows in one place and filter by streaming provider, genre, release year, runtime, and rating (Rotten Tomatoes, Imdb, and/or Metacritic). Also, you can track what you've seen, want to see, like, or dislike, as well as track individual seasons or episodes of shows. In addition, you can see the most watched/liked stuff amongst your friends. Learn more at SEENIT.FUN