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Reading in Retirement: Classics of American Fiction - Page 2

Defining "Classic" is dicey at best, and I probably have outraged some of my fellow English teachers with some of my choices. Oh well. Anyway, I've used the term in its widest possible meaning: Literary merit, cultural diversity and importance, representation of era, genre and style, and sustained popularity. I could have kept going, but I thought 180 works were enough. I've limited the list to fiction; poetry, drama, essays, and memoirs should get their own lists.
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made by James Loranger
avg. score: 29 of 180 (16%)
required scores: 1, 11, 20, 30, 45 
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Page 2 of 5
Dune (Herbert)
Dune
41
Herbert
East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
East of Eden
42
John Steinbeck
Elmer Gantry (Lewis)
Elmer Gantry
43
Lewis
Empire Falls, by Richard Russo
Empire Falls, by Richard Russo
44
Ethan Frome (Edith Wharton)
Ethan Frome
45
Edith Wharton
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (Robbins)
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
46
Robbins
Everything That Rises Must Converge (Flannery O'Connor)
Everything That Rises Must Converge
47
Flannery O'Connor
The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales (Edgar Allan Poe)
The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales
48
Edgar Allan Poe
Farewell My Lovely (Chandler)
Farewell My Lovely
49
Chandler
A Farewell to Arms (Ernest Hemingway)
A Farewell to Arms
50
Ernest Hemingway
For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway
For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway
51
Foundation Series
Foundation Series
52
Ghost and Horror Stories (Ambrose Bierce)
Ghost and Horror Stories
53
Ambrose Bierce
Giant
Giant
54
Giovanni's Room (James Baldwin)
Giovanni's Room
55
James Baldwin
The Glass Key (Hammett)
The Glass Key
56
Hammett
Go Tell It on the Mountain (James Baldwin)
Go Tell It on the Mountain
57
James Baldwin
Goodbye, Columbus (Roth)
Goodbye, Columbus
58
Roth
The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
The Grapes of Wrath
59
John Steinbeck
Gravity's Rainbow (Thomas Pynchon)
Gravity's Rainbow
60
Thomas Pynchon
The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
The Great Gatsby
61
Fitzgerald
Guys and Dolls (Damon Runyon)
Guys and Dolls
62
Damon Runyon
The Haunting of Hill House (Shirley Jackson)
The Haunting of Hill House
63
Shirley Jackson
Hell House (Richard Matheson)
Hell House
64
Richard Matheson
Herzog (Saul Bellow)
Herzog
65
Saul Bellow
The High Window (Raymond Chandler)
The High Window
66
Raymond Chandler
Horseman, Pass by (Larry McMurtry)
Horseman, Pass By
67
Larry McMurtry
The House of Mirth (Edith Wharton)
The House of Mirth
68
Edith Wharton
The House of the Seven Gables (Hawthorne)
The House of the Seven Gables
69
Hawthorne
Huckleberry Finn (Twain)
Huckleberry Finn
70
Twain
Humboldt's Gift (Saul Bellow)
Humboldt's Gift
71
Saul Bellow
I Am Legend (Richard Matheson)
I Am Legend
72
Richard Matheson
I Married a Dead Man (Cornell Woolrich)
I Married a Dead Man
73
Cornell Woolrich
If Beale Street Could Talk (James Baldwin)
If Beale Street Could Talk
74
James Baldwin
The Illustrated Man (Bradbury)
The Illustrated Man
75
Bradbury
In a Lonely Place (Dorothy B. Hughes)
In a Lonely Place
76
Dorothy B. Hughes
Independence Day (Richard Ford)
Independence Day
77
Richard Ford
Intruder in the Dust (William Faulkner)
Intruder in the Dust
78
William Faulkner
Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison)
Invisible Man
79
Ralph Ellison
Ironweed (William Kennedy)
Ironweed
80
William Kennedy
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