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The 25 Finalists in the New York Times Book Review Best Book of the Past 125 Years

In October 2021, editors at the Book Review asked readers to help them choose the best book of the past 125 years. They received thousands of nominations — including novels, memoirs and poetry collections — from readers across the world.
They narrowed those submissions down to 25 finalists. It's a list that reflects the submissions we received, with a few exceptions: Editors decided only one book by a given author could appear on the list, and didn't count nominations for entire series, only individual books. This is the list of those 25 finalists.
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from nytimes.com · made by Bryan Ness
avg. score: 10 of 25 (39%)
required scores: 1, 6, 8, 11, 14 
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1984 (George Orwell)
1984
1
George Orwell
All the Light We Cannot See (Anthony Doerr)
All the Light We Cannot See
2
Anthony Doerr
Beloved (Toni Morrison)
Beloved
3
Toni Morrison
Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
Catch-22
4
Joseph Heller
The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
The Catcher in the Rye
5
J.D. Salinger
Charlotte's Web (E. B. White)
Charlotte's Web
6
E. B. White
A Confederacy of Dunces (John Kennedy Toole)
A Confederacy of Dunces
7
John Kennedy Toole
The Fellowship of the Ring (J. R. R. Tolkein)
The Fellowship of the Ring
8
J. R. R. Tolkein
A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
A Fine Balance
9
Rohinton Mistry
A Gentleman in Moscow (Amor Towles)
A Gentleman in Moscow
10
Amor Towles
Gone With the Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
Gone With the Wind
11
Margaret Mitchell
The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
The Grapes of Wrath
12
John Steinbeck
The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
The Great Gatsby
13
F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood)
The Handmaid's Tale
14
Margaret Atwood
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (J. K. Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
15
J. K. Rowling
Infinite Jest (David Foster Wallace)
Infinite Jest
16
David Foster Wallace
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
To Kill a Mockingbird
17
Harper Lee
A Little Life (Hanya Yanagihara)
A Little Life
18
Hanya Yanagihara
Lolita (Vladimir Nabokov)
Lolita
19
Vladimir Nabokov
Lonesome Dove (Larry McMurtry)
Lonesome Dove
20
Larry McMurtry
One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
One Hundred Years of Solitude
21
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Overstory (Richard Powers)
The Overstory
22
Richard Powers
A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
A Prayer for Owen Meany
23
John Irving
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
24
Betty Smith
Ulysses (James Joyce)
Ulysses
25
James Joyce
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