100 best novels of all time

by Tammy on October 24, 2005
Posted in: Books

The best English-language novels from 1923 to the present, according to Time magazine.

Now that we know what Time thinks, what do you think? What are you reading?

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15 Comments | Leave a comment
  1. Mary B. says:
    October 24, 2005 at 20:19

    Currently I’m reading Dickens’ “Great Expectations,” Thomas Sowell’s “Black Rednecks and White Liberals,” and Theodore Dalrymple’s “Our Culture, What’s Left of It.” Lately, I’ve found a very efficient, organized way to track books that interest me is Reader2: http://reader2.com/maryb

  2. tammynut says:
    October 24, 2005 at 21:30

    I’ve always been a fan of Pearl S Buck. Too bad she wasn’t good enough to make the list.

  3. Stephen says:
    October 24, 2005 at 21:55

    I haven’t read all of these books, so I cannot pass judgement on them. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by R.A. Heinlein should be on everybody’s list, however. Not only is it a great work, but there is a good conservative theme.

  4. L.B. says:
    October 24, 2005 at 23:26

    I just finished Hitch’s book on Jefferson and am currently reading Hawkings The Theory of Everything,

  5. Talkin Horse says:
    October 24, 2005 at 23:46

    The list does not contain Tolstoy’s “War and Peace”, and therefore it was prepared by an illiterate moron, and that’s all there is to say about that. And it includes books such as Philip K. Dick’s “Ubik”, which is interesting enough, but doesn’t belong in the same room with a list as elite as this claims to be. What’s next, the Goose Bumps trilogy? Jeeezus! Anyway, I want to extract a promise from everyone who sees this: DO NOT GO TO YOUR GRAVE WITHOUT READING “WAR & PEACE”! Peruse the translations to find the one that works best for you (I liked the translation by Rosemary Edmond), but READ IT. Then you’ll understand what true greatness is. Oh, and I’ll put in a word for a personal favorite novel: “Jurgen”, by James Branch Cabell, and I might even argue it belongs on this list too.

  6. fleet sailor says:
    October 25, 2005 at 03:56

    I would not have picked “The Sun Also Rises” for Hemingway “The Old Man and the Sea” was better. Heller and Steinbeck I heartily approve of. Nothing by Stephen King, curious.

  7. B's Freak says:
    October 25, 2005 at 06:56

    Apparently Science Fiction is not considered very highly on the list. I would submit the following for your consdieration:

    “Ender’s Game” Orson Scott Card
    “Dune” Frank Herbert
    “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress” (the origin of TANSTAAFL) Robert Heinlein
    “The Dragon’s Egg” Robert L. Forward
    “Ringworld” Larry Niven

    For non SF:

    “Godel, Escher, Bach” Douglas R. Hofstadter

  8. EJohnson says:
    October 25, 2005 at 07:00

    Left Illusions – David Horowitz (The most fascinating conservative writing often comes from former leftists. Horowitz and Tammy Bruce are great examples.)

    Notes From a Small Island – Bill Bryson (Having grown up in England during the first twelve years that Bryson lived there, I find his book entertaining. On the other hand, I’m continually amazed at how willfully ignorant “progressives” can be. Bryson berates Thatcher as a dictator and speculates on how successfully the British could have pulled off communism had they been given the chance. At the same time, he ridicules the excesses of Brtiain’s early ’70s Trade Union dominance as if that movement did not represent the high tide of socialism in the UK. Is Bryson too stupid to understand that the Tories saved Britain from the very problems that he parodies.)

    Mao: the Unknown Story – Jung Chang, Jon Halliday (About to start. Heard it is excellent.)

  9. wilson says:
    October 25, 2005 at 07:17

    What? No Zane Gray, Jack London, Louis L’Armour, Larry McMurtry, or even Eckert? No Steven King or Sidney Shelton? Come on…(chuckling here)

    Currently reading 1812, A War That Forged a Nation, by Borneman. Just finished Thomas Madden’s, The New Concise History of the Crusades. Oh for the lighter times of life…

  10. CTinker says:
    October 25, 2005 at 07:34

    Their list just looks like the run of the mill Lib, PC stuff, with a few good ones thrown in. Typical.

    I’m reading “Mere Christianity” by C.S. Lewis and “Pillar of Iron” by Taylor Caldwell. It’s a historical novel about Cicero. She spent years doing research for each of her historical novels. And all of them show an uncanny understanding of human nature. I highly recommend “Ceremony of the Innocent.” Never has a book affected me like that one.

  11. klem314 says:
    October 25, 2005 at 07:37

    Heinlein had some great books, another one was “Fallen Angels”, there’s a part in there that says how the environmentalists messed up the atmosphere and brought on a new ice age and “Job: A Comedy of Justice” is great too. But I can’t believe that there isn’t one Isaac Asimov book listed, especially something from the “Foundation Series” which is the only trilogy to ever win the Hugo Award, beating out “Lord of the Rings” which is listed on the top 100 list.

  12. JoelN says:
    October 25, 2005 at 07:54

    Exactly Wilson. No Louis L’Amour? What are they thinking? And only “The Sun Also Rises” by Hemingway? What about “The Old Man and the Sea”? Bah. Like most best-of lists, no one is going to agree with this. Although it was nice to see “Animal Farm ” and “1984” on there. I surprised the editors at Time even remembered that Orwell existed.

  13. Rod says:
    October 25, 2005 at 13:05

    I did not see any books by Heinlein or Card so they do not include S/F. I did see both of Orwell’s great books which I reccommend to anyone trying to figure out why we are in the mess we are in. Animal Farm is very timely given how the GOP has become more liberal than the Democrats we threw out 11 years ago. Some are just more equal than others, right George?

  14. Topher says:
    October 25, 2005 at 17:57

    Best Novels of all time?
    Atlas Shrugged
    Fountainhead
    1984
    Animal Farm
    Screwtape Letters
    Day of the Jackal
    The Shining

  15. predoc says:
    October 26, 2005 at 11:00

    What happened to novels that begin with the letters “J” and “K”? I would add The Jungle, The Chosen, Happy All the Time, Rubyfruit Jungle, and The Stand to the list. Of course, if Tammy ever writes a novel I’m sure it will make the list as well. I’m currently writing a doctoral dissertation and therefore don’t have time to read novels at the moment. I have been reading a great deal of research, however. Maybe next year I’ll be able to sqeeze a novel into my schedule — perhaps one of those recommended by other commenters.

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