MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Nominate MobileRead's 10 best fiction books of the 20th Century

Synamon · 03-25-2015, 10:31 PM

Some of my nominations are of great books that I doubt others will nominate, not necessarily the ones I thought were the absolute best (which is impossible and varies by the day of the week). They are books I have recommended or even urged others to read, whereas some of my favourite books don't meet that criteria since I'm not sure they would appeal to many people.

While thinking about this thread, I was surprised to realize that my mental best ever list contains a couple of books that predate the 20th century (Hunger by Knut Hamsun and The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde). It is also littered with books from the 21st century (Life of Pi, The Road, The Time Traveler's Wife, The Kite Runner, etc., etc., etc.). I guess I do live in the present.

I had the most trouble with the 60s and 70s since that's when I grew up. I chose books from that era which appeal to a younger me. For a few decades my favourite book was a non-fiction one which made it hard to pick a fiction one instead. Here is the list: some are fun, some are sappy, some are important, some are even all three.

00s The Call of the Wild by Jack London
10s The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
20s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
30s The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
40s 1984 by George Orwell
50s The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey
60s Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keys
70s The Princess Bride by William Goldman
80s A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
90s The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje

03-25-2015, 10:31 PM	#45
Synamon Lunatic Posts: 1,691 Karma: 4386372 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Land of the Loonie Device: Kindle Paperwhite and Keyboard, Kobo Aura, iPad mini, iPod Touch	Some of my nominations are of great books that I doubt others will nominate, not necessarily the ones I thought were the absolute best (which is impossible and varies by the day of the week). They are books I have recommended or even urged others to read, whereas some of my favourite books don't meet that criteria since I'm not sure they would appeal to many people. While thinking about this thread, I was surprised to realize that my mental best ever list contains a couple of books that predate the 20th century (Hunger by Knut Hamsun and The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde). It is also littered with books from the 21st century (Life of Pi, The Road, The Time Traveler's Wife, The Kite Runner, etc., etc., etc.). I guess I do live in the present. I had the most trouble with the 60s and 70s since that's when I grew up. I chose books from that era which appeal to a younger me. For a few decades my favourite book was a non-fiction one which made it hard to pick a fiction one instead. Here is the list: some are fun, some are sappy, some are important, some are even all three. 00s The Call of the Wild by Jack London 10s The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett 20s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie 30s The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck 40s 1984 by George Orwell 50s The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey 60s Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keys 70s The Princess Bride by William Goldman 80s A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving 90s The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje Last edited by Synamon; 03-25-2015 at 10:35 PM.