Top 10 Best Novels of the Last 20 Years Books The ten novels on this list all substantiate the belief that books are the most elastic, introspective, human and entertaining form of media that exist. Not movies, not music, not art, not the theatre. A famous author once said that novels are the best way for two human beings to connect with each other. I believe this, and I believe that people who do not find pleasure in words have never had the opportunity to read one of the great novels. The first introductions students often have to literature are stale century-old books that do not translate well to this new modern era. Music for Torching by A.M. First Sentence: ”It is after midnight on one of those Friday nights when the guests have all gone home and the host and hostess are left in their drunkenness to try and put things right again.” As the only woman on the list, A. Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk (1996) Of course, Palahniuk had to be on this list. House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski (2000) The house is alive. The Road
Top 10 Works of Postmodern Literature Books Postmodernism has become widely recognized as a movement consisting of an epic scope, innovative techniques and wide ranges of psychological and intellectual impact. The beginning of postmodernism is uncertain, but for the sake of continuity, James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake has been chosen as the chronological starting point for this list. Books have been decided upon by overall excellence rather than impact. Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable Samuel Beckett A triple-whammy from the master abstract minimalist, whose technique of viewing objectively the subjective world was taken to its zenith in this trilogy of meta-fictional neurosis, in which characters lives and situations seem to splice together until it becomes apparent they were the fictions of one person all along. House of Leaves Mark Z. Breakfast of Champions Kurt Vonnegut Though Slaughterhouse Five may be his best-known work, this is the one that should be included in the pantheon of solipsistic narration. Labyrinths Hunter S.
Top 10 Books of All Time Books What a daunting task it would be to write a list like this, but fortunately for us, Norton (of the Norton Anthologies) asked 125 of the greatest living writers to select their top 10, and then (using statistics) produced a final list of the ten greatest books ever written. I certainly agree with the majority of the selections. 10. Middlemarch is considered by many scholars to be one of the most important novels of the Victorian era. Buy this book at Amazon 9. Anton Chekhov was a Russian short story writer and playwright. Buy this book at Amazon 8. I appreciate the great artistic merit in Proust’s writing, but I have to be honest and say that I have never managed to get more than half way through the first book of this multiple-book novel. Buy this book at Amazon 7. I agree with the inclusion of this book – it is one of my favorites and one of the best examples of Fitzgerald’s writing. Buy this book at Amazon 6. It is no surprise that Mr Shakespeare is on the list. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1.
10 Books that Changed America Books There are books that are revered because of their effect on art, and there are books that are remarkable because they literally change the very society from which they came. Here is a list of ten books that radically changed or shaped American society. I’ve excluded all religious texts because those are just too obvious. Leaves of Grass Walt Whitman, 1855 This 1855 book of poetry ushered in the American equivalent of the Romantic Era of literature. The Clansman Thomas Dixon Jr, 1905 Unfortunately, not every book has a good influence on society. The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck, 1939 This novel, which won the 1939 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, was a stunning and powerful novel. Buy this book at Amazon The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass, 1845 The full title of this book is “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave”. Silent Spring Rachel Carson, 1962 Buy this book at Amazon Native Son Richard Wright, 1940 Buy this book at Amazon The Jungle