- 6 Celebrities you never guessed were also authors
- How the printing press changed the world
- 7 billion people…what are we all after?
Two weeks ago, I shared the 50 greatest books of all time as compiled by thegreatestbooks.org. As it turned out, there were only 25 titles on that list. Today, that list is made complete with these 25 great books.
26. A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
A Passage to India is set against
the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian independence movement in the
1920s. The story revolves around four characters: Dr. Aziz, his British friend
Cyril... follow up
27. Native Son by Richard Wright
The novel tells
the story of 20-year old Bigger Thomas, an African American living in utter
poverty. Bigger lived in Chicago's South Side ghetto in the 1930s. Bigger was
always getting into trouble... follow up
28. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Created from two short stories,
"Mrs Dalloway in Bond Street" and the unfinished "The Prime
Minister", the novel's story is of Clarissa's preparations for a party of
which she is to be hostess. With... follow up
29. The Odyssey by Homer
The Odyssey is one of two major
ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the
Iliad, the other work traditionally ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental
to the... follow up
30. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Catch-22 is a satirical,
historical novel by the American author Joseph Heller, first published in 1961.
The novel, set during the later stages of World War II from 1943 onwards, is
frequently cited... follow up
31. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
A Portrait of the Artist as a
Young Man is a semi-autobiographical novel by James Joyce, first serialized in
The Egoist from 1914 to 1915 and published in book form in 1916. It depicts the
formative... follow up
32. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The book is narrated in free
indirect speech following the main character Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with
matters of upbringing, marriage; moral rightness and education in her
aristocratic society... follow up
33. The Trial by Franz Kafka
Written in 1914, The Trial is one
of the most important novels of the twentieth century: the terrifying tale of
Josef K., a respectable bank officer who is suddenly and inexplicably arrested
and mu... follow up
34. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
The book is told in stream of
consciousness writing style by 15 different narrators in 59 chapters. It is the
story of the death of Addie Bundren and her family's quest—noble or selfish—to
honour her... follow up
35. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Set in the London of AD 2540 (632
A.F. in the book), the novel anticipates developments in reproductive
technology and sleep-learning that combine to change society. The future
society is an embod... follow up
36. Emma by Jane Austen
Before she began the novel,
Austen wrote, "I am going to take a heroine whom no-one but myself will
much like."[1] In the very first sentence she introduces the title
character as "Emma Woodhouse, ... follow up
37. Nostromo by Joseph Conrad
Edited with an introduction and
notes by Martin Seymour-Smith. In his evocation of the republic of Costaguana,
set amid the exotic and grandiose scenery of South America, Conrad reveals not
only the... follow up
38. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
A novel of great power that turns
the world upside down. The Nigerian novelist Achebe reached back to the early
days of his people's encounter with colonialism, the 1890's, though the white
man and... follow up
39. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
As a Southern Gothic novel and a
Bildungsroman, the primary themes of To Kill a Mockingbird involve racial
injustice and the destruction of innocence. Scholars have noted that Lee also
addresses is... follow up
40. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
The story details an incident
when Marlow, an Englishman, took a foreign assignment from a Belgian trading
company as a ferry-boat captain in Africa. Although Conrad does not specify the
name of th... follow up
41. The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings is an epic
high fantasy novel written by philologist and Oxford University professor J. R.
R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex
children'... - follow up
42. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Jane Eyre is a first-person
narrative of the title character, a small, plain-faced, intelligent and honest
English orphan. The novel goes through five distinct stages: Jane's childhood
at Gateshead... follow up
43. The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
Belonging in the immortal company
of the great works of literature, Dante Alighieri's poetic masterpiece, The
Divine Comedy, is a moving human drama, an unforgettable visionary journey
through the ... follow up
44. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
The narrative is non-linear,
involving several flashbacks, and two primary narrators: Mr. Lockwood and Ellen
"Nelly" Dean. The novel opens in 1801, with Mr. Lockwood arriving at
Thrushcross Grange,... follow up
45. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Lord of the Flies discusses how
culture created by man fails, using as an example a group of British schoolboys
stuck on a deserted island, who try to govern themselves, but with disastrous
results.... follow up
46. All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren
All the King's Men portrays the
dramatic political ascent and governorship of Willie Stark, a driven, cynical
populist in the American South during the 1930s… follow up
47. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Gone With the Wind is set in
Jonesboro and Atlanta, Georgia during the American Civil War and Reconstruction
and follows the life of Scarlett O'Hara, the daughter of an Irish immigrant
plantation... follow up
48. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
The Age of Innocence centers on
an upperclass couple's impending marriage, and the introduction of a scandalous
woman whose presence threatens their happiness. Though the novel questions the
assumption... follow up
49. The Aeneid by Virgil
The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem
written by Virgil in the late 1st century BC (29–19 BC) that tells the
legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the
ancestor of the... follow up
50. Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
A foundling of mysterious
parentage brought up by Mr. Allworthy on his country estate, Tom Jones is
deeply in love with the seemingly unattainable Sophia Western, the beautiful
daughter of the... follow up
Which of these books have you read? Which
titles do you think should not be on this list and which titles do you believe
should make the list of the 50 greatest books of all times? I’ll be more than
glad to hear your opinion on this.
