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51. |
The Screwtape Letters (1942) In this humorous and perceptive exchange between two devils, C. S. Lewis delves into moral questions about good vs. evil, temptation, repentance, and grace. It is a wonderful tale, very humorous and entertaing with a serious, somewhat religious undercurrent. |
C S. Lewis |
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52. |
Frankenstein (1818, filmed several times) Perhaps the most amazing thing about this world famous novel is that Shelley wrote it when she was 19 years old. About a scientist who learns how to reanimate flesh and creates a being in the likeness of man out of body parts taken from the dead. |
Mary Shelley |
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53. |
Ishmael (1992) Ishmael, a gorilla rescued from a traveling show who has learned to reason and communicate, uses these skills to educate himself in human history and culture. Through a series of philosophical conversations with the unnamed narrator, a disillusioned Sixties idealist, Ishmael lays out a theory of what has gone wrong with human civilization and how to correct it. |
Daniel Quinn |
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54. |
The Historian (2005) The story opens in Amsterdam in 1972, when a teenage girl discovers a medieval book and a cache of yellowed letters in her diplomat father's library. The pages of the book are empty except for a woodcut of a dragon. The letters are addressed to: "My dear and unfortunate successor." So begins a quest for Dracula in this great and higly acclaimed tale.
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Elizabeth Kostova |
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55. |
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2004) A Time magazine's #1 book of the year . A compelling epic tale of nineteenth-century England and the two very different magicians who, as teacher and pupil and then as rivals, emerge to change its history.This book is a tour de force that has captured the imagination of readers worldwide. |
Susanna Clarke |
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56. |
Alanna: The First Adventure (1983) Ten-year-old Alanna of Trebond, and her twin brother Thom of Trebond were obviously born the wrong sex. For Alanna wants nothing more than to be a knight, protecting the good of mankind, and swinging a sword around; whereas Thom wants nothing more than to be a Sorcerer, conjuring up spells, and learning the art of magic. |
Tamora Pierce |
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57. |
Twilight (2005) When Isabella Swan moves to the gloomy town of Forks and meets the mysterious Edward Cullen, her life takes a thrilling turn. With his porcelain skin, golden eyes and supernatural gifts, Edward is both irresistible and impenetrable. Up until now, he has managed to keep his true identity hidden, but Bella is determined to uncover his dark secret.
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Stephenie Meyer |
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58. |
Dragonflight (1968)
The first book in a series, telling the story of Lessa, the sole survivor of the noble ruling family of Ruatha Hold on the northern continent of Pern. When the rest of her family was killed by a cruel usurper, Fax, she survived by disguising herself as a drudge (a menial servant).
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Anne McCaffrey |
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59. |
The Little Prince (1943) The author tells of his being stranded in the Sahara Desert, where he meets a young extra-terrestrial prince. In their conversations, the author reveals his own views about the follies of mankind and the simple truths that people seem to forget as they grow older. The essence of the book is contained in the famous line uttered by the fox to the Little Prince: "On ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur, l'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux." (It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye).
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Antoine de Saint-Exupery |
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60. |
Guilty Pleasures (1993)
This is one of those books that you can't put down! It is extremely clever and different. An amazing book! The characters are intriuging, the plot great. I loved everything about it, and highly recommend it to anyone who likes vampire or paranormal stories! It is awesome! |
Laurell K. Hamilton |
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61. |
Watchmen (1987) A twelwe issue comic series, later published as a trade market paperback. The only graphic novel that has won a Hugo award. Watchmen is set in 1985, in an alternative history United States. The country is close to a nuclear war with the Soviet Union, and the book tells the story of a group of past and present superheroes and the events surrounding the mysterious murder of one of their own. |
Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons |
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62. |
The Phantom Tollbooth (1961, filmed 1970) The book centers around Milo, a bored ten-year-old who comes home to find a large toy tollbooth sitting in his room. Milo drives through the tollbooth's gates and begins a memorable journey. He is given the "impossible" mission of returning two princesses to the Kingdom of Wisdom. |
Norton Juster |
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63. |
Sophie's World (1991) The foil for Gaarder's pedagogic fantasy is Sophie Amundsen, a spunky 14-year-old whose philosophic journey begins when a pair of timeless ontological posers--"Who are you?" and "Where does the world come from?"
appear mysteriously in her mailbox.
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Jostein Gaarder |
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64. |
Beowulf (700, filmed 1999, 2007) This
is an Old English heroic epic poem of anonymous authorship. At 3183 lines, it is notable for its length. Beowulf, a hero, battles Grendel, who is attacking the Danish mead hall called Heorot and its inhabitants, and Grendel's mother. A tale of heroism and love. |
Unknown Author |
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65. |
Middlesex (2002) "I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January of 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of 1974." So begins Middlesex, the saga of a near-mythic Greek American family and the "roller-coaster ride of a single gene through time." |
Jeffrey Eugenides |
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66. |
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891) Wilde's enormous gifts for astute social observation and sparkling prose makes this book a wonderful read. Wilde once said, "Anybody can make history. Only a great man can write it." A book about decadence, moral corruption and uper-class refinement, which has it all! |
Oscar Wilde |
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67. |
The Chronicles of Prydain (1964) A five-volume series, about the adventures of Taran the Assistant Pig-Keeper and his quest to become a hero. Taran is joined by Eilonwy, the sharp-tongued princess; Fflewddur Fflam, the hyperbole-prone bard; the ever-faithful Gurgi; and Doli. They are involved in an epic struggle between good and evil that shapes the fate of the land of Prydain. |
Lloyd Alexander |
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68. |
Perfume (1986)
Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born with one sublime gift — an absolute sense of smell. As a boy, he lives to decipher the odors of Paris, and apprentices himself to a prominent perfumer who teaches him the ancient art of mixing precious oils and herbs. One day he catches a hint of a scent that will drive him on an ever-more-terrifying quest to create the "ultimate perfume" — the scent of a beautiful young virgin.
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Patrick Suskind |
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69. |
Batman - The Dark Knight Returns (1986) With an aging Bruce Wayne slowly going round the bend as he battles to lead a 'normal life', fighting against his conscience to turn the other cheek, the Joker is released from jail after a 'full mental recovery'.Gotham City is plagued by a new breed of criminal and soon the Batmans voice will have to be heard.
This graphic novel is one of the biggest and longest selling novels ever. |
Frank Miller |
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70. |
Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1972) Jonathan Livingston Seagull is no ordinary bird. He believes it is every gull's right to fly, to reach the ultimate freedom of challenge and discovery, finding his greatest reward in teaching younger gulls the joy of flight and the power of dreams. |
Richard Bach |
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71. |
Perdido Street Station (2000) This is great, prize-winning tech SF! The action is set in the city-state of New Crobuzon, a place infested with organized crime and government corruption. It is populated by a host of characters, both human and "xenian." The writing is sophisticated and the characterizations adept. Highly recommended! |
China Mieville |
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72. |
The Master and Margarita (1966) This uncensored translation of Bulgakov's posthumously published masterpiece restores its sliest digs and sharpest jabs at Stalin's regime, which suppressed it. The story is demanding: the arrival of the Devil and his entourage in Stalin's Moscow frames a Faustian tale of a suppressed writer (the Master) and his devoted lover (his Margarita), set against a realistic narrative. A memorable book!
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Mikhail Bulgakov |
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73. |
Gardens of the Moon (1994) The Malazan Empire, in the course of its vast inter-continental expansion, has come up against resistance in the form of Moon's Spawn, a floating fortress inhabited by an ancient race of warrior-mages. Also, some of the imperial troops are more loyal to their commanders than to the Empress. |
Steven Erikson |
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74. |
Kushiel's Dart (2001)
Sold into indentured servitude in the sumptuous and exotic Night Court as a child, Phèdre nó Delaunay is a woman who struggles for honor and duty, whose loyalty to the land she loves will take her to the edge of despair—and then beyond. An epic novel at a scale comparable to Dune.
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Jacqueline Carey |
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75. |
The Neverending Story (1979) Small and insignificant Bastian Balthazar Bux is nobody's idea of a hero, least of all his own. Then, through the pages of an ancient, mysterious book, he discovers the enchanted world of Fantastica, and only Bastian himself can save the fairy people who live there. |
Michael Ende |
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