We are all guilty of looking up the best books of all time. Partly, to see which books stand above others and to see where our favorite books ranks. That is why we decided to look at Time Magazine’s ten greatest books of all time and see which ones they chose.
Time Magazine pokes fun at lists such as these and yet still make the list. We are all drawn to them. To change things up and find a list that is chosen not by readers but by other authors, it may hold more weight. That is what Time did and came up with a top ten that has some credentials.
This list was made in 2007 by interviewing big name authors, 125 of them to be exact and asking them what their top ten was. I am sure I am not the only one that wants to see these lists. Time then took all the list and combined them like Frankenstein’s monster and made one list to rule them all.
Time Magazine’s Ten Greatest Books of All Time
- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
- Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
- War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
- Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
- Hamlet by William Shakespeare
- The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald
- In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust
- The Stories of Anton Chekhov by Anton Chekhov
- Middlemarch by George Eliot
The Perfect List?
If you ever wanted to know what your favorite authors were reading, then look no further. Many of these books are classics and books that show up on many lists. It is still interesting that I am niot familiar with all of these books. In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust and The Stories of Anton Chekhov by Anton Chekhov are books I know nothing about and may have overlooked if I came across them before.
You may be curious about the 125 top ten lists and we do have some information at hand. The most common author chosen was Shakespeare followed by a tie between William Faulkner and Henry James.
Seeing how many of these books are well-regarded classics, I will say I am not shocked. Authors tend have a bit more apprecation for the classics because they have a deeper understanding because of their profession. Many of us read for fun.
Conclusion
That is all for Time Magazine’s ten greatest books of all time list. I will try looking around to see if I can find the 125 lists by the authors interviewed. What did you make of this list? What books would you have included? Let us know in the comments below. Until next time, happy reading!
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How about Patricia Highsmith’s Ripley series?
I guess only white men are capable of writing the greatest books of all time. Wake up, it is 2023. Many women and people of color have written GREAT books.
Middlemarch is actually written by a woman…but as to your point, she had to write as George Eliot to be published. Having said this, I absolutely agree with your comment…I had the exact same thought.
Exactly what I noticed, too. I added Paulo Coelho, Zora Neale Hurston, Virginia Woolf in my list of great authors🤓.
Charles Dickens I feel was one of the greats.
At least “To Kill A Mockingbird” was not listed. I did not have it shoved down my throat in High School; will never read it; and will not view the movie adaptation.
u missed out
Umm…I guess it makes sense to hate a book you haven’t read.
Maybe just read it.
I was going to make a similar comment. All a list like this shows is a narrow range of reading and the lack of confidence that leads to the same ones showing up over and over.
Yes.
Well said Malcolm S Carter !
Chronic victimhood syndrome
Nope. It can be either, depends on the intended meaning. Your proofreading career is in danger
Nothing like forming a strong opinion without knowing the subject.
You believe Wales and quality are the same? You must hold 50 Shades in high esteem.
Reality.
You got a horrible list. Did you write that list in high school?
I thought Hamlet was a play not a book.
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is a combination of two or three versions of a scripted play.
I would add Gibran Khalil Gibran book : The Prophet, translated in 100 different langiages, making it one of the most translated book in history, as well as one of the best selling book of all times.
Stockholm – Sweden.
Best book off all times ( the Holy Bybel ) God as author ……no one can beat that .
These lists usually frown at fantasy, that’s why LOTR is not in it either.
Hello…LOTR
Missing:
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Autobiography of a Yogu.
Charles Dickens is my favorite author; the very best! I have read all his novels; none compare!
Imho, any list without ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ on it is irrelevant.
YES!!!! My sentiments exactly…The Road by Cormac McCarthy and The Giver by Lois Lowry should be added, too.
It would appear the best book would be the most sold. THE BIBLE.
Wow…include Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Lord Of The Flies by William Golding, Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, 1984 by George Orwell, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley, The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo, Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, To Whom The Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway…there are some serious authors left out of Time Magazine’s list. Just saying…
Literally none of those belong on this list. What absolute nonsense.
none of those belongs….
One is the singular subject, not those, and takes the third-person singular form of the verb. One ( ) belongs….
Good list, but lacking THE number one: El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha, by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra.
Couldn’t agree more Rommel Luna.
Read this in university and utterly enthralled me.
The Power of One
Anna Karenina is a complete bore.
I agree!
How the Bible can be left off any top 10 list is beyond me. Let’s say you’re not interested in “Religion” as I’m not interested in man made religion that ignores most of the actual Bible. However, leaving it off the list because one has never read or studied or applied it in their lives then that’s a terrible reason. If fear of some blowback is even part of the reason then ok. However integrity, respect and humility, if possessed, would scream that the Bible shouldn’t just be on the list. It owns first place on the list regardless of what some person or persons believe. A grasp of the obvious will help in this regard.
A thoroughly ignorant list.
Hamlet surely isn’t a book it’s a play has been regarded as such for hundreds years a scripted play..lots of these lists are purely fillers in…magazines giving somebody the job of compiling a list they use google get a few classics a few old chestnuts and a new one or two ..viola ..a complete waste of time
To Kill a Mockingbird