Reading is one of the best ways to destress and also to travel the world without leaving your bed. There are so many amazing books out there and that is why we will be looking at a list of the five greatest books of all time. So, keep reading to see what books were chosen as the five greatest books!
When I browse most lists, they tend to categorize by genres because trying to compare classics and fantasy novels is not easy. Depending on what you like to read, the list will be influenced one way or another. But The Greatest Books website decided to not care and list the greatest books of all time.
It is a bold strategy and one that I am not the biggest fan of. There are just too many books and you are choosing one to put at the top. Everyone is not going to agree what the greatest book of all time is. I know I don’t because there is no way that their pick is the greatest book ever written.
If I were to guess what the greatest book chosen was, I can tell you that I wouldn’t say The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It is a great book but it is not the greatest book of all time. And I know that I am not alone in thinking that. You can see the full list below!
The Five Greatest Books of All Time
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Ulysses by James Joyce
- In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust
- One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
- The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
The Greatest Books Every Written
Lists like these are fun to examine and to see what people think of it. Will this list be similar to my top five list of the greatest books of all time? Absolutely not but that is fine. They are all great books and I am sure that for many people, they would have some if not all of them in their list of favorite books.
Ulysses by James Joyce and In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust are considered some of the greatest works of literature. So I do see why they are included on this list. But it tells you what the criteria for the books selected is. The Great Gatsby is considered the best American book ever written by many critics. But I don’t know how strongly it holds up when you ask book lovers at random.
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez and The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger are both phenomenal books. Everyone should read them but if you don’t, then it’s not the end of the world. The literary world changes fast and we have more books published than ever before. Trying to get people to agree on what the greatest books of all time is harder than ever before.
Conclusion
Lists like these are fun and always lead to a discussion of what books people should read. I can see why The Greatest Books chose the books that they did but I don’t agree with this list. Maybe I will be a little more swayed if I saw more books on the list. What do you think of this list and what are some books you would add to this list?
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Think my list would be very different 😂 I hated Ulysses when I read it for my degree but can definitely appreciate it as a work of literary art
I’m sure you’re not alone 😂
Many readers dislike Holden Caufield, citing him as an entitled brat but I always thought his charm was telling things like it is and not pulling punches. The adoration he has for his sister is another redeeming quality.
Yes, it is one of my favorite books.
Catcher in the Rye is a classic young adult novel but certainly not a great book. Is it a book you learn something new from in repeated readings? I don’t see much depth. The Great Gatsby also seems slight for a list like this. I’d more likely go with Moby Dick, The Sound and the Fury, or Beloved as great American novels. George Eliot’s Middlemarch certainly belongs in the top ten if not the top five.
Nailed my gaming vibes with this site! What Is Hypackel
War and Peace is brilliant
Birthday Rememberance of Poor Lucia Joyce, 26 July
10:00 am
https://jamesjoycereadingcircle.com/2020/11/30/gj-canto-xxxiv-p-12-ll-7-12/
Today is the birthday of poor Lucia Joyce (1907) for whose sake her mother is maligned. Perhaps it was her Babbo who lessened her life by discouraging dance, favoring more “respectable” pursuits.
~Don