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[dvolovets]

Gotta add some more Euro lit...

Narcissus and Goldmund - Hermann Hesse
Gertrude - Hermann Hesse
Demian - Hermann Hesse
The Magic Mountain - Thomas Mann
The Street of Crocodiles - Bruno Schulz (INCREDIBLE book -- beautiful short story -- truly nothing else like it; I implore you to check it out)
Hunger - Knut Hamsun

I have to elaborate a bit re: The Street of Crocodiles. It's a collection of vignettes with an absolutely gorgeous vocabulary (I realize that it is a translation, I bet the original is even better), incredible scenery, and thought-provoking allegory, all packed into about 100 pages. Even if you don't end up remembering any of the plot details, you will honestly never forget the general feeling you get from the book (especially from the "Cinnamon Shops" chapter) -- somewhat fairy tale-like, whimsical, but also pensive and existential...

Edit - WOW, East Lake, that is an absolutely incredible list!!

 

[East Lake]

http://www.listology.com/marslike/list/harold-blooms-western-canon

It's pulled from this book if anyone is wondering. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Western_Canon:_The_Books_and_School_of_the_Ages

 

[FiRez]

I don't know how good are the translations of The Quixote but the Spanish original is the best classic and most hilarious book I've read

 

[Red]

I don't know how good are the translations of The Quixote but the Spanish original is the best classic and most hilarious book I've read

I have only read an English translation, but I thought it was pretty good.

I think it probably gets pushed too much in Spanish courses in the US. It is the only book I remember being consistently recommended over four years and three schools.

I don't say "pushed too much" because it is not good, but because there are other great Spanish books that deserve attention.

 

[teruterubozu]

OP here, thanks for the contributions everybody, I've already made a few additions to my list. A couple of responses:

- It's funny that Pride & Prejudice got picked out as an example of a "poor" classic because that is the one I am currently reading. I like it so far. It has a playful air about it that I hope I find in many of the other classics I plan to read.

- The lists were created using Modern Library's top 100 and the Time 100 since 1923. I also used a couple of other lists I found online (feedbook's harvard list of classics, etc.)

- The reason I have so much cyberpunk on here is because the genre is a favorite of mine (at least in film and video games), I actually had to restrain myself from not adding more.

If you're really into cyberpunk then you should expand the Philip K. Dick list (esp. "Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said" - basically more like Blade Runner than "Do Androids") and add some Crime/Noir like Raymond Chandler ("The Big Sleep"), Dashiell Hammett ("The Maltese Falcon"), James M. Cain ("Double Indemnity", "Postman Always Rings Twice"), etc.

 

[poppabk]

I would drop Heart of Darkness for Nostromo, much better novel in my opinion. Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo is an excellent book as well.
I would drop Philip K Dicks novels and read his short stories. He is really bad at writing novels.
James Ellroy should be featured somewhere as well, his staccato style is pretty unique.

 

[XANDER CAGE]

I wanted to stop by this thread and say it's awesome to see people reading a lot of books. I also wanted to deliver a present:

 

[relaxor]

Great thread! I see that many of my favorites authors are included already but I'd supplement with:

John Steinbeck - Cannery Row
Yusinari Kawabata - The Master of Go

And for new authors I'd suggest:

Arthur Koestler - Darkness at Noon
P.G. Wodehouse - Any book with Jeeves in the title
Flannery O'Conner - The Violent Bear It Away (though her short story collection A Good Man is Hard to Find is the best)
John Kennedy Toole - Confederacy of Dunces
Donald Barthelme - The Dead Father (though his collection Sixty Stories is the masterpiece)

 

[Aselith]

I would consider The Stand a modern classic along with some of King's other works probably.

 

[Confidence Man]

Melville short stories, Bartleby the Scrivener in particular.
Henry James, The Golden Bowl

 

[Like the hat?]

Please prioritize The Time Machine. It is the best novel ever.

 

[Fivefold]

It's a good list but I'd approach it differently. Limit yourself to one book per author at first, then further explore the ones you really liked.

You're also seriously missing out on one of the most entertaining genres, crime fiction. I see John Le Carré and thats it.

Get rid of some of that cyberpunk fluff and add:

The Daughter of Time, Josephine Tey (this is such an a amazing book and so underrated! maybe my favorite book ever)
The Big Sleep, Raymond Chandler
The Hound of Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Agatha Christie
The Talented Mr. Ripley, Patricia Highsmith

Just for a start.

 

[PS3GamerKyle]

Ctrl + F Dostoyevsky.


My man. Crime and Punishment completely changed my perspective on life.

But please man, add:

The Idiot

The Stranger (soo, soo much this)

I'll comment with more later.

 

[Trent Strong]

Well, no one's mentioned John Irving. Jesus.

 

[tmarques]

You can't have a list of classics without Balzac. Père Goriot, Lost Illusions, Cousin Bette.

Zola: Germinal, Nana, The Human Beast.

Somerset Maugham: Of Human Bondage, The Razor's Edge, The Moon and Sixpence.

If you like Edith Wharton - start with Ethan Frome, it's probably her best and really short -, I'd suggest The Old Maid. I think it's pulic domain for some reason.

This may sound silly, but trust me: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, by Anita Loos.

 

[AppleBlade]

I didn't see east of eden by Steinbeck . One of my favorite books.

It's on there.

 

[Zebra]

Oh man, I need to recommend one of my favorite books: Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak.

First published in Italy in 1957 amid international controversy, Doctor Zhivago is the story of the life and loves of a poet/physician during the turmoil of the Russian Revolution. Taking his family from Moscow to what he hopes will be shelter in the Ural Mountains, Zhivago finds himself instead embroiled in the battle between the Whites and the Reds. Set against this backdrop of cruelty and strife is Zhivago's love for the tender and beautiful Lara, the very embodiment of the pain and chaos of those cataclysmic times.

I'm not familiar with this particular translation though, so I can't speak to it's quality. Mine was translated by Hayward and Harari and I enjoyed it immensely.