Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell
Set in a dystopian future, the novel presents a society under the total control of a totalitarian regime, led by the omnipresent Big Brother. The protagonist, a low-ranking member of 'the Party', begins to question the regime and falls in love with a woman, an act of rebellion in a world where independent thought, dissent, and love are prohibited. The novel explores themes of surveillance, censorship, and the manipulation of truth.
The 6th greatest book of all time
Ranking Details:
Our ranking system awards points to books based on their appearance and position on curated lists. Here's how it works:
Unranked Lists: For lists without specific rankings, each book receives points equivalent to the list's weight. This approach recognizes the book's inclusion on prestigious lists.
Ranked Lists: Books on ranked lists receive points in two ways:
- Base Points: Initially, every book is awarded points equal to the list's weight, acknowledging its significance.
- Bonus Points: Additionally, books earn bonus points based on their ranking. The total bonus pool, equal to 100% of the list's weight, is distributed among the books, with higher-ranked books receiving more points.
Exponential Distribution: The distribution of bonus points follows an exponential model. This means the top-ranked book (#1) receives significantly more bonus points than those further down the list (e.g., #100). Our algorithm ensures that higher placements are rewarded more generously, reflecting the achievement of a top rank on any given list.
This scoring system ensures that each book's ranking reflects both its presence on multiple lists and its positions within those lists, providing a comprehensive measure of its acclaim and popularity.
List Date Penalty Feature
In our continuous effort to provide the most accurate and fair rankings, we have introduced a new feature: the List Date Penalty. This feature aims to reduce recency bias in our rankings by applying a penalty to books based on their publication dates relative to the list's publication date.
How It Works
- Publication Date Comparison: For each book on a list, we compare its publication date to the publication date of the list.
-
Penalty Application:
- Maximum Penalty: If a book was published in the same year as the list, it receives the maximum penalty, as we believe it hasn't had enough time to stand the test of time.
- Proportional Penalty: Books that were published in the years leading up to the list's publication date receive a proportional penalty based on the number of years they have been available.
- No Penalty: Books that were published more than a specified number of years (max age for penalty) before the list's publication date do not receive any penalty, acknowledging their enduring relevance and influence.
Why This Matters
By mitigating recency bias, the List Date Penalty feature helps to ensure that books that have had more time to be evaluated by readers and critics are given their due weight. This results in a more equitable and historically balanced ranking that truly reflects the greatest books of all time.
Total Points: 6945
This book was first published in 1949
122 Lists
- score: 229 -- The 100 Best Books from 1900 to the Present - 2024 (Weight: 190)
- score: 223 -- 'The perfect library': the 196 books selected by 133 personalities - 2020 (Weight: 190)
- score: 200 -- Top 100 Works in World Literature - 2002 (Weight: 200)
- score: 191 -- The 50 best books of the past 100 years - 2022 (Weight: 167)
- score: 190 -- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die - 2006 (Weight: 180)
- score: 186 -- The 100 Greatest British Novels - 2015 (Weight: 160)
- score: 186 -- 30 Books Every Adult Should Read Before They Die - 2006 (Weight: 160)
- score: 183 -- "Our Readable Century", The Best Books of the 20th Century - 2000 (Weight: 160)
- score: 183 -- The 100 Best Novels Of All Time In English - 2026 (Weight: 160)
- score: 181 -- Books Of The Century - 1999 (Weight: 150)
- score: 169 -- Harenberg Buch der 1000 Bücher - 2005 (Weight: 160)
- score: 169 -- Daily Telegraph's 100 Books of the Century, 1900-1999 - 1999 (Weight: 160)
- score: 161 -- The New York Public Library's Books of the Century - 1996 (Weight: 160)
- score: 160 -- Books of the Century - 1999 (Weight: 160)
- score: 154 -- Zeit Literaturkanon - 2012 (Weight: 146)
- score: 148 -- 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read - 2009 (Weight: 140)
- score: 145 -- The 100 Stories that Shaped the World - 2019 (Weight: 120)
- score: 133 -- Big Read (Bulgarian) - 2009 (Weight: 120)
- score: 133 -- Big Read (Hungarian) - 2005 (Weight: 110)
- score: 130 -- The 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century - 1999 (Weight: 118)
- score: 127 -- The Great Books Podcast from John J. Miller - 2025 (Weight: 120)
- score: 116 -- 100 Books, 100 Companions - 2023 (Weight: 110)
- score: 116 -- The Greatest 20th Century Novels - 1997 (Weight: 120)
- score: 111 -- Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century - 1999 (Weight: 100)
- score: 106 -- Koen Book Distributors Top 100 Books of the Past Century - 1999 (Weight: 89)
- score: 105 -- 200 Books That Shaped 200 Years of Literature - 2021 (Weight: 105)
- score: 101 -- Five Books to Read on a Desert Island - 1983 (Weight: 137)
- score: 100 -- As if You Don't Have Enough to Read, Fiction Edition - 2011 (Weight: 100)
- score: 93 -- Radcliffe's 100 Best Novels - 1998 (Weight: 80)
- score: 92 -- IWU Select 100 Must-Read Books - 1991 (Weight: 100)
- score: 91 -- The Modern Library | 100 Best Novels - 1999 (Weight: 79)
- score: 91 -- Best Books Listed for High School Students - 1984 (Weight: 120)
- score: 88 -- What’s the Best Book of the Past 125 Years? We Asked Readers to Decide. - 2021 (Weight: 80)
- score: 85 -- The Hundred Most Influential Books Since The War (WW2) - 1995 (Weight: 86)
- score: 85 -- What Our Children Should Read - 1993 (Weight: 89)
- score: 84 -- The Big Read - 2003 (Weight: 70)
- score: 84 -- Twenty Books that Changed the World - 2015 (Weight: 80)
- score: 82 -- The 100 Most Important Translations - 2018 (Weight: 80)
- score: 81 -- TrueLit's Top 100 Favorite Books (2023) - 2023 (Weight: 80)
- score: 80 -- 100 Books of Classical and Modern Foreign Literature - 2013 (Weight: 80)
- score: 76 -- America’s 100 Favorite Books - 2024 (Weight: 70)
- score: 74 -- Our Users' Top 100 Favorite Books of All Time - 2024 (Weight: 60)
- score: 71 -- My Favourite Book - Australian Big Read - 2004 (Weight: 60)
- score: 70 -- The Great American Read - 2018 (Weight: 70)
- score: 64 -- The 100 Greatest Novels - 2008 (Weight: 61)
- score: 63 -- Recommended Books - 2017 (Weight: 60)
- score: 62 -- All-Time Classics, According to Academics - 1985 (Weight: 81)
- score: 60 -- The 101 Favorite Novels of 'Le Monde' Readers - 2019 (Weight: 50)
- score: 60 -- Big Read (German) - 2004 (Weight: 60)
- score: 59 -- R/ClassicLiterature's Top 100 Favorite Books - 2026 (Weight: 50)
- score: 58 -- Harold Bloom's The Western Canon - 1994 (Weight: 60)
- score: 57 -- 100 Novels That Shaped Our World - 2019 (Weight: 54)
- score: 55 -- 4chan’s Literature Board’s Aggregate Top 100 Books for the Decade 2014 - 2024 - 2024 (Weight: 50)
- score: 52 -- Kanon na koniec wieku (Canon at the end of the century) - 2002 (Weight: 50)
- score: 47 -- Waterstone's Books of the Century - 1997 (Weight: 40)
- score: 43 -- Top 100 Books, As Chosen By Canadians - 2005 (Weight: 40)
- score: 42 -- Horror: Another 100 Best Books - 2005 (Weight: 40)
- score: 40 -- The Ultimate Book Bucket List: The 75 Best Books Of All Time - 2023 (Weight: 38)
- score: 40 -- The Books That Built The French - 2004 (Weight: 40)
- score: 35 -- The Modern Library's 100 Best Novels: The Readers' List - 1998 (Weight: 30)
- score: 34 -- 150 Great Reads - 1988 (Weight: 40)
- score: 31 -- The New Lifetime Reading Plan - 1999 (Weight: 30)
- score: 30 -- The Novel 100: A Ranking of the Greatest Novels of All Time - 2004 (Weight: 30)
- score: 28 -- 50 Books to Read Before You Die - 2012 (Weight: 26)
- score: 28 -- A Hundred Novels to Change Your Life - 2019 (Weight: 28)
- score: 24 -- The 500 best books of all time from Culture Café users - 2008 (Weight: 20)
- score: 21 -- The 100 Novels You Must Read in Your Lifetime - 2023 (Weight: 20)
- score: 20 -- 100 Essential Books - 2009 (Weight: 20)
- score: 16 -- TIME Magazine All Time 100 Novels - 2005 (Weight: 16)
- score: 12 -- Top 100 Science-Fiction, Fantasy Books - 2011 (Weight: 10)
- score: 11 -- Readers’ Top 100 Novels Of All Time - 2026 (Weight: 10)
- score: 11 -- The Telegraph’s 100 Novels Everyone Should Read - 2009 (Weight: 10)
- score: 10 -- The 100 Greatest Novels of All Time: The List - 2003 (Weight: 10)
- score: 10 -- The Book of Great Books: A Guide to 100 World Classics - 2001 (Weight: 10)
- score: 10 -- David Bowie's Top 100 Favorite Books - 2016 (Weight: 10)
- score: 10 -- 100 Main Fantasy and Science-Fiction Books - 2008 (Weight: 10)
- score: 10 -- Stephen King names his 10 favourite books of all time - 2017 (Weight: 10)
- score: 10 -- 50 Books to (Re-)Read at 50 - 2012 (Weight: 10)
- score: 10 -- The 100 Greatest Novels - 2007 (Weight: 10)
- score: 9 -- Masterpieces of World Literature - 1991 (Weight: 10)
- score: 8 -- Ninety-Nine Novels: The Best in English since 1939 - 1984 (Weight: 10)
- score: 6 -- The 50 Best Sci-Fi Books for Every Kind of Reader - 2024 (Weight: 6)
- score: 6 -- Everything You Should Read without Being a Library Rat - 1972 (Weight: 10)
- score: 1 -- The new modern classics — the nation’s favourite 20th century novels - 2024 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- Top 200 Science Fiction Books (Pre-2000) - 2021 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- Edmonton's Top 100 - 1998 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The Complete 500: OCLC - 2024 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The Greatest Books of All Time - 2022 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- D. G. Myers’ 50 Greatest English Language Novels - 2009 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 100 Must-Read Classics, as Chosen by our Readers - 2022 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 20th Century's Greatest Hits: 100 English-Language Books of Fiction - 1999 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 50 Books That Defined Their Era - 2011 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- Top 100 Books - 1999 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 100 Best Novels Written in English - 2015 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 125 Books We Love for Adults - 2020 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 50 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novels That Everyone Should Read - 2013 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- Books That Changed the World: The 50 Most Influential Books in Human History - 2009 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 500 Must Read Books - 2013 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The Well-Educated Mind - 2003 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List - 2018 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 100 Most Influential Books of the Century - 2000 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- Great Books - 2006 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime - 2014 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 100 Books to Love - 2013 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 50 Books to Read Before You Die - 2015 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The 100 Best Science Fiction Books of All Time - 2019 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- Select 100 - 2015 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- Must-read Sci-Fi Classics - 2023 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- Top Books Recommended on Cambridge Reading Lists - 2025 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime - 2014 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The 50 Most Influential Books of All Time - 2010 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 501 Must-Read Books - 2006 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 110 Best Books: The Perfect Library - 2008 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The Graphic Canon - 2012 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The Best Classics - 2006 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- From Zero to Well-Read in 100 Books - 2013 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The Booklist Century: 100 Books, 100 Years - 2005 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- A Century of Reading - 2018 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The Books You've Always Meant to Read - 2020 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 50 Classics You Must Read Before You Die - 2024 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The 100 Most Influential Books Ever Written - 1998 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels - 1985 (Weight: 1)