The 100 Greatest Non-Fiction Books

The Guardian, 100 Books

The Guardian's list of the greatest non-fiction books of all time. here's their description:

After keen debate at the Guardian's books desk, this is our list of the very best factual writing, organised by category, and then by date.

200 Books That Shaped 200 Years of Literature

The Center for Fiction, 206 Books

Description from the site:

As an organization whose mission is to both reflect and advance the art of fiction, we’re honoring our 200th anniversary by looking back on how storytelling has evolved since then. We set forth to create a list of the 200 works of fiction that had the most impact on American readers, writers, and culture over these past two centuries... the help of a panel of writers associated with The Center: Mahogany L. Browne, Amina Cain, Alexander Chee, Kia Corthron, Michael Cunningham, Alvaro Enrigue, Neil Gaiman, Rigoberto Gonzalez, Kaitlyn Greenidge, Stephen King, Maaza Mengiste, Claire Messud, Jason Reynolds, Salman Rushdie, Esmeralda Santiago, Jonathan Santlofer, V. E. Schwab, Gary Shteyngart, Jane Smiley, Monique Truong, and De'Shawn Charles Winslow. Each author contributed five titles they wanted to be included... and The Center’s staff set to work on completing the list... after much anguish and debate, we present the 200 Books That Shaped 200 Years of Literature

100 Best Books to Read by Women Authors

Good Housekeeping, 100 Books

Good Housekeeping team created a list of the 100 best books by women authors. Their website description is:

From gripping works of fiction to literary classics, this list of 100 books to read by women was selected by the Good Housekeeping team and shows that women's writing is complex, brilliant, moving, innovative – everything the best writing should be.

The Modern Library | 100 Best Nonfiction

The Modern Library, 100 Books

The New York Public Library's Books of the Century

New York Public Library, 173 Books

The following is a complete list of the titles included in the exhibition Books of the Century at The New York Public Library's Center for the Humanities, May 20, 1995-July 13, 1996, and in The New York Public Library's Books of the Century, published by Oxford University Press.

A celebration of the NYPL's centenary. The books were selected by public service and research librarians

The Millions: The Best Fiction of the Millennium

The Millions, 20 Books

A poll of The Millions contributors and 48 of their favorite writers, editors, and critics, asking a single question: “What are the best books of fiction of the millennium(2000), so far?” The results were robust, diverse, and surprising.

Boston Public Library: Top Genre Books of the 2010s

Boston Public Library, 120 Books

The top 10 genre specific books of the 2010s from the Reader Services Department at the Boston Public Library. Please note that this list only includes specific genres: Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Horror, Memoirs, Middle School, Picture Books, Romance, Science Fiction, Self-Help, Social Justice, Thrillers, and Young Adult. Their general Fiction and Non-fiction are in another list.

Boston Public Library: Top Fiction and Non-Fiction Books of the 2010s

Boston Public Library, 20 Books

The top 10 books of the 2010s from the Reader Services Department at the Boston Public Library. Please note that this list only includes the fiction and non-fiction books. The genres are aggregated in a different list.

Recommended Books

Academy of Achievement, 72 Books

Here, in their own words, are the answers to the question, What book did you read when you were young that most influenced your life? The answers reflect the wonderfully varied power of books, and remind us of some neglected timeless classics and other works we may want to take into our own lives.

This seems to be recommendations from celebrities, authors, critics, and other famous people

The 100 Greatest Books Ever Written

Easton Press, 102 Books

Easton Press's selection of the greatest books of the Western Canon.

Mythopoeic Awards

The Mythopoeic Awards, 92 Books

The Mythopoeic Awards for literature and literary studies are given annually for outstanding works in the fields of myth, fantasy, and the scholarly study of these areas.

PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction

PEN/Faulkner, 40 Books

The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction is awarded annually by the PEN/Faulkner Foundation to the author of the best American work of fiction that year. The winner receives US $15,000 and each of four runners-up receives US $5000. The foundation brings the winner and runners-up to Washington, D.C. to read from their works at the Great Hall of the Folger Shakespeare Library.

The PEN/Faulkner Foundation is an outgrowth of William Faulkner's generosity in donating his 1949 Nobel Prize winnings, "to establish a fund to support and encourage new fiction writers." Mary Lee Settle was also one of the founders after controversy at the 1979 National Book Award.[1] It is affiliated with the writers' organization International PEN.
The award was first given in 1980.

Six Professors from "Esteemed" Universities Favorite Books

Democrat and Chronicle (Newspaper), 48 Books

A newspaper article from the "Democrat and Chronicle" from 1982 where they asked 6 esteemed professors to list books that theyh would recommend to anyone as worth reading during a lifetime.

The voters were: Louis Rubin, Joseph Summers, R.W.B Lewis, Clark Blaise, Edward Rosenheim, and William Chace

Latitude Festival's Top 20 Books by Women

Latitude Festival goers, 20 Books

The Latitude Festival(2016) invited all festival goers to vote for their top 20 favorite books by women. The participants wrote their choices on luggage tags and tied them to The Tree of Stories in the festival’s Faraway Forest.

Latitude Festival is an annual music and arts festival set within the grounds of Henham Park, near Southwold, Suffolk, England

James Tait Black Memorial Prize: Fiction

James Tait Black Memorial Prize, 111 Books

The James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are literary prizes awarded for literature written in the English language.
The winners are chosen by the Professor of English Literature at the university, who is assisted by postgraduate students in the shortlisting phase, a structure which is seen to lend the prizes a considerable gravitas.

For the book prizes works of fiction and biographies must be written in English. The nationality of the author does not matter, but submissions must be first published (or co-published) in Britain during the calendar year of the award. Any given author can only win each prize once. However, he or she can win both prizes at the same time.

Women's Prize for Fiction

Women's Prize for Fiction, 28 Books

The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously called Orange Prize for Fiction (1996-2006 & 2009-12), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007-2008) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014-2017)) is one of the United Kingdom's most prestigious literary prizes, annually awarded to a female author of any nationality for the best original full-length novel written in English, and published in the United Kingdom in the preceding year.

Britain's Favourite Ten Children's Books

Waterstone and BBC, 10 Books

On September 1, 1997 the results of a poll to find the nation's favourite children's book were announced. The poll, sponsored by Waterstone's and the BBC, found Roald Dahl's Matilda to be the favorite. The top ten books from the poll are shown in the following table.

More details for it: "Over 10,000 children voted for more than
700 different titles by phoning or emailing
the BBC poll or voting at their local
Waterstone’s bookshop. The poll closed at
midnight on 27th August after a month’s

100 Books of Classical and Modern Foreign Literature

The Union of Russian Writers, 100 Books

"100 books of classical and modern foreign literature" according to the Union of Writers of Russia, published on January 23, 2013.

The creators of the list are confident that Russian literature is a universal cultural heritage, but its significance can only be understood in unity with world literature, and that this list, presented to the public within the framework of the presidential project, will help strengthen spirituality and morality among Russian youth, and will also help revive traditions family reading and will become a notable event in the cultural life of modern Russia.

The Union of Russian Writers is a non-governmental organization uniting Russian and writers (novelists, poets, essayists, etc.). It was established in 1991, when on the basis of the Union of Soviet Writers three independent associations were formed: the Writers' Union of Russia (the "patriotic" orientation), the Writers' Union of Moscow, and the Union of Russian Writers ("democratic" union). The Union of Russian Writers includes more than 3,500 writers from Russia and former USSR, in 58 regional organizations.

The 100 Best Crime Novels and Thrillers since 1945

The Times, 100 Books

The Times team pick their favourite crime and spy novels, from Agatha Christie and Georges Simenon to today’s edgy Scandi and Japanese masters.

Contributors: Francesca Angelini, John Carey, Max Freeman-Mills, Josh Glancy, Andrew Holgate, Alan Hunter, Peter Kemp, Claire Lowdon, David Mills, John Dugdale, Patricia Nicol, Nick Rennison, Karen Robinson, Mika Ross-Southall, Joan Smith, Johanna Thomas-Corr

100 Essential Books

Bravo! Magazine, 100 Books

The Brazilian cultural magazine Bravo! selects 100 essential books.

The 100 Greatest British Novels

BBC, 104 Books

BBC Culture polled book critics outside the UK, to give an outsider’s perspective on the best in British literature.

50 Books to Read Before You Die

Barnes and Noble, 55 Books

Barnes and Noble's selection of the 50 most essential books.

25 Greatest Science Books of All Time

Discover Magazine, 25 Books

Discover Magazine staff presents the essential reading list for anyone interested in science.

The New Canon: What’s the Most Influential Book of the Past 20 Years?

The Chronicle of Higher Education, 20 Books

The Chronicle of Higher Education, which is a newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professional invited scholars from across the academy to tell what they saw as the most influential book published in the past 20 years. (Some respondents named books slightly outside our time frame, but were included anyway.) They asked them to select books — academic or not, but written by scholars — from within or outside their own fields. It was up to the respondents to define “influential.”

25 acclaimed international writers choose 25 of the best books from the last 25 years

Wasafiri Magazine, 23 Books

The 25 books were chosen by 25 respected names in international writing, many of whom have contributed over the years to Wasafiri magazine, including Indra Sinha, Blake Morrison and Fred D’Aguiar.

Note: I don't think the voters understood "the last 25 years" bit. There are many books that are much much older.

50 Greatest Books of All Time

Globe and Mail, 53 Books

A list of the 50 greatest books of all time as determined by a panel of secret judges for Globe and Mail. The books are not ranked.

National Book Award - Nonfiction

National Book Foundation, 47 Books

The National Book Awards are among the most eminent literary prizes in the United States. Started in 1950, the awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the prior year, as well as lifetime achievement awards including the "Medal of Distinguished Contribution to American Letters" and the "Literarian Award". The purpose of the awards is "to celebrate the best of American literature, to expand its audience, and to enhance the cultural value of good writing in America.

The Great American Read

PBS, 100 Books

PBS and the producers worked with the public opinion polling service “YouGov” to conduct a demographically and statistically representative survey asking Americans to name their most-loved novel. Approximately 7,200 people participated.

The results were tallied and organized based on our selection criteria and overseen by an advisory panel of 13 literary industry professionals. The criteria for inclusion on the top 100 list were as follows:

Each author was limited to one title on the list (to keep the list varied).

Books published in series or featuring ongoing characters counted as one eligible entry on the list (e.g. the Harry Potter series or Lord of the Rings)to increase variety.

Books could be from anywhere in the world as long as they were published in English.

Only fiction could be included in the poll.

Each advisory panel member was permitted to select one book for discussion and possible inclusion on the top 100 list from the longer list of survey results.

In Which These Are the 100 Greatest Novels

ThisRecording.com, 100 Books

ThisRecording.com Editor Alex Carnevale selects his choices for the "100 Greatest Novels of All Time".

The 50 best books of the past 100 years

The Times, 51 Books

On the 100th anniversary of Ulysses, our jury of authors and critics picked the finest novels published since Joyce’s classic — and readers picked the 51st. Here's who voted:

● Kamila Shamsie is the author of Home Fire, which won the Women’s Prize.
● David Nicholls is the author of One Day and Starter for Ten.
● Aminatta Forna has written four novels, including Happiness.
● John Carey is chief literary critic of The Sunday Times. He has been reviewing in these pages for 50 years.
● Sarah Waters has written six novels, including Fingersmith.
● Sebastian Faulks is the author of 17 novels, including Birdsong.
● Anne Enright has written seven novels, including her Booker-winning The Gathering.
● Megan Nolan wrote Acts of Desperation.
● Peter Kemp is chief fiction reviewer for The Sunday Times.
● Colm Tóibín has written ten novels, including Brooklyn.
● Claire Lowdon is a novelist and literary critic.
● Yiyun Li writes short stories and novels, including A Thousand Years of Good Prayers.
● David Mitchell is the author of Cloud Atlas.
● Johanna Thomas-Corr is a journalist and literary critic.
● Diana Evans is the award-winning author of Ordinary People.
● Carys Davies is the author of West and The Mission House.

The 80 Books Every Man Should Read

Esquire, 80 Books

An unranked, incomplete, utterly biased list of the greatest works of literature ever published.

Third World Novels… The Top 10

New Internationalist, 10 Books

There are many gifted Third World writers who can
help you transcend barriers of language and tradition
but you might find it difficult to know where to start. As a guide,
the NI has chosen its ten best novels - the ones which are both
enjoyable to read and give a vivid impression of life in developing
countries. They are not listed in any significant order.

The Best Novels You’ve Never Read

NY Mag, 60 Books

Talk to any critic and you’ll hear about a book you must read—often one you were begged to read by some reviewer when it came out, but which quickly slipped off your radar. Such is the plight of critics. Which is why we decided, with the help of the National Book Critics Circle, to ask professional critics (and some other writers) to pick the best under-the-radar book of the past ten years or so.

The Modern Library: The Two Hundred Best Novels in English Since 1950

The Modern Library (Book), 209 Books

The authors have chosen the 200 books since 1950 that they consider to be the best. It includes some familiar names and some surprises. Witty and controversial, their aim is to encourage reading.

The Authors
- Dame Carmen Thérèse Callil, DBE, FRSL was an Australian publisher, writer and critic who spent most of her career in the United Kingdom. She founded Virago Press in 1973 and received the Benson Medal from the Royal Society of Literature in 2017
- Colm Tóibín FRSL is an Irish novelist, short story writer, essayist, journalist, critic, playwright and poet. His first novel, The South, was published in 1990. The Blackwater Lightship was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.

Pulitzer Prize for History

Pulitzer Prize, 106 Books

The Pulitzer Prize for History has been awarded since 1917 for a distinguished book upon the history of the United States. Many history books have also been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction and Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography.

Two people have won the Pulitzer Prize for History twice; Margaret Leech, for Reveille in Washington, 1860-1865 in 1941 and In the Days of McKinley in 1960, and Bernard Bailyn, for The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution (1968) and Voyagers to the West: A Passage in the Peopling of America on the Eve of the Revolution (1987).

The Well-Educated Mind

Book, 178 Books

In her best-selling work on home education, The Well-Trained Mind, Susan Wise Bauer provided a road map of classical education for parents wishing to home-school their children; that book is now the premier resource for home-schoolers. In The Well-Educated Mind, Bauer takes the same elements and techniques and adapts them to the use of adult readers who want both enjoyment and self-improvement from the time they spend reading. Followed carefully, her advice will restore and expand the pleasure of the written word.

The 100 Best Mystery and Thriller Books of All Time

Time, 100 Books

With a panel of celebrated authors—Megan Abbott, Harlan Coben, S.A. Cosby, Gillian Flynn, Tana French, Rachel Howzell Hall, and Sujata Massey—TIME presents the most gripping, twist-filled, satisfying, and influential mystery and thriller books, in chronological order beginning in the 1800s.

Radcliffe's 100 Best Novels

Radcliffe Publishing Course, 100 Books

48 Good Books

University of Buffalo, 49 Books

Recommended literature by the Undergraduate Academies and Libraries of the University of Buffalo.

description from their old website:
In cooperation with the UB Libraries, the UB Undergraduate Academies announce the Good Books project, a list of 48 good books which embody the mission and spirit of the five Undergraduate Academies: Civic Engagement, Entrepreneurship, Global Perspectives, Research Exploration and Sustainability The Academies Council members, an advisory board of faculty and staff, nominated books that have been personally important to them. You could read one book from this eclectic list, which ranges from biography to politics to poetry, each month over the course of your college career. Some of these books may be familiar, others quite unknown, but Council Members put their heads together to devise a list of “unrequired reading” that have inspired inquiry, pleasure, and a renewed engagement with civic life.

Bill Gate's Book Recommendations

Bill Gates, 258 Books

All books recommended by Bill Gates

The 75 Best Books of the Past 75 Years

Parade Magazine, 88 Books

A list of voted on by 17 employees(book sellers) at Parnassus Books in Nashville, TN for Parade Magazine.

The 100 Best Non-Fiction Books of the Century

National Review, 100 Books

The 100 best non-fiction books of all time judged by a panel of historians, authors, publishers, and experts for the National Review Magazine.

The Greatest Stories Ever Told

The Sydney Morning Herald, 10 Books

The Sydney Morning Herald published this list in their newspaper on Saturday 13th, 1994. They asked a "panel of experts" what the greatest story ever told was. The voters were: Donald Horne, Rosemary Dobson, Gwen Harwood, David Ireland, Barry Jones, and Marian Halligan

100 Best Novels in the World (Published in 1899)

The Daily Telegraph, 101 Books

The Daily Telegraph published an article in 1899 listing the 100 Best Novels. The list was selected by the editor of The Daily Telegraph with the assistance of Sir Edwin Arnold, H. D. Traill, and W. L. Courtney.

These books were also sold to the public, so it was a commercial proposition.

As if You Don't Have Enough to Read, Best Non-Fiction from the NY Times Writers

New York Times, 68 Books

Inspired by The Guardian’s recent list of the 100 greatest nonfiction books, we here at the magazine decided to create our own list. Dispensing with all pretense to rigor — it’s a list, silly! — we simply asked each member of the staff to pick their five favorites.

The 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time

Time, 98 Books

With a panel of leading fantasy authors—N.K. Jemisin, Neil Gaiman, Sabaa Tahir, Tomi Adeyemi, Diana Gabaldon, George R.R. Martin, Cassandra Clare and Marlon James—TIME presents the most engaging, inventive and influential works of fantasy fiction, in chronological order beginning in the 9th century.
*note* I combined some of the books here. All the Lord of the Rings books are combined.

The New Lifetime Reading Plan

The New Lifetime Reading Plan, 202 Books

Clifton Paul "Kip" Fadiman (May 15, 1904 – June 20, 1999) was an American intellectual, author, editor, radio and television personality.

The New Lifetime Reading Plan provides readers with brief, informative and entertaining introductions to more than 130 classics of world literature. From Homer to Hawthorne, Plato to Pascal, and Shakespeare to Solzhenitsyn, the great writers of Western civilization can be found in its pages. In addition, this new edition offers a much broader representation of women authors, such as Charlotte Bront%, Emily Dickinson and Edith Wharton, as well as non-Western writers such as Confucius, Sun-Tzu, Chinua Achebe, Mishima Yukio and many others.
This fourth edition also features a simpler format that arranges the works chronologically in five sections (The Ancient World; 300-1600; 1600-1800; and The 20th Century), making them easier to look up than ever before. It deserves a place in the libraries of all lovers of literature.

The Book of Great Books: A Guide to 100 World Classics

Book, 105 Books

Editor W. John Campbell provides explanations and summaries for 100 of the world's best books.

TIME Magazine All Time 100 Novels

TIME Magazine, 100 Books

Time critics Lev Grossman and Richard Lacayo pick the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present.

The Best Books of All Time, as Chosen by the Good Housekeeping Team

Good Housekeeping, 20 Books

The Good Housekeeping team have all the picked their top read - the one they would happily read, again and again.