The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
The novel follows the story of a teenager named Holden Caulfield, who has just been expelled from his prep school. The narrative unfolds over the course of three days, during which Holden experiences various forms of alienation and his mental state continues to unravel. He criticizes the adult world as "phony" and struggles with his own transition into adulthood. The book is a profound exploration of teenage rebellion, alienation, and the loss of innocence.
The 3rd greatest book of all time
Ranking Details:
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List Date Penalty Feature
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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: 8336
This book was first published in 1951
76 Lists
- score: 203 -- The Top 10: The Greatest Books of All Time - 2007 (Weight: 200)
- score: 203 -- For The Love of Books - 1999 (Weight: 200)
- score: 195 -- The 50 best books of the past 100 years - 2022 (Weight: 192)
- score: 194 -- The Greatest 20th Century Novels - 1997 (Weight: 176)
- score: 192 -- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die - 2006 (Weight: 192)
- score: 187 -- El Pais Favorite Books of 100 Spanish Authors - 2008 (Weight: 184)
- score: 178 -- The Ideal Library - 2024 (Weight: 172)
- score: 178 -- "Our Readable Century", The Best Books of the 20th Century - 2000 (Weight: 176)
- score: 168 -- Best Foreign Work of Fiction Chosen by Francophone Writers - 2006 (Weight: 168)
- score: 154 -- Världsbiblioteket (The World Library) - 1991 (Weight: 184)
- score: 153 -- The Greatest Books of All Time - 2022 (Weight: 152)
- score: 152 -- 222 Best Books of All Time That Deserve a Spot on Your Bookshelf, With Picks from Bestselling Authors and Indie Booksellers - 2024 (Weight: 152)
- score: 152 -- 100 Life-Changing Books - 2006 (Weight: 152)
- score: 152 -- A Hundred Novels to Change Your Life - 2019 (Weight: 152)
- score: 152 -- 200 Books That Shaped 200 Years of Literature - 2021 (Weight: 152)
- score: 152 -- The Best Books of All Time, as Chosen by the Good Housekeeping Team - 2020 (Weight: 152)
- score: 148 -- The 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century - 1999 (Weight: 152)
- score: 144 -- The Booklist Century: 100 Books, 100 Years - 2005 (Weight: 144)
- score: 140 -- 100 Books of Classical and Modern Foreign Literature - 2013 (Weight: 136)
- score: 139 -- Daily Telegraph's 100 Books of the Century, 1900-1999 - 1999 (Weight: 144)
- score: 136 -- The 100 Best YA Books of All Time - 2021 (Weight: 136)
- score: 132 -- The New York Public Library's Books of the Century - 1996 (Weight: 144)
- score: 128 -- Books that Shaped the Century - 2020 (Weight: 128)
- score: 127 -- Big Read (Bulgarian) - 2009 (Weight: 124)
- score: 121 -- 50 Classics You Must Read Before You Die - 2024 (Weight: 120)
- score: 121 -- Koen Book Distributors Top 100 Books of the Past Century - 1999 (Weight: 120)
- score: 120 -- 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime - 2014 (Weight: 120)
- score: 119 -- The Celebrity Reading List - 2007 (Weight: 112)
- score: 113 -- The 100 Favorite Novels of Librarians - 1999 (Weight: 112)
- score: 112 -- The Great American Novels - 2024 (Weight: 112)
- score: 112 -- 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read - 2009 (Weight: 112)
- score: 111 -- Radcliffe's 100 Best Novels - 1998 (Weight: 112)
- score: 111 -- Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century - 1999 (Weight: 115)
- score: 110 -- 100 Most Influential Books of the Century - 2000 (Weight: 112)
- score: 109 -- The Modern Library | 100 Best Novels - 1999 (Weight: 112)
- score: 109 -- Quintessential American Fiction, According to the Rest of the World - 2015 (Weight: 104)
- score: 108 -- 100 Essential Books - 2009 (Weight: 108)
- score: 108 -- The Great American Read - 2018 (Weight: 108)
- score: 104 -- TIME Magazine All Time 100 Novels - 2005 (Weight: 104)
- score: 102 -- Big Read (Hungarian) - 2005 (Weight: 100)
- score: 99 -- My Favourite Book - Australian Big Read - 2004 (Weight: 96)
- score: 98 -- The Big Read - 2003 (Weight: 96)
- score: 97 -- Big Read (German) - 2004 (Weight: 96)
- score: 96 -- 100 Best Books - 2010 (Weight: 96)
- score: 96 -- Select 100 - 2015 (Weight: 96)
- score: 94 -- Entertainment Weekly's Top 100 Novels - 2013 (Weight: 92)
- score: 93 -- Best Books Listed for High School Students - 1984 (Weight: 128)
- score: 92 -- Bill Gate's Book Recommendations - 2024 (Weight: 92)
- score: 90 -- 20th Century's Greatest Hits: 100 English-Language Books of Fiction - 1999 (Weight: 92)
- score: 88 -- The 500 best books of all time from Culture Café users - 2008 (Weight: 88)
- score: 88 -- 50 Best Cult Books - 2016 (Weight: 88)
- score: 88 -- The Modern Library: The Two Hundred Best Novels in English Since 1950 - 2011 (Weight: 88)
- score: 86 -- Waterstone's Books of the Century - 1997 (Weight: 88)
- score: 84 -- The Graphic Canon - 2012 (Weight: 84)
- score: 84 -- A Century of Reading - 2018 (Weight: 84)
- score: 83 -- As if You Don't Have Enough to Read, Fiction Edition - 2011 (Weight: 80)
- score: 80 -- Recommended Books - 2017 (Weight: 80)
- score: 76 -- 100 Best Novels Written in English - 2015 (Weight: 76)
- score: 76 -- The Books You've Always Meant to Read - 2020 (Weight: 76)
- score: 72 -- The Complete 500: OCLC - 2024 (Weight: 72)
- score: 72 -- Books That Shaped America - 2012 (Weight: 72)
- score: 69 -- The 100 Greatest Novels - 2007 (Weight: 68)
- score: 69 -- The Telegraph’s 100 Novels Everyone Should Read - 2009 (Weight: 68)
- score: 68 -- The Novel 100: A Ranking of the Greatest Novels of All Time - 2004 (Weight: 68)
- score: 68 -- The College Board: 101 Great Books Recommended for College-Bound Readers - 2002 (Weight: 68)
- score: 68 -- The 100 Greatest Novels of All Time: The List - 2003 (Weight: 68)
- score: 66 -- Ninety-Nine Novels: The Best in English since 1939 - 1984 (Weight: 92)
- score: 60 -- Books That Changed the World: The 50 Most Influential Books in Human History - 2009 (Weight: 60)
- score: 60 -- From Zero to Well-Read in 100 Books - 2013 (Weight: 60)
- score: 60 -- 50 Books to Read Before You Die - 2015 (Weight: 60)
- score: 53 -- Harold Bloom's The Western Canon - 1994 (Weight: 60)
- score: 52 -- D. G. Myers’ 50 Greatest English Language Novels - 2009 (Weight: 52)
- score: 44 -- A Response to David Handlin’s “One Hundred Best American Novels” - 2014 (Weight: 44)
- score: 36 -- Nancy Pearl's 100 Good Reads, Decade by Decade - 2009 (Weight: 36)
- score: 36 -- The 100 Greatest American Novels, 1893 – 1993 - 2013 (Weight: 36)
- score: 28 -- 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List - 2018 (Weight: 28)