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 4th greatest book of all time
Ranking Details:
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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
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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.
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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: 6377
This book was first published in 1951
86 Lists
- score: 230 -- For The Love of Books - 1999 (Weight: 200)
- score: 210 -- 'The perfect library': the 196 books selected by 133 personalities - 2020 (Weight: 190)
- score: 208 -- The Top 10: The Greatest Books of All Time - 2007 (Weight: 200)
- score: 204 -- El Pais Favorite Books of 100 Spanish Authors - 2008 (Weight: 190)
- score: 194 -- The Greatest 20th Century Novels - 1997 (Weight: 180)
- score: 192 -- The 50 best books of the past 100 years - 2022 (Weight: 190)
- score: 190 -- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die - 2006 (Weight: 180)
- score: 178 -- "Our Readable Century", The Best Books of the 20th Century - 2000 (Weight: 180)
- score: 170 -- Best Foreign Work of Fiction Chosen by Francophone Writers - 2006 (Weight: 170)
- score: 169 -- 222 Best Books of All Time That Deserve a Spot on Your Bookshelf, With Picks from Bestselling Authors and Indie Booksellers - 2024 (Weight: 160)
- score: 169 -- Världsbiblioteket (The World Library) - 1991 (Weight: 190)
- score: 163 -- The Greatest Books of All Time - 2022 (Weight: 160)
- score: 159 -- The Booklist Century: 100 Books, 100 Years - 2005 (Weight: 150)
- score: 154 -- The Ideal Library - 2024 (Weight: 130)
- score: 146 -- The New York Public Library's Books of the Century - 1996 (Weight: 150)
- score: 136 -- The 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century - 1999 (Weight: 140)
- score: 128 -- Books Of The Century - 1999 (Weight: 110)
- score: 127 -- 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime - 2014 (Weight: 120)
- score: 127 -- The Best Books of All Time, as Chosen by the Good Housekeeping Team - 2020 (Weight: 120)
- score: 127 -- The Great American Novels - 2024 (Weight: 120)
- score: 121 -- 50 Classics You Must Read Before You Die - 2024 (Weight: 120)
- score: 116 -- 100 Life-Changing Books - 2006 (Weight: 110)
- score: 116 -- Koen Book Distributors Top 100 Books of the Past Century - 1999 (Weight: 100)
- score: 110 -- 200 Books That Shaped 200 Years of Literature - 2021 (Weight: 110)
- score: 110 -- A Hundred Novels to Change Your Life - 2019 (Weight: 110)
- score: 102 -- Daily Telegraph's 100 Books of the Century, 1900-1999 - 1999 (Weight: 100)
- score: 101 -- The 100 Favorite Novels of Librarians - 1999 (Weight: 89)
- score: 98 -- 100 Books of Classical and Modern Foreign Literature - 2013 (Weight: 89)
- score: 91 -- Radcliffe's 100 Best Novels - 1998 (Weight: 80)
- score: 87 -- Best Books Listed for High School Students - 1984 (Weight: 120)
- score: 84 -- 125 Books We Love for Adults - 2020 (Weight: 80)
- score: 84 -- 50 Best Cult Books - 2016 (Weight: 80)
- score: 84 -- The 100 Best YA Books of All Time - 2021 (Weight: 80)
- score: 84 -- Books that Shaped the Century - 2020 (Weight: 80)
- score: 78 -- The Modern Library | 100 Best Novels - 1999 (Weight: 80)
- score: 75 -- Big Read (Bulgarian) - 2009 (Weight: 70)
- score: 73 -- 100 Most Influential Books of the Century - 2000 (Weight: 70)
- score: 72 -- Quintessential American Fiction, According to the Rest of the World - 2015 (Weight: 60)
- score: 71 -- The Celebrity Reading List - 2007 (Weight: 60)
- score: 69 -- The 100 Novels That Have Most Enthralled "Le Monde" Since 1944 - 2019 (Weight: 66)
- score: 68 -- Our Users' Top 100 Favorite Books of All Time - 2024 (Weight: 60)
- score: 66 -- Taking off the Reading Gloves - 1998 (Weight: 70)
- score: 63 -- 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read - 2009 (Weight: 60)
- score: 61 -- TrueLit's Top 100 Favorite Books (2023) - 2023 (Weight: 60)
- score: 58 -- The Big Read - 2003 (Weight: 50)
- score: 58 -- Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century - 1999 (Weight: 60)
- score: 56 -- My Favourite Book - Australian Big Read - 2004 (Weight: 50)
- score: 56 -- Top 100 Books, As Chosen By Canadians - 2005 (Weight: 50)
- score: 55 -- 100 Must-Read Classics, as Chosen by our Readers - 2022 (Weight: 50)
- score: 52 -- The 101 Favorite Novels of 'Le Monde' Readers - 2019 (Weight: 50)
- score: 52 -- Big Read (Hungarian) - 2005 (Weight: 50)
- score: 51 -- Big Read (German) - 2004 (Weight: 50)
- score: 50 -- 100 Best Books - 2010 (Weight: 50)
- score: 44 -- Waterstone's Books of the Century - 1997 (Weight: 40)
- score: 42 -- Select 100 - 2015 (Weight: 40)
- score: 42 -- Books That Shaped America - 2012 (Weight: 40)
- score: 40 -- 100 Essential Books - 2009 (Weight: 40)
- score: 35 -- As if You Don't Have Enough to Read, Fiction Edition - 2011 (Weight: 30)
- score: 34 -- The 500 best books of all time from Culture Café users - 2008 (Weight: 30)
- score: 32 -- Entertainment Weekly's Top 100 Novels - 2013 (Weight: 30)
- score: 31 -- TIME Magazine All Time 100 Novels - 2005 (Weight: 30)
- score: 21 -- Bill Gate's Book Recommendations - 2024 (Weight: 20)
- score: 20 -- 20th Century's Greatest Hits: 100 English-Language Books of Fiction - 1999 (Weight: 20)
- score: 15 -- Ninety-Nine Novels: The Best in English since 1939 - 1984 (Weight: 20)
- score: 10 -- A Century of Reading - 2018 (Weight: 10)
- score: 10 -- The Great American Read - 2018 (Weight: 10)
- score: 1 -- The Complete 500: OCLC - 2024 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List - 2018 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The 100 Greatest Novels of All Time: The List - 2003 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The College Board: 101 Great Books Recommended for College-Bound Readers - 2002 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The Modern Library: The Two Hundred Best Novels in English Since 1950 - 2011 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The 100 Greatest American Novels, 1893 – 1993 - 2013 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 50 Books to Read Before You Die - 2015 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 100 Best Novels Written in English - 2015 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- From Zero to Well-Read in 100 Books - 2013 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The Books You've Always Meant to Read - 2020 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The Graphic Canon - 2012 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- Nancy Pearl's 100 Good Reads, Decade by Decade - 2009 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- Recommended Books - 2017 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- Books That Changed the World: The 50 Most Influential Books in Human History - 2009 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- A Response to David Handlin’s “One Hundred Best American Novels” - 2014 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The 100 Greatest Novels - 2007 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The Telegraph’s 100 Novels Everyone Should Read - 2009 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- D. G. Myers’ 50 Greatest English Language Novels - 2009 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The Novel 100: A Ranking of the Greatest Novels of All Time - 2004 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- Harold Bloom's The Western Canon - 1994 (Weight: 1)