From Zero to Well-Read in 100 Books

This is one of the 759 lists we use to generate our main The Greatest Books list.

About this list

Jeff O'Neal at Bookriot.com, 99 Books

100 books that, in the opinion of Bookriot.com editor-in-chief Jeff O'Neal, one should read before deeming themselves "well-read".

This list was originally published in 2013 and was added to this site over 11 years ago.

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Cover of 'Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' by Mark Twain

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Cover of 'The Complete Sherlock Holmes' by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Complete Sherlock Holmes

Arthur Conan Doyle

Cover of 'The Age of Innocence' by Edith Wharton

The Age of Innocence

Cover of 'All Quiet on the Western Front' by Erich Maria Remarque

All Quiet on the Western Front

Erich Maria Remarque

Cover of 'The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay' by Michael Chabon

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay

Cover of 'American Pastoral' by Philip Roth

American Pastoral

Cover of 'Anna Karenina' by Leo Tolstoy

Anna Karenina

Cover of 'Anne of Green Gables' by L. M. Montgomery

Anne of Green Gables

L. M. Montgomery

Cover of 'Atlas Shrugged' by Ayn Rand

Atlas Shrugged

Cover of 'The Bell Jar' by Sylvia Plath

The Bell Jar

Cover of 'Beloved' by Toni Morrison

Beloved

Cover of 'Beowulf' by Unknown

Beowulf

Cover of 'The Book Thief' by Markus Zusak

The Book Thief

Cover of 'Brave New World' by Aldous Huxley

Brave New World

Cover of 'The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao' by Junot Diaz

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

Cover of 'The Call of the Wild' by Jack London

The Call of the Wild

Cover of 'Candide' by Voltaire

Candide

Cover of 'The Canterbury Tales' by Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales

Geoffrey Chaucer

Cover of 'Casino Royale' by Ian Fleming

Casino Royale

Cover of 'Catch-22' by Joseph Heller

Catch-22

Cover of 'The Catcher in the Rye' by J. D. Salinger

The Catcher in the Rye

Cover of 'Charlotte's Web' by E. B. White

Charlotte's Web

Cover of 'Cloud Atlas' by David Mitchell

Cloud Atlas

Cover of 'Poems of Emily Dickinson' by Emily Dickinson

Poems of Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson

Cover of 'The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe' by Edgar Allan Poe

The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe

Cover of 'The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor' by Flannery O'Connor

The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor

Flannery O'Connor

Cover of 'The Corrections' by Jonathan Franzen

The Corrections

Jonathan Franzen

Cover of 'Crime and Punishment' by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Crime and Punishment

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Cover of 'The Da Vinci Code' by Dan Brown

The Da Vinci Code

Cover of 'Death Of A Salesman' by Arthur Miller

Death Of A Salesman

Cover of 'Don Quixote' by Miguel de Cervantes

Don Quixote

Miguel de Cervantes

Cover of 'Dream of the Red Chamber' by Cao Xueqin

Dream of the Red Chamber

Cover of 'Dune' by Frank Herbert

Dune

Cover of 'Everything Is Illuminated' by Jonathan Safran Foer

Everything Is Illuminated

Jonathan Safran Foer

Cover of 'Fahrenheit 451' by Ray Bradbury

Fahrenheit 451

Cover of 'The Fault in Our Stars' by John Green

The Fault in Our Stars

Cover of 'Faust' by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Faust

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Cover of 'Frankenstein' by Mary Shelley

Frankenstein

Cover of 'A Game of Thrones' by George R. R. Martin

A Game of Thrones

George R. R. Martin

Cover of 'The Golden Bowl' by Henry James

The Golden Bowl

Cover of 'The Golden Notebook' by Doris May Lessing

The Golden Notebook

Doris May Lessing

Cover of 'Gone Girl' by Gillian Flynn

Gone Girl

Cover of 'The Bible' by Unknown

The Bible

Cover of 'The Grapes of Wrath' by John Steinbeck

The Grapes of Wrath

Cover of 'Great Expectations' by Charles Dickens

Great Expectations

Charles Dickens

Cover of 'The Great Gatsby' by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Cover of 'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood

The Handmaid's Tale

Margaret Atwood

Cover of 'Hamlet' by William Shakespeare

Hamlet

William Shakespeare

Cover of 'Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone' by J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone

Cover of 'Heart of Darkness' by Joseph Conrad

Heart of Darkness

Cover of 'The Help' by Kathryn Stockett

The Help

Kathryn Stockett

Cover of 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' by Douglas Adams

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Cover of 'The Hobbit' by J. R. R. Tolkien

The Hobbit

J. R. R. Tolkien

Cover of 'House Made of Dawn' by N. Scott Momaday

House Made of Dawn

N. Scott Momaday

Cover of 'Howl and Other Poems' by Allen Ginsberg

Howl and Other Poems

Cover of 'The Hunger Games' by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games

Suzanne Collins

Cover of 'If on a Winter's Night a Traveller' by Italo Calvino

If on a Winter's Night a Traveller

Cover of 'The Iliad' by Homer

The Iliad

Cover of 'The Divine Comedy' by Dante Alighieri

The Divine Comedy

Dante Alighieri

Cover of 'Infinite Jest' by David Foster Wallace

Infinite Jest

David Foster Wallace

Cover of 'Invisible Man' by Ralph Ellison

Invisible Man

Cover of 'Leaves of Grass' by Walt Whitman

Leaves of Grass

Cover of 'Life of Pi' by Yann Martel

Life of Pi

Cover of 'The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe' by C. S. Lewis

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe

Cover of 'The Little Prince' by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

The Little Prince

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Cover of 'Lolita' by Vladimir Nabokov

Lolita

Vladimir Nabokov

Cover of 'Love in the Time of Cholera' by Gabriel García Márquez

Love in the Time of Cholera

Gabriel García Márquez

Cover of 'Madame Bovary' by Gustave Flaubert

Madame Bovary

Gustave Flaubert

Cover of 'Midnight's Children' by Salman Rushdie

Midnight's Children

Cover of 'Moby-Dick' by Herman Melville

Moby-Dick

Herman Melville

Cover of 'Mrs. Dalloway' by Virginia Woolf

Mrs. Dalloway

Cover of 'Murder on the Orient Express' by Agatha Christie

Murder on the Orient Express

Agatha Christie

Cover of 'The Odyssey' by Homer

The Odyssey

Cover of 'Oedipus the King' by Sophocles

Oedipus the King

Cover of 'On the Road' by Jack Kerouac

On the Road

Cover of 'A Passage to India' by E. M. Forster

A Passage to India

Cover of 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice

Cover of 'Rabbit, Run' by John Updike

Rabbit, Run

Cover of 'The Road' by Cormac McCarthy

The Road

Cormac McCarthy

Cover of 'Romeo and Juliet' by William Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet

William Shakespeare

Cover of 'The Scarlet Letter' by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Cover of 'Slaughterhouse-Five' by Kurt Vonnegut

Slaughterhouse-Five

Cover of 'The Sound and the Fury' by William Faulkner

The Sound and the Fury

William Faulkner

Cover of 'The Stand' by Stephen King

The Stand

Cover of 'The Sun Also Rises' by Ernest Hemingway

The Sun Also Rises

Ernest Hemingway

Cover of 'In Search of Lost Time' by Marcel Proust

In Search of Lost Time

Cover of 'Their Eyes Were Watching God' by Zora Neale Hurston

Their Eyes Were Watching God

Zora Neale Hurston

Cover of 'Things Fall Apart' by Chinua Achebe

Things Fall Apart

Cover of 'The Things They Carried' by Tim O'Brien

The Things They Carried

Cover of 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird

Cover of 'Ulysses' by James Joyce

Ulysses

Cover of 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being' by Milan Kundera

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Cover of 'A Visit From The Goon Squad' by Jennifer Egan

A Visit From The Goon Squad

Cover of 'Waiting for the Barbarians' by J. M. Coetzee

Waiting for the Barbarians

Cover of 'Watchmen' by Alan Moore

Watchmen

Cover of 'The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle' by Haruki Murakami

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

Haruki Murakami

Cover of 'Wuthering Heights' by Emily Brontë

Wuthering Heights

Cover of 'Nineteen Eighty Four' by George Orwell

Nineteen Eighty Four

Cover of 'Fifty Shades of Grey:' by E. L. James

Fifty Shades of Grey: