The Ideal Library

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

About this list

Book, 121 Books

100 prominent cultural figures, mostly writers, were polled for their choice of an "ideal library". The following list is a tally of every book that received at least 2 votes.

This list was originally published in 2024 and was added to this site over 11 years ago.

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Cover of 'Lolita' by Vladimir Nabokov

Lolita

Vladimir Nabokov

Cover of 'Moby-Dick' by Herman Melville

Moby-Dick

Herman Melville

Cover of 'Jesus' Son' by Denis Johnson

Jesus' Son

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

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle

Haruki Murakami

Cover of 'Ulysses' by James Joyce

Ulysses

Cover of 'A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again' by David Foster Wallace

A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again

David Foster Wallace

Cover of 'Blood Meridian' by Cormac McCarthy

Blood Meridian

Cormac McCarthy

Cover of 'Catch-22' by Joseph Heller

Catch-22

Cover of 'Nine Stories' by J. D. Salinger

Nine Stories

Cover of 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' by Gabriel García Márquez

One Hundred Years of Solitude

Gabriel García Márquez

Cover of 'The Americans' by Robert Frank

The Americans

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 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird

Cover of 'A Confederacy of Dunces' by John Kennedy Toole

A Confederacy of Dunces

John Kennedy Toole

Cover of 'Cathedral' by Raymond Carver

Cathedral

Cover of 'Dispatches' by Michael Herr

Dispatches

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

In Search of Lost Time

Cover of 'Infinite Jest' by David Foster Wallace

Infinite Jest

David Foster Wallace

Cover of 'Invisible Man' by Ralph Ellison

Invisible Man

Cover of 'Jane Eyre' by Charlotte Brontë

Jane Eyre

Charlotte Brontë

Cover of 'Lunch Poems' by Frank O'Hara

Lunch Poems

Cover of 'Middlemarch' by George Eliot

Middlemarch

Cover of 'Midnight's Children' by Salman Rushdie

Midnight's Children

Cover of 'Mrs. Dalloway' by Virginia Woolf

Mrs. Dalloway

Cover of 'On Food and Cooking' by Harold McGee

On Food and Cooking

Cover of 'On the Road' by Jack Kerouac

On the Road

Cover of 'Pale Fire' by Vladimir Nabokov

Pale Fire

Vladimir Nabokov

Cover of 'Rebecca' by Daphne du Maurier

Rebecca

Daphne du Maurier

Cover of 'Slouching Towards Bethlehem' by Joan Didion

Slouching Towards Bethlehem

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

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay

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

The Catcher in the Rye

Cover of 'The Collected Stories Of Lydia Davis' by Lydia Davis

The Collected Stories Of Lydia Davis

Cover of 'The Elements of Style' by E. B. White, William Strunk Jr.

The Elements of Style

E. B. White, William Strunk Jr.

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

The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Cover of 'The House Book' by Terence Conran

The House Book

Cover of 'The Long Goodbye' by Raymond Chandler

The Long Goodbye

Raymond Chandler

Cover of 'The Palm At The End Of The Mind' by Wallace Stevens

The Palm At The End Of The Mind

Wallace Stevens

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

The Sound and the Fury

William Faulkner

Cover of 'To the Lighthouse' by Virginia Woolf

To the Lighthouse

Cover of '2666' by Roberto Bolaño

2666

Roberto Bolaño

Cover of 'A Clockwork Orange' by Anthony Burgess

A Clockwork Orange

Anthony Burgess

Cover of 'A Good Man Is Hard to Find' by Flannery O'Connor

A Good Man Is Hard to Find

Flannery O'Connor

Cover of 'A Mother's Kisses' by Bruce Jay Friedman

A Mother's Kisses

Bruce Jay Friedman

Cover of 'A Moveable Feast' by Ernest Hemingway

A Moveable Feast

Ernest Hemingway

Cover of 'A Season in Hell' by Arthur Rimbaud

A Season in Hell

Cover of 'Absalom, Absalom!' by William Faulkner

Absalom, Absalom!

William Faulkner

Cover of 'Adventures On The Wine Route' by Kermit Lynch

Adventures On The Wine Route

Cover of 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' by Lewis Carroll

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Cover of 'American Pastoral' by Philip Roth

American Pastoral

Cover of 'Arcadia' by Tom Stoppard

Arcadia

Cover of 'As I Lay Dying' by William Faulkner

As I Lay Dying

William Faulkner

Cover of 'Bird By Bird' by Anne Lamott

Bird By Bird

Cover of 'Birds of America' by Lorrie Moore

Birds of America

Cover of 'Breakfast of Champions' by Kurt Vonnegut

Breakfast of Champions

Cover of 'Cannery Row' by John Steinbeck

Cannery Row

Cover of 'Cloud Atlas' by David Mitchell

Cloud Atlas

Cover of 'Fictions' by Jorge Luis Borges

Fictions

Jorge Luis Borges

Cover of 'Cryptonomicon' by Neal Stephenson

Cryptonomicon

Neal Stephenson

Cover of 'Diane Arbus' by Marvin Israel, Doon Arbus

Diane Arbus

Marvin Israel, Doon Arbus

Cover of 'Essays of E. B. White' by E. B. White

Essays of E. B. White

Cover of 'Essential Cuisine' by Michel Bras

Essential Cuisine

Cover of 'Everything That Rises Must Converge' by Flannery O'Connor

Everything That Rises Must Converge

Flannery O'Connor

Cover of 'Flappers And Philosophers' by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Flappers And Philosophers

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Cover of 'Flatland' by Edwin A. Abbott

Flatland

Edwin A. Abbott

Cover of 'Freedom' by Jonathan Franzen

Freedom

Jonathan Franzen

Cover of 'Grid Systems In Graphic Design' by Josef Müller-Brockmann

Grid Systems In Graphic Design

Josef Müller-Brockmann

Cover of 'Harriet the Spy' by Louise Fitzhugh

Harriet the Spy

Louise Fitzhugh

Cover of 'Howards End' by E. M. Forster

Howards End

Cover of 'In Dreams Begin Responsibilities And Other Stories' by Delmore Schwartz

In Dreams Begin Responsibilities And Other Stories

Delmore Schwartz

Cover of 'It's Not How Good You Are, Its How Good You Want To Be' by Paul Arden

It's Not How Good You Are, Its How Good You Want To Be

Cover of 'John Keats' by Walter Jackson Bate

John Keats

Walter Jackson Bate

Cover of 'Labyrinths' by Jorge Luis Borges

Labyrinths

Jorge Luis Borges

Cover of 'Leaves of Grass' by Walt Whitman

Leaves of Grass

Cover of 'The Flowers of Evil' by Charles Baudelaire

The Flowers of Evil

Charles Baudelaire

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

Love in the Time of Cholera

Gabriel García Márquez

Cover of 'Macbeth' by William Shakespeare

Macbeth

William Shakespeare

Cover of 'Middlesex' by Jeffrey Eugenides

Middlesex

Jeffrey Eugenides

Cover of 'Mrs. Bridge' by Evan S. Connell

Mrs. Bridge

Evan S. Connell

Cover of 'Mythology' by Edith Hamilton

Mythology

Cover of 'Native Funk & Flash' by Alexandra Jacopetti

Native Funk & Flash

Alexandra Jacopetti

Cover of 'Nausea' by Jean Paul Sartre

Nausea

Jean Paul Sartre

Cover of 'On Writing' by Stephen King

On Writing

Cover of 'Personal History' by Katharine Graham

Personal History

Katharine Graham

Cover of 'Pictures From Home' by Larry Sultan

Pictures From Home

Cover of 'Pulphead' by John Jeremiah Sullivan

Pulphead

John Jeremiah Sullivan

Cover of 'Revolutionary Road' by Richard Yates

Revolutionary Road

Cover of 'Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats' by William Butler Yeats

Collected Poems of W. B. Yeats

William Butler Yeats

Cover of 'Sleepless Nights' by Elizabeth Hardwick

Sleepless Nights

Elizabeth Hardwick

Cover of 'Songs of Innocence and Experience' by William Blake

Songs of Innocence and Experience

Cover of 'Speak, Memory' by Vladimir Nabokov

Speak, Memory

Vladimir Nabokov

Cover of 'The Andy Warhol Diaries' by Andy Warhol

The Andy Warhol Diaries

Cover of 'Collected Poems' by Wallace Stevens

Collected Poems

Wallace Stevens

Cover of 'Complete Poems' by Elizabeth Bishop

Complete Poems

Elizabeth Bishop

Cover of 'Stories of Ernest Hemingway' by Ernest Hemingway

Stories of Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway

Cover of 'The Custom of the Country' by Edith Wharton

The Custom of the Country

Cover of 'The Doctor Stories' by William Carlos Williams

The Doctor Stories

William Carlos Williams

Cover of 'The Dream Songs' by John Berryman

The Dream Songs

Cover of 'The Elegant Universe' by Brian Greene

The Elegant Universe

Cover of 'The Essential Rumi' by Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi

The Essential Rumi

Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi

Cover of 'The Golden Notebook' by Doris May Lessing

The Golden Notebook

Doris May Lessing

Cover of 'The Life of Samuel Johnson' by James Boswell

The Life of Samuel Johnson

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

The Little Prince

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Cover of 'The Moviegoer' by Walker Percy

The Moviegoer

Cover of 'The Once and Future King' by T. H. White

The Once and Future King

Cover of 'The Phantom Tollbooth' by Norton Juster

The Phantom Tollbooth

Cover of 'The Plague' by Albert Camus

The Plague

Cover of 'The Princess Bride' by William Goldman

The Princess Bride

William Goldman

Cover of 'The Quilts Of Gee's Bend' by William Arnett, Alvia Wardlaw, Jane Livingston, John Beardsley

The Quilts Of Gee's Bend

William Arnett, Alvia Wardlaw, Jane Livingston, John Beardsley

Cover of 'The Stories of Anton Chekhov' by Anton Chekhov

The Stories of Anton Chekhov

Cover of 'The Sirens of Titan' by Kurt Vonnegut

The Sirens of Titan

Cover of 'The Stories of John Cheever' by John Cheever

The Stories of John Cheever

Cover of 'The Taste Of Country Cooking' by Edna Lewis

The Taste Of Country Cooking

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

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Cover of 'The War Of Art' by Steven Pressfield

The War Of Art

Steven Pressfield

Cover of 'The Woman Warrior' by Maxine Hong Kingston

The Woman Warrior

Maxine Hong Kingston

Cover of 'Waiting for Godot' by Samuel Beckett

Waiting for Godot

Cover of 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle' by Shirley Jackson

We Have Always Lived in the Castle

Shirley Jackson

Cover of 'A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius' by Dave Eggers

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

Cover of 'Where I'm Calling From' by Raymond Carver

Where I'm Calling From

Cover of 'White Teeth' by Zadie Smith

White Teeth