Donald Barthelme’s Reading List

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

About this list

Believer Mag, 82 Books

81 books recommended by Author Donald Barthelme to his students at the University of Houston.

This list was originally published in 1985 and was added to this site over 12 years ago.

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Cover of 'At Swim Two-Birds' by Flann O'Brien
At Swim Two-Birds

Flann O'Brien

Cover of 'The Third Policeman' by Flann O'Brien
The Third Policeman

Flann O'Brien

Cover of 'The Collected Stories of Isaac Babel' by Isaac Babel
The Collected Stories of Isaac Babel

Isaac Babel

Cover of 'Labyrinths' by Jorge Luis Borges
Labyrinths

Jorge Luis Borges

Cover of 'Other Inquisitions' by Jorge Luis Borges
Other Inquisitions

Jorge Luis Borges

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

Gabriel García Márquez

Cover of 'Correction' by Thomas Bernhard
Correction

Thomas Bernhard

Cover of 'Nog' by Rudy Wurlitzer
Nog

Rudy Wurlitzer

Cover of 'Gimpel the Fool' by Isaac Bashevis Singer
Gimpel the Fool

Isaac Bashevis Singer

Cover of 'The Assistant' by Bernard Malamud
The Assistant

Bernard Malamud

Cover of 'The Magic Barrel' by Bernard Malamud
The Magic Barrel

Bernard Malamud

Cover of 'Invisible Man' by Ralph Ellison
Invisible Man

Ralph Ellison

Cover of 'Under the Volcano' by Malcolm Lowry
Under the Volcano

Malcolm Lowry

Cover of 'Hunger' by Knut Hamsun
Hunger

Knut Hamsun

Cover of 'I'm Not Stiller' by Max Frisch
I'm Not Stiller

Max Frisch

Cover of 'Man in the Holocene' by Max Frisch
Man in the Holocene

Max Frisch

Cover of 'Seven Gothic Tales' by Isak Dinesen
Seven Gothic Tales

Isak Dinesen

Cover of 'Gogol's Wife' by Tommaso Landolfi
Gogol's Wife

Tommaso Landolfi

Cover of 'V' by Thomas Pynchon
V

Thomas Pynchon

Cover of 'The Lime Twig' by John Hawkes
The Lime Twig

John Hawkes

Cover of 'Blood Oranges' by John Hawkes
Blood Oranges

John Hawkes

Cover of 'Little Disturbances' by Grace Paley
Little Disturbances

Grace Paley

Cover of 'Enormous Changes at the Last Minute' by Grace Paley
Enormous Changes at the Last Minute

Grace Paley

Cover of 'I, etcetera' by Susan Sontag
I, etcetera

Susan Sontag

Cover of 'Tell Me a Riddle' by Tillie Olsen
Tell Me a Riddle

Tillie Olsen

Cover of 'The Hero with a Thousand Faces' by Joseph Campbell
The Hero with a Thousand Faces

Joseph Campbell

Cover of 'Henderson The Rain King' by Saul Bellow
Henderson The Rain King

Saul Bellow

Cover of 'The Coup' by John Updike
The Coup

John Updike

Cover of 'Rabbit, Run' by John Updike
Rabbit, Run

John Updike

Cover of 'How We Live' by Rust Hills
How We Live

Rust Hills

Cover of 'Superfiction' by Joe David Bellamy
Superfiction

Joe David Bellamy

Cover of 'The Paris Review Interviews' by Paris Review
The Paris Review Interviews

Paris Review

Cover of 'Pushcart Prize Anthology' by Pushcart Prize
Pushcart Prize Anthology

Pushcart Prize

Cover of 'The Writer on Her Work' by Janet Sternburg
The Writer on Her Work

Janet Sternburg

Cover of 'Surrealist Manifesto' by André Breton
Surrealist Manifesto

André Breton

Cover of 'Documents of Modern Art' by Robert Motherwell
Documents of Modern Art

Robert Motherwell

Cover of 'Against Interpretation' by Susan Sontag
Against Interpretation

Susan Sontag

Cover of 'A Homemade World' by Hugh Kenner
A Homemade World

Hugh Kenner

Cover of 'The George Sand-Gustave Flaubert Letters' by Gustave Flaubert
The George Sand-Gustave Flaubert Letters

Gustave Flaubert

Cover of 'Sexual Perversity in Chicago' by David Mamet
Sexual Perversity in Chicago

David Mamet

Cover of 'The Changeling' by Joy Williams
The Changeling

Joy Williams

Cover of 'The New Fiction' by Joe David Bellamy
The New Fiction

Joe David Bellamy

Cover of 'Going After Cacciato' by Tim O'Brien
Going After Cacciato

Tim O'Brien

Cover of 'The Palm-Wine Drinkard' by Amos Tutola
The Palm-Wine Drinkard

Amos Tutola

Cover of 'Searching for Caleb' by Anne Tyler
Searching for Caleb

Anne Tyler

Cover of 'Thank You and Other Poems' by Kenneth Koch
Thank You and Other Poems

Kenneth Koch

Cover of 'Collected Poems of Frank O'Hara' by Frank O'Hara
Collected Poems of Frank O'Hara

Frank O'Hara

Cover of 'Rivers and Mountains' by John Ashbery
Rivers and Mountains

John Ashbery

Cover of 'Tragic Magic' by Wesley Brown
Tragic Magic

Wesley Brown

Cover of 'Mythologies' by Roland Barthes
Mythologies

Roland Barthes

Cover of 'The Pleasure of the Text' by Roland Barthes
The Pleasure of the Text

Roland Barthes

Cover of 'For a New Novel' by Alain Robbe-Grillet
For a New Novel

Alain Robbe-Grillet

Cover of 'Falling in Place' by Ann Beattie
Falling in Place

Ann Beattie

Cover of 'In the Heart of the Heart of the Country' by William H. Gass
In the Heart of the Heart of the Country

William H. Gass

Cover of 'Fiction and the Figures of Life' by William H. Gass
Fiction and the Figures of Life

William H. Gass

Cover of 'The World Within the Word' by William H. Gass
The World Within the Word

William H. Gass

Cover of 'Advertisements for Myself' by Norman Mailer
Advertisements for Myself

Norman Mailer

Cover of 'A Clockwork Orange' by Anthony Burgess
A Clockwork Orange

Anthony Burgess

Cover of 'Journey to the End of The Night' by Louis-Ferdinand Céline
Journey to the End of The Night

Louis-Ferdinand Céline

Cover of 'The Box Man' by Kobo Abé
The Box Man

Kobo Abé

Cover of 'Invisible Cities' by Italo Calvino
Invisible Cities

Italo Calvino

Cover of 'A Sorrow Beyond Dreams' by Peter Handke
A Sorrow Beyond Dreams

Peter Handke

Cover of 'Kaspar and Other Plays' by Peter Handke
Kaspar and Other Plays

Peter Handke

Cover of 'Nadja' by André Breton
Nadja

André Breton

Cover of 'Chimera' by John Barth
Chimera

John Barth

Cover of 'The Moviegoer' by Walker Percy
The Moviegoer

Walker Percy

Cover of 'Black Tickets' by Jayne Anne Phillips
Black Tickets

Jayne Anne Phillips

Cover of 'Collected Stories of Peter Taylor' by Peter Taylor
Collected Stories of Peter Taylor

Peter Taylor

Cover of 'The Pure and the Impure' by Colette
The Pure and the Impure

Colette

Cover of 'Will You Please be Quiet, Please?' by Raymond Carver
Will You Please be Quiet, Please?

Raymond Carver

Cover of 'The Oranging of America' by Max Apple
The Oranging of America

Max Apple

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 'Mumbo Jumbo' by Ishmael Reed
Mumbo Jumbo

Ishmael Reed

Cover of 'Song of Solomon' by Toni Morrison
Song of Solomon

Toni Morrison

Cover of 'The Death of Artemio Cruz' by Carlos Fuentes
The Death of Artemio Cruz

Carlos Fuentes

Cover of 'The Book of Laughter and Forgetting' by Milan Kundera
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting

Milan Kundera

Cover of 'The Rhetoric of Fiction' by Wayne C. Booth
The Rhetoric of Fiction

Wayne C. Booth

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

John Cheever

Cover of 'Lost In The Funhouse' by John Barth
Lost In The Funhouse

John Barth

Cover of 'I Would Have Saved Them If I Could' by Leonard Michaels
I Would Have Saved Them If I Could

Leonard Michaels

Cover of 'The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty' by Eudora Welty
The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty

Eudora Welty

Cover of 'The Complete Dramatic Works Of Samuel Beckett' by Samuel Beckett
The Complete Dramatic Works Of Samuel Beckett

Samuel Beckett