'The perfect library': the 196 books selected by 133 personalities

This is one of the 743 lists we use to generate our main The Greatest Books list.

About this list

XLSemanal and Zenda, 195 Books

XLSemanal and Zenda asked 133 people who are in one way or another connected to the world of literature what is the "perfect library"

This list was originally published in 2020 and was added to this site almost 2 years ago.

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Cover of 'Dracula' by Bram Stoker

Dracula

Cover of 'The Family Of Pascual Duarte' by Camilo José Cela

The Family Of Pascual Duarte

Camilo José Cela

Cover of 'The Ballad of the Sad Cafe' by Carson McCullers

The Ballad of the Sad Cafe

Carson McCullers

Cover of 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens

A Christmas Carol

Charles Dickens

Cover of 'David Copperfield' by Charles Dickens

David Copperfield

Charles Dickens

Cover of 'Great Expectations' by Charles Dickens

Great Expectations

Charles Dickens

Cover of 'Jane Eyre' by Charlotte Brontë

Jane Eyre

Charlotte Brontë

Cover of 'The Maltese Falcon' by Dashiell Hammett

The Maltese Falcon

Dashiell Hammett

Cover of 'Gente Que Se Fue' by David Gistau

Gente Que Se Fue

Cover of 'Infinite Jest' by David Foster Wallace

Infinite Jest

David Foster Wallace

Cover of 'The Golden Notebook' by Doris May Lessing

The Golden Notebook

Doris May Lessing

Cover of 'The City Of Marvels' by Eduardo Mendoza

The City Of Marvels

Eduardo Mendoza

Cover of 'Napoleon' by Emil Ludwig

Napoleon

Cover of 'Poems of Emily Dickinson' by Emily Dickinson

Poems of Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson

Cover of 'The Tunnel' by Ernesto Sábato

The Tunnel

Ernesto Sábato

Cover of 'The Good Soldier' by Ford Madox Ford

The Good Soldier

Ford Madox Ford

Cover of 'Selected Poetry Of Francisco De Quevedo' by Francisco de Quevedo

Selected Poetry Of Francisco De Quevedo

Francisco de Quevedo

Cover of 'Dune' by Frank Herbert

Dune

Cover of 'Animal Farm' by George Orwell

Animal Farm

Cover of 'Decameron' by Giovanni Boccaccio

Decameron

Giovanni Boccaccio

Cover of 'Los Gozos Y Las Sombras' by Gonzalo Torrente Ballester

Los Gozos Y Las Sombras

Gonzalo Torrente Ballester

Cover of 'The Quiet American' by Graham Greene

The Quiet American

Cover of 'Fairy Tales and Stories' by Hans Christian Andersen

Fairy Tales and Stories

Hans Christian Andersen

Cover of 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird

Cover of 'The Turn of the Screw' by Henry James

The Turn of the Screw

Cover of 'Bartleby the Scrivener' by Herman Melville

Bartleby the Scrivener

Herman Melville

Cover of 'The Human Comedy' by Honoré de Balzac

The Human Comedy

Honoré de Balzac

Cover of 'Time Without Keys' by Ida Vitale

Time Without Keys

Cover of 'Invisible Cities' by Italo Calvino

Invisible Cities

Cover of 'Our Ancestors' by Italo Calvino

Our Ancestors

Cover of 'Disgrace' by J. M. Coetzee

Disgrace

Cover of 'On the Road' by Jack Kerouac

On the Road

Cover of 'The Manuscript Found in Saragossa' by Jan Potocki

The Manuscript Found in Saragossa

Cover of 'A Heart So White' by Javier Marias

A Heart So White

Cover of 'Anabasis' by Xenophon

Anabasis

Cover of 'East of Eden' by John Steinbeck

East of Eden

Cover of 'Stoner' by John Williams

Stoner

Cover of 'The Radetzky March' by Joseph Roth

The Radetzky March

Cover of 'Platero' by Juan Ramón Jiménez

Platero

Juan Ramón Jiménez

Cover of 'Out of Africa' by Isak Dinesen

Out of Africa

Cover of 'The Alexandria Quartet' by Lawrence Durrell

The Alexandria Quartet

Lawrence Durrell

Cover of 'The Death of Ivan Ilyich' by Leo Tolstoy

The Death of Ivan Ilyich

Cover of 'Birds of America' by Lorrie Moore

Birds of America

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 'De Rerum Natura' by Lucretius

De Rerum Natura

Cover of 'Bomarzo' by Manuel Mujica Lainez

Bomarzo

Manuel Mujica Lainez

Cover of 'Meditations' by Marcus Aurelius

Meditations

Marcus Aurelius

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

The Handmaid's Tale

Margaret Atwood

Cover of 'The Time of the Hero' by Mario Vargas Llosa

The Time of the Hero

Mario Vargas Llosa

Cover of 'Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' by Mark Twain

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Cover of 'The Time Of The Doves' by Merce Rodoreda

The Time Of The Doves

Cover of 'Los Santos Inocentes' by Miguel Delibes

Los Santos Inocentes

Cover of 'The Tale of Genji' by Murasaki Shikibu

The Tale of Genji

Murasaki Shikibu

Cover of 'Canto General' by Pablo Neruda

Canto General

Cover of 'Parallel Lives' by Plutarch

Parallel Lives

Cover of 'Mafalda' by Quino

Mafalda

Cover of 'The Duino Elegies' by Rainer Maria Rilke

The Duino Elegies

Rainer Maria Rilke

Cover of 'Greguerias' by Ramón Gómez de la Serna

Greguerias

Ramón Gómez de la Serna

Cover of 'Crónica Del Alba' by Ramón J. Sender

Crónica Del Alba

Ramón J. Sender

Cover of 'The Man Without Qualities' by Robert Musil

The Man Without Qualities

Cover of 'The Poems of Sappho' by Sappho

The Poems of Sappho

Cover of 'The Interior Castle' by Teresa of Avila

The Interior Castle

Teresa of Avila

Cover of 'Letters from a Stoic' by Seneca

Letters from a Stoic

Cover of 'The Interpretation of Dreams' by Sigmund Freud

The Interpretation of Dreams

Cover of 'The Second Sex' by Simone de Beauvoir

The Second Sex

Simone de Beauvoir

Cover of 'Oedipus the King' by Sophocles

Oedipus the King

Cover of 'It' by Stephen King

It

Cover of 'Lives of the Caesars' by Suetonius

Lives of the Caesars

Cover of 'Extinction' by Thomas Bernhard

Extinction

Thomas Bernhard

Cover of 'Buddenbrooks' by Thomas Mann

Buddenbrooks

Cover of 'Bonfire of the Vanities' by Tom Wolfe

Bonfire of the Vanities

Cover of 'A Longing For The Light' by Vicente Aleixandre

A Longing For The Light

Vicente Aleixandre

Cover of 'Eclogues' by Virgil

Eclogues

Cover of 'Richard III' by William Shakespeare

Richard III

William Shakespeare

Cover of 'The Sonnets' by William Shakespeare

The Sonnets

William Shakespeare