The Complete 500: OCLC

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

About this list

OCLC, 495 Books

This list is from OCLC and is a bit different than most lists on this site. OCLC is a global library organization that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large. This list is based on how many libraries have a copy of a book on their shelves. Here's their own description:

What makes a novel “great”? At OCLC, we believe literary greatness can be measured by how many libraries have a copy on their shelves.
Yes, libraries offer access to trendy and popular books. But, they don’t keep them on the shelf if they’re not repeatedly requested by their communities over the years. We’ve identified 500 timeless, top novels—those found in thousands of libraries around the world—using WorldCat, the world’s largest database of library materials'.

This list was originally published in 2024 and was added to this site about 2 years ago.

View: List Grid Table
Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
726 The Caine Mutiny Herman Wouk 1951 American English
1107 The Heart of the Matter Graham Greene 1948 British English
987 Harriet the Spy Louise Fitzhugh 1964 American English
212 Darkness at Noon Arthur Koestler 1940 British German
524 A Prayer for Owen Meany John Irving 1989 American English
359 The God of Small Things Arundhati Roy 1997 Indian English
17119 The Associate John Grisham 2009 American English
8968 The Shack William P. Young 2007 American English
413 The Naked and the Dead Norman Mailer 1948 American English
14983 The Sea Of Monsters Rick Riordan 2006 American English
368 Stranger in a Strange Land Robert A. Heinlein 1961 American English
17119 Vision In White Nora Roberts 2009 American English
17119 The Whipping Boy Sid Fleischman 1986 American English
2497 Room Emma Donoghue 2010 Irish English
14983 Deception Point Dan Brown 2001 American English