The Greatest Contemporary Books of All Time

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 759 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
14985 The Reappearance Of Rachel Price Holly Jackson 2024 Unknown English
14985 How I Won A Nobel Prize Julius Taranto 2024 Unknown English
14985 The Wedding People Alison Espach 2024 Unknown English
14985 I Hope This Finds You Well Natalie Sue 2024 Unknown English
14985 Help Wanted Adelle Waldman 2024 Unknown English
14985 Middle Of The Night Riley Sager 2024 American English
14985 Cheri Jo Ann Beard 2023 Unknown English
14985 Parade Rachel Cusk 2024 Unknown English
14985 Sacred Games Vikram Chandra 2006 Indian English
14985 The Faculty of Dreams Sara Stridsberg 2006 Swedish Swedish
14985 Baboon Naja Marie Aidt 2006 Danish Danish
14985 The History Of Bees Maja Lunde 2015 Norwegian Norwegian
14985 Faces In The Crowd Valeria Luiselli 2011 Mexican Spanish
14985 Please Look After Mom Kyung-sook Shin 2008 Korean Korean
14985 Rosarita Anita Desai 2024 Unknown English
14985 Other People's Clothes Calla Henkel 2022 Unknown English
14985 The Road To Roswell Connie Willis 2023 American English
14985 The Latecomer Jean Hanff Korelitz 2022 American English
14985 Above Ground Clint Smith 2023 American English
14985 Siete Casas Vacías Samanta Schweblin 2015 Argentinian Spanish
15567 A Song For The Dark Times Ian Rankin 2020 British English
15589 Ghana Must Go Taiye Selasi 2013 American English
15594 Life In The West Brian Aldiss 1980 British English
15594 The Season William Goldman 1969 American English
15616 The Greening Of America Charles A. Reich 1970 American English
15642 Stray City Chelsey Johnson 2018 American English
15667 Oculus Sally Wen Mao 2019 American English
15667 Look How Happy I'm Making You Polly Rosenwaike 2019 Unknown English
15686 A Spell Of Good Things Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ 2023 Nigerian English
15686 The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses Over The Hills Charles Bukowski American English
15686 Blue Heaven Joe Keenan American English
15686 The Motorcycle Betrayal Poems Diane Wakoski American English
15686 Maybe Lillian Hellman American English
15718 Holiday Stanley Middleton 1974 British English
15784 Run To Daylight Vince Lombardi 1963 American English
15773 The Best Of Everything Rona Jaffe 1958 American English
15789 The English Air D.E. Stevenson 1940 Scottish English
15808 The Stone Of Chastity Margery Sharp 1940 British English
15916 The Financial Expert R. K. Narayan 1952 Indian English
15916 Sa Mga Kuko Ng Liwanag Edgardo M. Reyes 1968 Filipino Filipino
16549 That's How It Was Maureen Duffy 1962 British English
16715 Ballerina Edward Stewart 1979 Unknown English
17162 Sent for You Yesterday John Edgar Wideman 1983 American English
17162 Postcards Annie Proulx 1992 American English
17162 Mrs. Ted Bliss Stanley Elkin 1995 American English
17162 Becoming a Man Paul Monette 1992 American English
17162 The PowerBook Jeanette Winterson 2000 British English
17162 District and Circle Seamus Heaney 2006 Irish English
17162 The Position Meg Wolitzer 2005 American English
17162 Twelve Bar Blues Patrick Neate 2001 British English
17162 The Chip Chip Gatherers Shiva Naipaul 1973 Trinidadian English
17162 The Sacred and Profane Love Machine Iris Murdoch 1974 British English
17162 The Children of Dynmouth William Trevor 1976 British English
17162 Young Shoulders John Wain 1982 British English
17162 Elegies Douglas Dunn 1985 Scottish English
17162 The Chymical Wedding Lindsay Clarke 1989 British English
17162 The Queen of the Tambourine Jane Gardam 1991 British English
17162 Swing Hammer Swing! Jeff Torrington 1992 Scottish English
17162 Leading the Cheers Justin Cartwright 1998 British English
17162 The Epicure's Lament Kate Christensen 2004 American English
17162 The Fountains of Neptune Rikki Ducornet 1992 American English
17162 The Franchiser Stanley Elkin 1976 American English
17162 Up Ronald Sukenick 1968 American English
17162 In Memoriam to Identity Kathy Acker 1990 American English
17162 Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood Rebecca Wells 1996 American English
17162 A Patchwork Planet Anne Tyler 1998 American English
17162 The Indian Lawyer James Welch 1990 Native American English
17162 War Dances Sherman Alexie 2009 American English
17162 The Collected Stories of Deborah Eisenberg Deborah Eisenberg 2010 American English
17162 Delicious Foods James Hannaham 2015 American English
17162 I Loved You More Tom Spanbauer 2014 American English
17162 Bug Week & Other Stories Airini Beautrais 2020 New Zealander English
17162 The New Animals Pip Adam 2017 New Zealander English
17162 Hate To Want You Alisha Rai 2017 American English
17162 Larry's Party Carol Shields 1997 Canadian English
17162 The Idea Of Perfection Kate Grenville 1999 Australian English
17162 The Impressionist Hari Kunzru 2002 British English
17162 Boomerang Helen Simpson 2000 British English
17162 Jerusalem The Golden Margaret Drabble 1967 British English
17162 In The Light Of What We Know Zia Haider Rahman 2014 British English
17162 A Shock Keith Ridgway 2021 Irish English
17162 So Many Ways To Begin Jon McGregor 2006 British English
17162 Reservoir 13 Jon McGregor 2017 British English
17162 Blood Dazzler Patricia Smith 2008 American English
17162 Interpreters Wole Soyinka 1965 Nigerian English
17162 Cotters' England Christina Stead 1966 Australian English
17162 A Book Of Common Prayer Joan Didion 1977 American English
17162 Puffball Fay Weldon 1980 British English
17162 Family And Friends Anita Brookner 1985 British English
17162 The Night In Question Tobias Wolff 1996 American English
17162 Crank Ellen Hopkins 2004 American English
17162 Ttyl Lauren Myracle 2004 American English
17162 Milk And Honey & The Sun And Her Flowers By Rupi Kaur 2 Books Collection Set Rupi Kaur 2014 Canadian English
17162 Summer Sisters Judy Blume 1998 American English
17162 Sara's Face Melvin Burgess 2006 British English
17162 She Felt Like Feeling Nothing r.h. Sin 2018 American English
17162 Good People David Lindsay-Abaire 2011 American English
17162 Bad Marie Marcy Dermansky 2010 American English
17162 The Throwback Special Chris Bachelder 2016 American English
17162 Model Home Eric Puchner 2010 American English
17162 The End Of Vandalism Tom Drury 1994 American English
17162 Mister Monkey Francine Prose 2016 American English
17162 The Fates Will Find Their Way Hannah Pittard 2011 American English
17162 Heroines Kate Zambreno 2012 American English
17162 The Furies Janet Hobhouse 1984 American English
17162 The Age Of Grief Jane Smiley 1987 American English
17162 If Morning Ever Comes Anne Tyler 1964 American English
17162 Winter Ali Smith 2017 British English
17162 Spring Ali Smith 2019 British English
17162 My Phantoms Gwendoline Riley 2021 British English
17162 The Reading List Sara Nisha Adams 2021 British English
17162 The Middlesteins Jami Attenberg 2012 American English
17162 Submergence J. M. Ledgard 2011 British English
17162 Bark Lorrie Moore 2014 American English
17162 The Isle Of Youth Laura Van den Berg 2013 American English
17162 Be Here To Love Me At The End Of The World Sasha Fletcher 2021 American English
17162 Young Mungo Douglas Stuart 2022 British English
17162 Dear John Nicholas Sparks 2006 American English
17162 Bleachers John Grisham 2003 American English
17162 Queen Bees And Wannabes, 3rd Edition Rosalind Wiseman 2002 American English