1. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
2. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
3. Candide by Voltaire
4. Hamlet by Shakespeare
5. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
6. 1984 by George Orwell
7. King Lear by Shakespeare
8. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
9. The Oddyssey / The Illiad
10. Brave New World by Alduous Huxley
11. A Riot of Our Own: Day and Night with the Clash by Johnny Green (
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This is a list of probably my all-time favorite books that I have read so far. I can only pray that nobody else will write any books, as I will never even be able to read all the books I want to read that have already been written. Or, as Harlan Ellison put it:
I don't understand what this lemming-like dementia is about constantly having new stuff. When was the last time you read the totality of Steinbeck or Faulkner or Katherine Anne Porter or Shirley Jackson? Everybody always wants something new, new, new—and that's what's killing life for writers. This dementia for "new" is ridiculous.
Although only Catch-22, The Sound and the Fury, and Candide are in set-in-stone order as my top three. Everything else is just kind of a guess. I left a lot off cause I don't care. EVERYONE should read Candide.
I'm interested in everyone else's favorite books. And not just one, a list. Anyone asked which books are their favorites who can't come up with at least five hasn't read enough.
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