While dining with the always inspiring Hannah Claire Hess near of end of May 2010, we learned of her endeavor to read Time Magazine’s ALL-TIME 100 Novels before her sister could. We were instantly drawn to this idea and decided to copy it without much further ado. Imitation is supposed to be the most sincere form of flattery, right?
(Hannah's blog about reading the TIME 100 list can be found here.)
We reviewed the TIME list, which is a mighty fine list, indeed; however, we realized it only considered books published in or after 1923. So, we began searching for additional lists and found nine others. Not able to chose only one, we compiled the 10 lists — providing us with 488 different titles. We then calculated the number of lists each book appeared on. Using this method, we narrowed the field to those novels appearing on three or more lists, bringing us to 126. Of these, 73 were guaranteed spots in our top 100 because they appeared four or more times in our research. We needed to narrow the remaining 53 down to 27. To make our determination, we used an 11th list. This 11th list used a similar technique to our own system, but added the complexity of incorporating numerical rankings of each book on six of our 10 lists. Of the 53 we were narrowing, 24 appeared on the 11th list and were added to our top 100, bringing our total to 97. Of the 29 not on the 11th list, we chose three books. Each of us chose one and we agreed on the third and final book. Frank chose the Maltese Falcon, Jess chose Naked Lunch and together we chose The Picture of Dorian Gray. And thus, our list was complete.
The 10 Lists
Modern Library’s board list
As selected by the Modern Library’s 1998 editors board
Books from 1900 to 1998
View the list here.
Modern Library’s readers list
As selected by votes submitted by Modern Library readers
Books from 1900 to 1998
View the list here.
ALL-TIME 100 Novels
As selected by Time critics Lev Grossman and Richard Lacayo
Books from 1923 to 2005
View the list here.
Best 100 Novels
As selected by online polls
Books from any year
Users submitted top 10 lists of favorite books and a database ranked their responses, creating the end-result
View the list here.
The Novel 100
As selected by Dr. Daniel S. Burt, NYU doctoral graduate and Wesleyan University dean
Books until 2004
Based on complex criteria set forth in Burt’s book “The Novel 100: A ranking of the greatest novels of all time”
View the list here.
The Guardian
As selected by Guardian staff
Books from 18th century to 2003
View the list here.
Newsweek
As determined by a compilation of various lists
Books until 2009
The list was created considering many information sources, including Oprah’s book club and St. John’s College reading list; only English-language or translated books were considered
View the list here.
The Observer
As selected by the Observer staff
Books until 2003
View the list here.
The BBC
As voted on by 75,000 viewers
Books until 2003
View the list here.
The Radcliffe list
As determined by Radcliffe Publishing Course students
Books of the 20th century
Only English-language books were considered
View the list here.
The Determining Factor
Top 100 Best Novels of All Time
As determined by a compilation of six lists
Books from all time
This list considered rankings from previous lists in its selection and placement
View the list here.
The 10 Lists
Modern Library’s board list
As selected by the Modern Library’s 1998 editors board
Books from 1900 to 1998
View the list here.
Modern Library’s readers list
As selected by votes submitted by Modern Library readers
Books from 1900 to 1998
View the list here.
ALL-TIME 100 Novels
As selected by Time critics Lev Grossman and Richard Lacayo
Books from 1923 to 2005
View the list here.
Best 100 Novels
As selected by online polls
Books from any year
Users submitted top 10 lists of favorite books and a database ranked their responses, creating the end-result
View the list here.
The Novel 100
As selected by Dr. Daniel S. Burt, NYU doctoral graduate and Wesleyan University dean
Books until 2004
Based on complex criteria set forth in Burt’s book “The Novel 100: A ranking of the greatest novels of all time”
View the list here.
The Guardian
As selected by Guardian staff
Books from 18th century to 2003
View the list here.
Newsweek
As determined by a compilation of various lists
Books until 2009
The list was created considering many information sources, including Oprah’s book club and St. John’s College reading list; only English-language or translated books were considered
View the list here.
The Observer
As selected by the Observer staff
Books until 2003
View the list here.
The BBC
As voted on by 75,000 viewers
Books until 2003
View the list here.
The Radcliffe list
As determined by Radcliffe Publishing Course students
Books of the 20th century
Only English-language books were considered
View the list here.
The Determining Factor
Top 100 Best Novels of All Time
As determined by a compilation of six lists
Books from all time
This list considered rankings from previous lists in its selection and placement
View the list here.
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