Good morning! I am buzzing around this morning coffee cup in hand making sure I have everything I need for the day. I have work, gym, make dinner at home, book club at 6:30 pm. Book Club! I LOVE book club!
According to a list found on Entertainment Weekly’s website – they have posted a list called the “New Classics”. The best reads from 1983 to 2008. I have went through and “white lighted” the ones I have read.
1. The Road , Cormac McCarthy (2006)
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000)
3. Beloved, Toni Morrison (1987)
4. The Liars’ Club, Mary Karr (1995)
5. American Pastoral, Philip Roth (1997)
6. Mystic River, Dennis Lehane (2001)
7. Maus, Art Spiegelman (1986/1991)
8. Selected Stories, Alice Munro (1996)
9. Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (1997)
10. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami (1997)
11. Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer (1997)
12. Blindness, José Saramago (1998)
13. Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986-87)
14. Black Water, Joyce Carol Oates (1992)
15. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers (2000)
16. The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986)
17. Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez (1988)
18. Rabbit at Rest, John Updike (1990)
19. On Beauty, Zadie Smith (2005)
20. Bridget Jones’s Diary, Helen Fielding (1998)
21. On Writing, Stephen King (2000)
22. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz (2007)
23. The Ghost Road, Pat Barker (1996)
24. Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry (1985)
25. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (1989)
26. Neuromancer, William Gibson (1984)
27. Possession, A.S. Byatt (1990)
28. Naked, David Sedaris (1997)
29. Bel Canto, Anne Patchett (2001)
30. Case Histories, Kate Atkinson (2004)
31. The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien (1990)
32. Parting the Waters, Taylor Branch (1988)
33. The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion (2005)
34. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (2002)
35. The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst (2004)
36. Angela’s Ashes, Frank McCourt (1996)
37. Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (2003)
38. Birds of America, Lorrie Moore (1998)
39. Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri (2000)
40. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman (1995-2000)
41. The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros (1984)
42. LaBrava, Elmore Leonard (1983)
43. Borrowed Time, Paul Monette (1988)
44. Praying for Sheetrock, Melissa Fay Greene (1991)
45. Eva Luna, Isabel Allende (1988)
46. Sandman, Neil Gaiman (1988-1996)
47. World’s Fair, E.L. Doctorow (1985)
48. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (1998)
49. Clockers, Richard Price (1992)
50. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen (2001)
51. The Journalist and the Murderer, Janet Malcom (1990)
52. Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan (1992)
53. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon (2000)
54. Jimmy Corrigan, Chris Ware (2000)
55. The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls (2006)
56. The Night Manager, John le Carré (1993)
57. The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe (1987)
58. Drop City, TC Boyle (2003)
59. Krik? Krak! Edwidge Danticat (1995)
60. Nickel & Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich (2001)
61. Money, Martin Amis (1985)
62. Last Train To Memphis, Peter Guralnick (1994)
63. Pastoralia, George Saunders (2000)
64. Underworld, Don DeLillo (1997)
65. The Giver, Lois Lowry (1993)
66. A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, David Foster Wallace (1997)
67. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003)
68. Fun Home, Alison Bechdel (2006)
69. Secret History, Donna Tartt (1992)
70. Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell (2004)
71. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Ann Fadiman (1997)
72. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (2003)
73. A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving (1989)
74. Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger (1990)
75. Cathedral, Raymond Carver (1983)
76. A Sight for Sore Eyes, Ruth Rendell (1998)
77. The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)
78. Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (2006)
79. The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell (2000)
80. Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney (1984)
81. Backlash, Susan Faludi (1991)
82. Atonement, Ian McEwan (2002)
83. The Stone Diaries, Carol Shields (1994)
84. Holes, Louis Sachar (1998)
85. Gilead, Marilynne Robinson (2004)
86. And the Band Played On, Randy Shilts (1987)
87. The Ruins, Scott Smith (2006)
88. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby (1995)
89. Close Range, Annie Proulx (1999)
90. Comfort Me With Apples, Ruth Reichl (2001)
91. Random Family, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc (2003)
92. Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow (1987)
93. A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley (1991)
94. Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser (2001)
95. Kaaterskill Falls, Allegra Goodman (1998)
96. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown (2003)
97. Jesus’ Son, Denis Johnson (1992)
98. The Predators’ Ball, Connie Bruck (1988)
99. Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman (1995)
100. America (the Book), Jon Stewart/Daily Show (2004)
There are many on this list I want to read: Beloved, The Things They Carried, The Handmaids Tale, The House On Mango Street, and A Prayer For Owen Meany to name a few. It would be interesting to post this list again in a year and see if I have made any progress.
I am curious – which of these have you read? Are there books missing from this list, and if so which? Are there books that do not belong on this list?
*On a completely random note – thank you to everyone who visited yesterday and helped celebrate the one year anniversary of Monday What Are You Reading? A fun fact – J Kaye gifted this meme to me on February 8th 2010. That day was the biggest day I ever had on this blog. Yesterday, February 7, 2011, that record was broken.
Book Journey 
That’s an interesting list! I’ve read 16 books on it, but I’m not sure I would have included many of them in a “new classics” list. That being said, the first three on the list are among my favorites of all time, so the list started off strong for me.
I’m surprised you haven’t read Beloved…please tell me you’ve read something else of Toni Morrison’s, though. You can’t call yourself a reader without experiencing one of her books!
Of the other books you haven’t read, Stephen King’s On Writing is amazing. Part autobiography, part process, part entertainment, part inspiration. Fantastic.
One more thing…it may sound redundant but so many of these books were made into movies. PLEASE don’t judge the books by the movies. Cold Mountain especially. This was an amazing book, and the movie butchered it in my opinion.
I had beloved checked out Alison from my library this past fall and had to return it unread. It is on my list to read. I have read nothing of Toni Morrisons… that I am aware of.
wow what a lovely list. . . i could be tempted to do this as another long term reading challenge! Have to have a think!
Dunno what it is with me, i love a really long book list!
That is a big list – I don’t think I would want to take it on although a few are ones I do hope to read 😀
Yikes, I haven’t read many of those yet. I’ve been wanting to read a few, though.
Me too Hannah. 🙂
Never enough reading time. (Or knitting time.) (Or fill-in-the-blank time.)
YOU CAN DO IT! Seriously, I know you will not be disappointed in spending your time pulling The Things They Carried out of whatever stack it is buried in and move it up.
On Writing, too. and, and… yes, many good ones here but in the case of LENGTH? as much as I love A Prayer of Owen Meany, it’s a haul. good, but involved.
Happy day before nine. 🙂
I plan to read The Things They Carried, Care – I know I have it somewhere on the shelves. 😀
I havent read a large book in awhile – maybe Prayer Of Owen Meany will need to be the one!
can’t stand jonathan franzen and toni morrison so will skip those……
love a list that has david sedaris listed with john irving and the like!! actually just love lists period
I have never read Johnathon Franzen Diane but I see in the comments here you are not the only one that thinks he is a “skip”. 🙂
I have read exactly half of PW’s list. While many of the books were good, they did not compare to what I think of when I think of true classic literature.
I was just pondering to myself yesterday if the reading world will even see another Nabokov, Tolstoy, Dickens, Austen, etc., and my list went on. Occasionally I come across a book that stands out and truly makes me giddy with its exceptional prose, those are the closest I think I have come to finding modern classics.
Wow Jennifer – half! I would really have to think who are the new classic authors to me… I always believed J K Rowling would hit that list and I still do… I am actually surprised that all the book s are not on this list.
Oh, my, I have read several of these, like The Glass Castle, The Corrections, Waiting to Exhale, The Handmaid’s Tale, Angela’s Ashes, Bridget Jones’ Diary, The Lovely Bones, Joy Luck Club, Bonfire of the Vanities, Gilead, A Thousand Acres, Practical Magic, Black Water…and American Pastoral and Eat Pray Love are sitting on my stacks. I’ve read several of the “Rabbit” books by Updike, but not Rabbit at Rest. (I think I needed a rest from them…LOL).
Most of these I read before my blogging days, so I don’t have reviews…sigh.
Thanks for the big celebratory day yesterday! I’m going to check out all the comments….
A Thousand Acres was one of my favorites (love Jane Smiley), and I also really loved Angela’s Ashes. Powerful….
You have done well off the list Laurel!
Yes, read yesterdays comments – they are so nice and I like how they mention other bloggers. 😀
If I counted right, I’ve read 18 of the books on that list. I do have several others in my TBR pile and that should count for something.
Eighteen is pretty impressive Kathy! And yes if they are on the TBR then that counts in my book 😛
I guess I have to get busy and read some of these. Thanks for this post as it gives me several ideas of books that I may add to my TBR list. I agree with Diana Mack that Jonathan Franzen is not an author that like … his writing upsets me with his over the top language that seems to permeate every page of his books.
Steve
I havent read his Steve and think I may pass from the comments on his writing 🙂
Hey lady! I hear it might be your birthday tomorrow! If it is, happy early day to you 🙂
That is true Rebecca – than you 😀
I’m ashamed to say I’ve only read 8 of these books but there are several others I’ve wanted to read. I agree that the book Cold Mountain is much better than the movie, even though I enjoyed the movie.
I have Cold Mountain on the shelf that I do not think I have read yet… sounds like I will skip the movie. 😀
I’m afraid I haven’t read all that many on this list. Harry Potter, Cold Mountain, Bridget Jones’s Diary, On Writing, Case Histories, Angela’s Ashes, Eat, Pray, Love, Atonement, and Practical Magic. It’s been years since I’ve read these though and I don’t really remember too much about them. I’ve been planning on re-reading four of these recently though.
I liked the movie Practical Magic – is this the book on that same story?
Great fun fact!! congrats!!!
I loved a prayer for owen meany and holes. thanks for the great list!
Carrie I loved Holes – it was so good. I nead to read Owen Meany.
America, the Book is on the list?? HMOKAY.
LOL – I laughed at your comment….
Oh, I love lists like this!
I’ve read 20 of these – just a drop in the bucket. There are so many here I would like to read…but my TBR list is already so long!!
Sue
20 is pretty impressive Sue! 😀
Finally, a classics list where I’ve actually read some! I think I read about 39 of these! There are some odd choices on here though … “The Ruins” by Scott Smith? I could see his “A Simple Plan” but not that one (though it was good).
I hear you Jenners – I just think of others that should be on the list but I think came out after this one was posted – like The Help.
I saw this list awhile ago and wanted to read everything on it. I think last time I checked I was at like 27 out of 100, which is decent 🙂
That is really good Kim – I need to try to read more of these 🙂
I haven’t read too many of those! I can’t help but wonder about The Lovely Bones, though… not a fan, but I know I’m in the minority.
I l respected The Lovely Bones but wasnt blown away by it Bailey so I am with you about it being on the list.
I’ve read 9 of those –
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling
The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown
Bel Canto, Anne Patchett
The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold
His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros
Sandman, Neil Gaiman
The Giver, Lois Lowry
The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini
It is sad I haven’t heard of a bunch of them? I’m really happy to see some more graphic novels on there (ones I’ve been meaning to read…) and it’s quite an interesting list.
Kristen there are several on the list that I have not heard of either. I do want to read deeper though and so some of these are going to be pursued. (Actually some are already in my home and on a shelf…just not read. )
If I counted right, I’ve read 30 of ’em. And I have a couple more on the shelf. Kavalier and Clay is one I really hope to get to sooner rather than later.
Jill that is a great number… I need to work more on some of these titles. You do such a good job of reading some of the older and classic titles.
I have read 10 on the list. Interestingly they were all ones you had read as well.
That’s funny Angie! We are sooooo cool! 😛
I must be an old classics person…I usually do pretty well on Top 100 lists, but I’ve read very few of these. And I can’t say I’m dying to jump into a lot of the others. But most of my favorite authors are from the first half of the 1900s, so I guess it shouldn’t surprise me all that much…
Sadly Cheryl, I could over double the count I checked if I included ones I own….
GAH! I need more time to read 😀
Eat Pray Love a classic. I think not.
It’s an interesting list. I think I’ve read a handful of them and several others are on my TBR pile. Thanks for sharing it.
I’ve read 5 of them: The Road, The Goblet of Fire, Secret History, And the Band Played On, and The Da Vinci Code.
Of the five, The Road is my absolute favorite.
I read 25 of them. Some of them I haven’t even heard of, others I do want to read sometime.
I’ve only read 14 of the ones on the list. Looks like I have a long way to go!
Wow1 I am way late in posting on this, but wanted to chime in anyways! Blindness is definitely one of the best books I have ever read!! Overall, of the books I have read on this list, I would have to agree! There are some really good ones here!
Thanks Tif!