All books in the 2012 Penguin English Library imprint.

100 of the best novels in the English language. These are books to collect and share, admire and hold; books that celebrate the pure pleasure of reading.'

Note: This is for books in the Penguin English Library imprint only. Please do not add books to this list.
1

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4.30 avg rating — 4,923,853 ratings
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2

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4.16 avg rating — 2,375,790 ratings
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3

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4.13 avg rating — 1,948,054 ratings
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4

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3.92 avg rating — 1,958,859 ratings
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5

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3.89 avg rating — 2,239,806 ratings
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6

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4.15 avg rating — 796,338 ratings
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7

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4.03 avg rating — 1,513,982 ratings
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8

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4.05 avg rating — 1,006,266 ratings
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9

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4.06 avg rating — 617,868 ratings
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10

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4.15 avg rating — 187,033 ratings
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11

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4.09 avg rating — 953,816 ratings
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12

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3.83 avg rating — 683,409 ratings
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13

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3.85 avg rating — 464,505 ratings
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14

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3.80 avg rating — 886,376 ratings
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15

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4.09 avg rating — 1,319,128 ratings
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16

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4.04 avg rating — 135,461 ratings
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17

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3.88 avg rating — 1,025,233 ratings
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18

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3.84 avg rating — 306,384 ratings
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19

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4.04 avg rating — 183,486 ratings
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20

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3.88 avg rating — 433,688 ratings
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21

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3.86 avg rating — 385,639 ratings
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22

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3.44 avg rating — 932,920 ratings
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23

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3.68 avg rating — 335,652 ratings
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24

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3.89 avg rating — 205,358 ratings
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25

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4.02 avg rating — 169,250 ratings
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26

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3.97 avg rating — 168,932 ratings
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26

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3.77 avg rating — 4,746 ratings
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28

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3.83 avg rating — 1,346,593 ratings
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29

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4.13 avg rating — 397,069 ratings
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30

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3.83 avg rating — 356,579 ratings
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31

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3.78 avg rating — 82,844 ratings
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32

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4.13 avg rating — 504,036 ratings
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33

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3.59 avg rating — 302,575 ratings
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34

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3.57 avg rating — 626,940 ratings
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35

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3.91 avg rating — 100,315 ratings
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36

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3.43 avg rating — 568,393 ratings
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37

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4.02 avg rating — 115,854 ratings
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38

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4.20 avg rating — 5,634,682 ratings
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39

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4.05 avg rating — 263,474 ratings
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40

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3.63 avg rating — 221,642 ratings
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41

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3.81 avg rating — 134,197 ratings
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42

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4.03 avg rating — 4,697,780 ratings
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43

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3.89 avg rating — 574,501 ratings
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44

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3.73 avg rating — 137,995 ratings
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45

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4.17 avg rating — 2,507,906 ratings
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46

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3.79 avg rating — 27,087 ratings
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47

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3.96 avg rating — 95,949 ratings
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48

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3.93 avg rating — 6,045,373 ratings
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49

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4.15 avg rating — 975 ratings
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50

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3.83 avg rating — 48,824 ratings
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51

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3.84 avg rating — 59,925 ratings
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52

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4.13 avg rating — 51,252 ratings
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53

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3.88 avg rating — 182,598 ratings
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54

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3.59 avg rating — 18,219 ratings
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55

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3.84 avg rating — 76,975 ratings
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56

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3.70 avg rating — 95,153 ratings
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57

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3.98 avg rating — 107,891 ratings
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58

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3.83 avg rating — 181,865 ratings
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59

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3.55 avg rating — 75,709 ratings
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60

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3.77 avg rating — 100,012 ratings
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61

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3.79 avg rating — 24,321 ratings
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62

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3.87 avg rating — 66,907 ratings
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63

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3.77 avg rating — 367,000 ratings
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64

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3.75 avg rating — 21,815 ratings
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65

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3.71 avg rating — 19,117 ratings
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66

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3.80 avg rating — 86,102 ratings
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67

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3.46 avg rating — 140,609 ratings
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68

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3.87 avg rating — 27,064 ratings
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69

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3.82 avg rating — 47,706 ratings
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70

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3.75 avg rating — 37,380 ratings
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71

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3.96 avg rating — 57,008 ratings
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72

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3.96 avg rating — 16,902 ratings
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73

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3.47 avg rating — 2,457 ratings
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73

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4.03 avg rating — 377,138 ratings
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75

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3.86 avg rating — 32,690 ratings
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76

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3.54 avg rating — 611 ratings
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77

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3.75 avg rating — 34,528 ratings
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78

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 50,269 ratings
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79

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3.86 avg rating — 35,239 ratings
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80

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4.09 avg rating — 31,808 ratings
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81

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2.75 avg rating — 13,870 ratings
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82

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3.72 avg rating — 23,211 ratings
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83

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3.95 avg rating — 47,376 ratings
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84

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3.64 avg rating — 56,339 ratings
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85

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3.78 avg rating — 17,671 ratings
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86

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3.66 avg rating — 13,340 ratings
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87

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3.84 avg rating — 775 ratings
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88

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3.88 avg rating — 40,906 ratings
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89

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3.79 avg rating — 6,560 ratings
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90

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3.70 avg rating — 40,499 ratings
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91

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4.06 avg rating — 17,983 ratings
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92

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3.71 avg rating — 26,378 ratings
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93

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3.72 avg rating — 5,718 ratings
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94

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3.78 avg rating — 1,754 ratings
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95

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3.67 avg rating — 10,112 ratings
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96

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3.71 avg rating — 4,661 ratings
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97

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3.59 avg rating — 25,307 ratings
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97

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3.76 avg rating — 19,029 ratings
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97

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3.94 avg rating — 821 ratings
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100

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3.83 avg rating — 17,286 ratings
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137 books · 446 voters · list created September 4th, 2012 by Louise (votes) .
1051 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Louise 1353 books
57 friends
Ayny 2105 books
48 friends
Andrew 1586 books
11 friends
Orlane 691 books
49 friends
Imogen 1600 books
31 friends
Lapsus 810 books
10 friends
María 1258 books
527 friends
Themis-Athena (Lioness at Large) 546 books
365 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-46 of 46 (46 new)

dateUp arrow    newest »

Susanna - Censored by GoodReads You might want to add a note to the subtitle about please not adding books to the list, because people will.


message 2: by Louise (new)

Louise Thanks. I'd forgotten about that (I don't tend to use Listopia very often). There is now a note, and I'll try to be vigilant about deleting any rogue additions if they pop up. :)


Susanna - Censored by GoodReads No problem. I'm a Listopia addict, and probably cynical, but some strange books get on lists sometimes!


message 4: by Bettie (new)

Bettie Susanna wrote: "some strange books get on lists sometimes!"

Don't they just!
:O)


message 5: by TigerLotus (new)

TigerLotus Books I would buy just for the covers..they're so beautiful!


message 6: by Aline (new)

Aline In this case, yes, I do judge the books from the cover.
They're just too pretty!


message 7: by Marte (new)

Marte These are the prettiest covers I've ever seen, and I would love to collect them all!


message 8: by Pia (new)

Pia Gorgeous!


message 9: by [deleted user] (last edited Aug 24, 2013 10:14AM) (new)

Very nice editions! I absolutely love the Penguin English Library covers and it would be nice to collect them all!
Also the Penguin classic clothbound hardcover editions are absolutley beautiful!
(but are more expensive)

(https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...


message 10: by Louise (new)

Louise yeah, I kind of want to collect them all even though I already have a lot of the books already with other covers and even though there are quite a few I'm just not that interested in. They're just so pretty and collectable!

I love the clothbounds too. But yeah...a little bit on the expensive side for me. Do have a few that I got as presents though and they're absolutely gorgeous.


message 11: by Chelsea (new)

Chelsea Bee Thanks for a complete list! I've been looking for one. Now I just need to buy them all.


message 12: by Anna (new)

Anna Kļaviņa Chelsea wrote: "Thanks for a complete list! I've been looking for one. Now I just need to buy them all."

and read them all. :)


message 13: by Sabrina (new)

Sabrina N its impossible to get these wretched books in the US


message 14: by Sarah (last edited Jun 13, 2014 09:39AM) (new)

Sarah Feli wrote: "where do you get these type of covers?"

You can find them on www.bookdepository.com
since they're sold from the U.K. you can also find them on Amazon.co.uk and just switch the currency as you check out.


message 15: by Camille (new)

Camille so pretty


message 16: by Maisie (new)

Maisie the textures of the covers are changing/have changed - the new sherlock covers don't feel the same and some of the existing penguin english library such as Emma by Jane Austen and Dr Jekyll are now printed with the new texture

also a lot of the charles dickens ones are hard to find now


message 17: by Sophie (new)

Sophie Marte wrote: "These are the prettiest covers I've ever seen, and I would love to collect them all!"

That would be incredible! :0


message 18: by Marina (new)

Marina Cases Ryan wrote: "I wish they didn't change the texture of the covers. I don't understand why they would - that's one of the things people liked about the editions. Now it's just going to be a pain to buy the ones w..."

I just got my first copy of the collection, The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, and the cover has a velvet touch, is this the new texture or the old texture? Because I love it!


message 19: by Tamára (new)

Tamára Marina wrote: "Ryan wrote: "I wish they didn't change the texture of the covers. I don't understand why they would - that's one of the things people liked about the editions. Now it's just going to be a pain to b..."

It's the old one, now they sport a more paper texture.


message 20: by Jamjars (new)

Jamjars I literally want ALL of these!


message 21: by Erika (new)

Erika Are these mass market size?


message 22: by Victoria (new)

Victoria Can someone else share their experience buying these editions nowadays? I just received Heart of darkness and the material of the cover is awful and doesn't have a velvet texture whatsoever.


message 23: by Sabrina (new)

Sabrina N I have 6 of them! They are not mass market size, they're regular trade paper back, the cover is matte and feels like thicker paper, and the inside paper feels and looks very similar to mass market pulp paper in texture and color.

Yeah the covers are not velvety at all.


message 24: by Geethu (new)

Geethu I just purchased Pride & Prejudice but I didn't get the velvety cover:( The cover on this feels like recycled paper.


message 25: by Nikita (new)

Nikita Katiyar I have 6 of these and though I love the designs very much, I don't intend to collect all because there are too many that I don't want to read. I wish they had printed titles from more authors like Verne, Flaubert etc. rather than including all works by Austen, Dickens, Hardy and Trollope. Yes the new covers are not velvet textured like the initial ones and even the colour pigment is a little different from the initial prints. Some people have complained of typos but I didn't find any in the copies I got, other than one or two in the whole book. Buying the pale covers isn't such a good idea as they get dirty really soon. Penguin also has notebooks in some of the designs if you are interested in buying !!


Coffeebooksetcetera Hi! How many are these? I've read that they are only 100 but this list has 105. Thanks in advance! :)


message 27: by Juneil (new)

Juneil Balo Pls tell the lovely folks at Penguin to give Mysteries of Udolpho a chance, and maybe more Ann Radcliffe. I would love too see it in this edition.


message 28: by Juneil (new)

Juneil Balo Will read Villette soon. Torn between this and the clothbound edition, also Everyman's library looks attractive. How's the paper quality of these editions so far? I wonder how the paper compares to the black-spine penguin classics? Is it as grey and silky? which is fine, but am hoping the paper's not as worse as Vintage paperbacks.


message 29: by Paul (new)

Paul Greer I find it difficult choosing what to read next. So I am working my way down this list, as well as the other stuff I'm reading.


message 30: by Jacqueline (new)

Jacqueline White Sabrina wrote: "its impossible to get these wretched books in the US"
Try book depository :)


message 31: by Drew (new)

Drew Juneil wrote: "Will read Villette soon. Torn between this and the clothbound edition, also Everyman's library looks attractive. How's the paper quality of these editions so far? I wonder how the paper compares to..."
The paper quality is exceptional. It's actually why I buy these editions. The font is very legible and the paper is thick enough that the words don't bleed through (a major problem in the clothbound editions, IMO).


message 32: by BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) (last edited May 14, 2017 05:09AM) (new)

BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) Geethu wrote: "I just purchased Pride & Prejudice but I didn't get the velvety cover:( The cover on this feels like recycled paper."

I have several books published in this series, but not all of them have the nice velvety cover. And although a velvety cover is not my reason to buy a book, it is a nice bonus, of course :-)


message 33: by Roselyn (new)

Roselyn Tamára wrote: "Marina wrote: "Ryan wrote: "I wish they didn't change the texture of the covers. I don't understand why they would - that's one of the things people liked about the editions. Now it's just going to..."

Are the paper qualities of these new version cheaper?Is there any way to differentiate between these two versions when buying online?


message 34: by Gauchovalev (new)

Gauchovalev Does anyone know if there are plans to reprint the impossible-to-find titles, specifically Dickens?


BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) Roselyn wrote: "Are the paper qualities of these new version cheaper?Is there any way to differentiate between these two versions when buying online?..."

Not as far as I know...


message 36: by Sandy (new)

Sandy (Bookend My Life) Gauchovalev wrote: "Does anyone know if there are plans to reprint the impossible-to-find titles, specifically Dickens?"

At this point in time, there are no plans to reprint any of the out of print titles. There are 20 new titles being released next year


message 37: by Paul (new)

Paul Whytcross Such a shame so many of the original 2012 titles are now out-of-print. Most of the Dickens and Trollope novels are unavailable now, as are the two titles by Fielding - and the prices for secondhand copies at abe.books are absurd. Penguin, if you're reading this, REPRINT!


message 38: by Ankur (new)

Ankur I wanted to get Bleak House by Dickens from the Penguin English library collection and it is so sad that its out of print. I can't find it anywhere. I found a second hand copy on amazon but the price is so high. Penguin definitely needs to reprint these gems.


BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) Ankur wrote: "I wanted to get Bleak House by Dickens from the Penguin English library collection and it is so sad that its out of print. I can't find it anywhere. I found a second hand copy on amazon but the pri..."

There's a hardback Penguin edition at Bookdepository.com Not a Penguin English library book I guess but lovely non the less.


message 40: by Chetan (new)

Chetan Nikita wrote: "I have 6 of these and though I love the designs very much, I don't intend to collect all because there are too many that I don't want to read. I wish they had printed titles from more authors like ..."

Umm you do realize that this is the Penguin English Library right? This series only publishes Anglophone literature. It does not publish non-English language literature.

Geethu wrote: "I just purchased Pride & Prejudice but I didn't get the velvety cover:( The cover on this feels like recycled paper."


message 41: by Chetan (new)

Chetan Ankur wrote: "I wanted to get Bleak House by Dickens from the Penguin English library collection and it is so sad that its out of print. I can't find it anywhere. I found a second hand copy on amazon but the pri..."

Fortunately, Penguin Clothbound Classics has its own edition of Bleak House. It's a beautiful hardback edition using the most reliable scholarly text of the novel, as opposed to the standard 1867 Charles Dickens edition text commonly found in most editions of that book. Definitely get it.


message 42: by [deleted user] (new)

Can someone please tell me about the introductions and (foot)notes in the Penguin English Library editions? Are they good or bad, detailed or not enough? Thanks.


message 43: by Matthew (new)

Matthew Seales Kristen wrote: "Can someone please tell me about the introductions and (foot)notes in the Penguin English Library editions? Are they good or bad, detailed or not enough? Thanks."

Hi Kristen,

The PEL books never have footnotes (except sometimes to the Introductions I think) and the Introductions themselves I've found to always be insightful and to enhance my understanding of the novel and the context it was written inl. The pieces chosen for inclusion are typically by famous names (J.B Priestley, F.R. Leavis, Zadie Smith, T.S Eliot etc) and vary greatly in length/detail (anything between 5-35 pages in the copies that I've recently read).

Hope this helps,

Matthew


message 44: by Matthew (new)

Matthew Seales Gauchovalev wrote: "Does anyone know if there are plans to reprint the impossible-to-find titles, specifically Dickens?"

Hello,

I've been looking for the Dickens Penguin English Library editions for years myself and have just come across this Greek site that has them all:

https://www.zafeiriou.gr/en/search?co...

The books cost about £7.50 each + £2.50 postage each and are in brand new condition as far as I can make out. That's my birthday present to myself sorted :)

Hope this helps,

Matthew


message 45: by Maisie (new)

Maisie Three new titles out on October 1st 2020: Passing by Nella Larsen, Brideshead Revisted by Evelyn Waugh and The Cop and the Anthem and Other Stories by O. Henry.

I've added these to the list.


message 46: by Martin (new)

Martin I added two new titles to the list:

G.K. Chesterton - Father Brown Selected Stories (released April 4th, 2024)
Oscar Wilde - The Complete Fairy Tales (released September 4th, 2025)


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