,

A(n incomplete) list of the "best" books written by great authors. Because it is hard to separate the definition of "magnum opus" from "masterpiece" (and both are left up to individual interpretation), this list is far from definitive. It's comprised of books that are a combination of:
1)what is generally considered to be the author's defining work
2)what the author felt was his/her defining work
3)what I think is the author's defining work
1

by
4.03 avg rating — 1,069,391 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
2

by
4.44 avg rating — 664,652 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
2

by
4.51 avg rating — 1,478 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
4

by
3.87 avg rating — 960,139 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
5

by
4.10 avg rating — 1,501,163 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
6

by
4.13 avg rating — 1,930,029 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
7

by
3.70 avg rating — 3,246,461 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
8

by
4.39 avg rating — 398,360 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
9

by
3.93 avg rating — 6,010,404 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
10

by
3.89 avg rating — 51,775 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
11

by
3.98 avg rating — 2,109,180 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
12

by
3.80 avg rating — 3,943,479 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
13

by
4.20 avg rating — 5,589,974 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
14

by
3.97 avg rating — 2,901,575 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
15

by
3.91 avg rating — 1,942,781 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
16

by
4.12 avg rating — 1,123,436 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
17

by
4.29 avg rating — 1,112,296 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
18

by
3.80 avg rating — 883,069 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
19

by
3.76 avg rating — 139,534 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
19

by
4.11 avg rating — 13,820 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
21

by
4.11 avg rating — 117,600 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
21

by
4.34 avg rating — 14,280 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
23

by
3.88 avg rating — 44,055 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
23

by
4.29 avg rating — 107,126 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
25

by
4.67 avg rating — 3 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
26

by
4.29 avg rating — 1,660,193 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
27

by
4.10 avg rating — 43,027 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
28

by
4.38 avg rating — 144 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
29

by
4.04 avg rating — 134,351 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
30

by
3.92 avg rating — 479,147 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
31

by
3.76 avg rating — 305,311 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
32

by
3.98 avg rating — 98,142 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
33

by
4.16 avg rating — 130,883 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
34

by
4.33 avg rating — 6,355 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
35

by
4.13 avg rating — 213,891 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
36

by
4.19 avg rating — 277,525 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
36

by
4.14 avg rating — 4,658 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
36

by
3.91 avg rating — 309,674 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
39

by
4.05 avg rating — 1,000,284 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
39

by
4.20 avg rating — 40,589 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
41

by
3.69 avg rating — 409,267 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
41

by
4.30 avg rating — 4,892,997 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
43

by
3.89 avg rating — 18 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
43

by
4.09 avg rating — 1,313,138 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
45

by
3.79 avg rating — 500,866 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
45

by
4.09 avg rating — 175,445 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
45

by
3.99 avg rating — 16,300 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
48

by
3.77 avg rating — 363,999 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
49

by
4.39 avg rating — 14,348 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
49

by
4.28 avg rating — 432,535 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
49

by
3.83 avg rating — 875 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
52

by
3.75 avg rating — 1,295 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
53

by
3.88 avg rating — 1,021,774 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
53

by
3.74 avg rating — 2,200 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
53

by
4.84 avg rating — 2,887 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
56

by
4.14 avg rating — 394,537 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
56

by
3.49 avg rating — 197 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
58

by
3.99 avg rating — 894,163 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
58

by
3.71 avg rating — 9,904 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
60

by
3.86 avg rating — 198,215 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
60

by
4.18 avg rating — 104,558 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
62

by
4.07 avg rating — 179,855 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
62

by
4.19 avg rating — 74,592 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
64

by
4.23 avg rating — 333,035 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
64

by
4.27 avg rating — 67,523 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
66

by
3.28 avg rating — 11,298 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
66

by
3.91 avg rating — 169 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
68

by
4.18 avg rating — 1,885 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
68

by
3.86 avg rating — 1,149 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
70

by
4.21 avg rating — 851,770 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
70

by
4.28 avg rating — 108 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
70

by
4.13 avg rating — 758,910 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
73

by
4.24 avg rating — 33,334 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
74

by
3.78 avg rating — 82,163 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
74

by
4.43 avg rating — 1,280 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
74

by
4.03 avg rating — 3,347 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
77

by
4.24 avg rating — 340,191 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
77

by
3.83 avg rating — 81,307 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
77

by
4.04 avg rating — 26,668 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
80

by
3.78 avg rating — 2,997 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
81

by
3.89 avg rating — 401 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
81

by
4.07 avg rating — 81,439 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
83

by
3.32 avg rating — 28 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
83

by
4.25 avg rating — 2,191 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
85

by
4.11 avg rating — 946,633 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
85

by
4.03 avg rating — 13,268 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
85

by
4.04 avg rating — 10,467 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
88

by
3.77 avg rating — 9,832 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
88

by
3.76 avg rating — 18,349 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
90

by
3.69 avg rating — 4,038 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
90

by
4.11 avg rating — 125,483 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
92

by
4.13 avg rating — 91,169 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
93

by
3.43 avg rating — 565,670 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
93

by
3.77 avg rating — 911 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
95

by
3.86 avg rating — 275,637 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
95

by
3.97 avg rating — 1,298,279 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
97

by
3.64 avg rating — 13,103 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
98

by
4.14 avg rating — 182,463 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
99

by
3.84 avg rating — 711,661 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
100

by
4.12 avg rating — 2,847,368 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
107 books · 17 voters · list created July 19th, 2013 by jess (votes) .
12 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


jess 2315 books
83 friends
Tara 2948 books
92 friends
Lapsus 810 books
10 friends
Paul 2135 books
4 friends
Andriy 779 books
88 friends
Natalia 2421 books
700 friends
Rose 1936 books
84 friends
Luella 414 books
194 friends

More voters…


No comments have been added yet.




Related News

What kind of reader are you?   That’s the thesis question for our Personality Picks collection of book recommendations, an experimental new...

Anyone can add books to this list.