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Non-genre literature that emphasizes craft and character development over escapism. This is a contemporary literature list and I would offer these to any contemporary writer who wants a firm grasp on what is excellent on a sentence-for-sentence level right now. This is also an excellent list for those looking for the most literary works in contemporary fiction who have not previously been familiarized with much of it.
1

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3.89 avg rating — 284,316 ratings
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2

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4.12 avg rating — 43,650 ratings
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3

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4.18 avg rating — 212,472 ratings
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4

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4.15 avg rating — 358,043 ratings
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5

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4.01 avg rating — 37,838 ratings
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6

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3.85 avg rating — 924,575 ratings
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7

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4.08 avg rating — 17,036 ratings
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8

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4.14 avg rating — 391,444 ratings
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9

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3.99 avg rating — 519,521 ratings
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10

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3.75 avg rating — 1,273 ratings
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11

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4.15 avg rating — 51,915 ratings
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12

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4.14 avg rating — 98,423 ratings
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13

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3.99 avg rating — 82,487 ratings
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14

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3.85 avg rating — 131,976 ratings
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15

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4.03 avg rating — 2,964 ratings
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16

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3.96 avg rating — 28,708 ratings
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17

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4.01 avg rating — 276,868 ratings
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18

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3.96 avg rating — 152,395 ratings
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19

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3.93 avg rating — 1,735 ratings
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20

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4.25 avg rating — 7,397 ratings
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21

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4.19 avg rating — 217,582 ratings
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22

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4.07 avg rating — 5,924 ratings
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23

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4.30 avg rating — 2,084,052 ratings
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24

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4.18 avg rating — 547 ratings
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25

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3.96 avg rating — 6,703 ratings
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26

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3.97 avg rating — 91 ratings
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27

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3.86 avg rating — 202,861 ratings
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28

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3.98 avg rating — 3,699 ratings
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28

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4.28 avg rating — 1,442 ratings
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30

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4.08 avg rating — 224,866 ratings
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31

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4.10 avg rating — 1,238 ratings
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32

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4.34 avg rating — 329,981 ratings
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33

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3.96 avg rating — 345,143 ratings
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34

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3.81 avg rating — 228,353 ratings
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35

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4.26 avg rating — 7,299 ratings
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35

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3.73 avg rating — 28,367 ratings
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37

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3.80 avg rating — 12,072 ratings
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37

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3.84 avg rating — 6,406 ratings
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39

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4.05 avg rating — 3,114 ratings
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39

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4.33 avg rating — 24 ratings
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39

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 4 ratings
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42

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3.83 avg rating — 32,834 ratings
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43

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3.77 avg rating — 2,688 ratings
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43

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3.70 avg rating — 76,211 ratings
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43

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3.64 avg rating — 17,517 ratings
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46

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4.07 avg rating — 31,247 ratings
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47

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3.91 avg rating — 1,582,207 ratings
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48

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3.80 avg rating — 19,360 ratings
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49

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3.87 avg rating — 14,939 ratings
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50

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3.85 avg rating — 205,317 ratings
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51

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4.44 avg rating — 226 ratings
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52

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3.78 avg rating — 34,581 ratings
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53

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3.69 avg rating — 20,710 ratings
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54

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3.84 avg rating — 1,668 ratings
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54

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3.86 avg rating — 8,131 ratings
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56

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4.11 avg rating — 16,371 ratings
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57

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3.99 avg rating — 1,107 ratings
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58

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4.28 avg rating — 1,564 ratings
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59

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3.89 avg rating — 12,740 ratings
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60

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4.35 avg rating — 20 ratings
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60

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3.85 avg rating — 3,614 ratings
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60

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4.46 avg rating — 13 ratings
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63

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4.40 avg rating — 2,517 ratings
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63

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3.62 avg rating — 452 ratings
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65

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3.86 avg rating — 78 ratings
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65

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3.80 avg rating — 3,383 ratings
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65

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3.97 avg rating — 1,240 ratings
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68

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4.24 avg rating — 345,940 ratings
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68

by
4.09 avg rating — 2,390 ratings
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70

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3.82 avg rating — 2,378 ratings
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70

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3.44 avg rating — 51,125 ratings
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70

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3.97 avg rating — 234,868 ratings
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70

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3.94 avg rating — 542,471 ratings
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74

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4.12 avg rating — 459 ratings
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74

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4.05 avg rating — 493,273 ratings
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76

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4.12 avg rating — 8,749 ratings
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77

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4.06 avg rating — 7,923 ratings
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78

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3.86 avg rating — 17,053 ratings
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79

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3.87 avg rating — 985,583 ratings
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80

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3.87 avg rating — 30,345 ratings
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81

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3.95 avg rating — 61,215 ratings
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82

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4.11 avg rating — 2,427 ratings
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83

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 33 ratings
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83

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3.23 avg rating — 44 ratings
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83

by
3.67 avg rating — 135 ratings
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83

by
3.43 avg rating — 14,617 ratings
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83

by
3.52 avg rating — 219 ratings
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83

by
3.56 avg rating — 409 ratings
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83

by
4.18 avg rating — 88 ratings
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83

by
3.57 avg rating — 47,639 ratings
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83

by
4.05 avg rating — 47 ratings
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83

by
3.65 avg rating — 20 ratings
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83

by
3.56 avg rating — 194 ratings
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83

by
3.96 avg rating — 34,331 ratings
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83

by
3.56 avg rating — 252 ratings
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83

by
3.09 avg rating — 467 ratings
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83

by
3.74 avg rating — 54 ratings
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83

by
4.50 avg rating — 117 ratings
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83

by
4.12 avg rating — 78 ratings
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83

by
3.84 avg rating — 75 ratings
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132 books · 233 voters · list created August 4th, 2008 by Olivia (votes) .
117 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Olivia 148 books
310 friends
Maria Elena 126 books
70 friends
Kyle 2 books
829 friends
Randomhero 69 books
1 friend
Michael 836 books
4970 friends
Cari 1725 books
109 friends
Lizz 312 books
7 friends
John 235 books
5 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-2 of 2 (2 new)

dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by Sal (new)

Sal Annie Dillard would be on a par with Beethoven if she wrote music instead of books. She is lyrical, sharp and clear. A golden note to enjoy and ponder. If you have not read her, you have sorely cheated yourself of a marvelous experience.


message 2: by Emma (new)

Emma It would seem that The first Five Pages, and MFA in a box do not belong to this list of literature, as they are not literature, but how-to manuals about writing.
Agree?
If yes, I'll remove them.


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