A Soldier of the Great War by Mark HelprinAnimal Farm by George OrwellThe Color Purple by Alice WalkerAngela’s Ashes by Frank McCourtThe Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Unforgettables
11,786 books — 7,519 voters
Madame Bovary by Gustave FlaubertExtremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
Disappointing Books
2,732 books — 4,602 voters

The Ice-Shirt by William T. Vollmann
William T. Vollmann
20 books — 22 voters
Salt by Mark KurlanskyThe Worst Hard Time by Timothy EganThe Know-It-All by A.J. JacobsA Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again by David Foster WallaceThe Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang
Best Non-Fiction (no biographies)
6,235 books — 8,066 voters

Infinite Jest by David Foster WallaceSantaLand Diaries by David SedarisBarrel Fever by David SedarisHolidays on Ice by David SedarisWhen You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
Read Them Twice...At Least
13,820 books — 11,417 voters
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
Best Gonzo Books
26 books — 37 voters

The Shipping News by Annie Proulx
The Worst Books of All Time
8,096 books — 19,876 voters

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
Best Books of the 21st Century
9,828 books — 22,006 voters
Infinite Jest by David Foster WallaceEast of Eden by John SteinbeckA Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
Thickest Books Ever
889 books — 2,490 voters

Salt by Mark Kurlansky
Must Read Non-Fiction
5,266 books — 4,467 voters

Infinite Jest by David Foster WallaceThe God of Small Things by Arundhati RoyA Fine Balance by Rohinton MistryInterpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa LahiriThe No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
Best Books of the Decade: 1990s
3,129 books — 3,679 voters
The Red Tent by Anita DiamantYear of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks
Best Historical Fiction
7,431 books — 25,611 voters

The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Books that Made You Cry!
3,357 books — 7,955 voters
The Sparrow by Mary Doria RussellTheir Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Best Books Ever
76,521 books — 284,629 voters

Infinite Jest by David Foster WallaceAs I Lay Dying by William FaulknerLouis de Bernières Box Set of 3 books by Louis BerniéresA Fine Balance by Rohinton MistryEast of Eden by John Steinbeck
Best Books of the 20th Century
7,899 books — 49,784 voters
Utopia by Thomas More
Best Dystopian and Post-Apocalyptic Fiction
3,762 books — 26,004 voters