A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty  SmithTo Kill a Mockingbird by Harper LeeThe Grapes of Wrath by John SteinbeckOne Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
Best Books of the 20th Century
7,899 books — 49,787 voters
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale HurstonThe Color Purple by Alice WalkerThe Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm XInvisible Man by Ralph EllisonI Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Best African American Books
1,043 books — 1,139 voters

West with the Night by Beryl MarkhamA Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave EggersThe Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique BaubyNight by Elie WieselThe Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Best Memoir / Biography / Autobiography
5,843 books — 6,369 voters
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
Best Historical Fiction
7,433 books — 25,609 voters