# What are the 5 best novels you've ever read? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 26, 2003, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-5-best-novels-youve-ever-read/191068 "2003-07-26T12:37:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-5-best-novels-youve-ever-read/191068/101 "2003-07-29T16:32:18Z")
[ol][li]_Riddley Walker_ by Russell Hoban[/li][li]_Independent People_ by Hálldor Laxness[/li][li]_The Dwarf_ by Par Lagerkvist[/li][li]_Kristin Lavrandattir_ by Sigrid Undset[/li]_Molloy_ by Samuel Beckett [/ol] Like **gobear** , four of whose titles find a place on my alternates list (along with three of **Eve** ’s), these books represent novels that have an ongoing life for me, and call me back to them time after time: I will never finish with any of these. ---
**Author:** ![Zenham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a5b964/32.png) [@Zenham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenham)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-5-best-novels-youve-ever-read/191068/102 "2003-07-29T16:58:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Nvme77 \* > \*\*Microserfs > … > All families are Psychotic > \*\* Oooo, a Coupland fan! I’m one too, and I have read both of those (just finished AFAP this week, actually) but I have to differ on what I consider his best, and my inclusion into my favorites. Also, I must say that my “favorite” books change frequently… they’re not set in stone. Now that we have the disclaimers out of the way… The Diamond Age (Neal Stephenson) Girlfriend in a Coma (Douglas Coupland) Illusions (Richard Bach, and yes, I know it’s new-age fluff) Nine Princes in Amber (Roger Zelazny) Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (first four books, omnibus, Douglas Adams) ---
**Author:** ![Bookish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d26b3c/32.png) [@Bookish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookish)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-5-best-novels-youve-ever-read/191068/103 "2003-07-29T17:01:27Z")
The Book Dragon - Dean Kuntzner Shogun - James Clavell The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurtry Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follet ---
**Author:** ![deball](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@deball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deball)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-5-best-novels-youve-ever-read/191068/104 "2003-07-29T17:06:24Z")
1. _Suttree_ Cormac McCarthy 2. _Dispatches_ Michael Herr 3. _New Hope for the Dead_ Charles Willeford 4. _Catch-22_ Heller 5. _White Noise_ Don DeLillo ---
**Author:** ![deball](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@deball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deball)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-5-best-novels-youve-ever-read/191068/105 "2003-07-29T17:10:38Z")
On further reflection I wouldn’t classify _Dispatches_ as a novel. It’s actually New Journalism. So, bump everything up and add _Trout Fishing in America_ by Richard Brautigan. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-5-best-novels-youve-ever-read/191068/106 "2003-07-29T17:21:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zoggie \* > \*\* > No Night is Too Long by Ruth Rendell (as Barbara Vine) \*\* I just finished it last week and it was awesome! Her best book, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-5-best-novels-youve-ever-read/191068/107 "2003-07-29T19:14:40Z")
**The Moviegoer** , Walker Percy **The End of the Affair** , Graham Greene **Ironweed** , William Kennedy **One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest** , Ken Kesey **On the Beach** , Nevil Shute ---
**Author:** ![Dryga\_Yes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@Dryga\_Yes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dryga_Yes)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-5-best-novels-youve-ever-read/191068/108 "2003-07-29T20:20:03Z")
**The Kindly Ones** by Neil Gaiman (since it’d probably be against the rules to pick the entire run) **Fahrenheit 451** by Ray Bradbury **Slaugherhouse-five** by Kurt Vonnegut **City of Glass** by Paul Auster **Hitch-hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy** by Douglas Adams ---
**Author:** ![DK2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aca169/32.png) [@DK2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DK2)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-5-best-novels-youve-ever-read/191068/109 "2003-07-29T20:59:03Z")
I’m going to get some Kazantzakis stuff on this thread: Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis The Last Temptation of Christ by Nikos Kazantzakis 1984 by George Orwell The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov ---
**Author:** ![ddgryphon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8c91f0/32.png) [@ddgryphon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ddgryphon)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-5-best-novels-youve-ever-read/191068/110 "2003-07-30T04:00:19Z")
In no particular order and knowing I’m going to leave something out: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Watership Down - Douglas Adams Roots by Alex Haley Dawn by Elie Wiesel Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-5-best-novels-youve-ever-read/191068/111 "2003-07-30T04:43:08Z")
In no particular order… \*The World According to Garp \*Huckleberry Finn \*The Stand \*Sybil \*The Handmaid’s Tale (For honorable mention: Anything by Ray Bradbury) ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-5-best-novels-youve-ever-read/191068/112 "2003-07-30T12:52:31Z")
:::::::Sigh::::::::::: All the year’s I’ve wasted reading romance novels…and I love it when these lists come around because it always opens my eyes towards new stuff that I would probably bypass at the book store. My short list: **Night** by Elie Wiesel (holocaust) **Donbas** Jacques Sandelesque (holocaust) \*\*Holidays in Hell \*\* P.J. O’Rourke (travel writing/politics) \*\*Anything by Dave Barry \*\* (humor) **Pride and Prejudice** - Jane Austen. \*\*Pure Drivel \*\* Steve Martin. \*\*Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy \*\* Doug Adams And some romance picks for the frivolous readers - Anything by Lynn Kurland - Anything by Mary Jo Putney ( except one, it sucked.) - Anything by Dara Joy - All of Barbara Metzger’s work. [size=1]none of you will like it, as there are no androids, plots to take over the world with overlords and invasions. It’s Regency England. [/size=1] ---
**Author:** ![Aro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@Aro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aro)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-5-best-novels-youve-ever-read/191068/113 "2003-07-30T15:33:38Z")
If it has to be only five…then perhaps these: **The Grapes of Wrath** – John Steinbeck **Wild Swans** – Jung Chang **Brave New World** – Aldous Huxley **The worst Journey in the World** – Apsley Cherry-Gerrard **The Bone People** – Keri Hulme ---
**Author:** ![Wolverine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba9def/32.png) [@Wolverine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolverine)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-5-best-novels-youve-ever-read/191068/114 "2003-07-30T18:49:00Z")
The Brother’s Kharamazov - Fyodor Dostoyevsky The Idiot - Fyodor Dostoyevsky Catch 22 - Joseph Heller The Heart of Darkness - Conrad Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency - Douglas Adams (by far his funniest and cleverest work) ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-5-best-novels-youve-ever-read/191068/115 "2003-07-30T21:06:34Z")
This is a hard question to answer, as _favorite_ and best are not necessarily the same thing. There are books I love, read over and over, that are the printed versions of B-movies. All this being said, here are five books that I think have both high quality, and I enjoy. 1)To Kill a Mockingbird-Harper Lee 2)In This House of Brede-Rumer Godden 3)The Vicar of Christ-Walter Murphy 4)The Good Earth-Pearl Buck 5)The Moon is a Harsh Mistress-Robert Heinlein There ought to be a companion thread for books aimed at kids or teenagers. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-5-best-novels-youve-ever-read/191068/116 "2003-07-30T21:18:42Z")
**Lonesome Dove** - Larry McMurtry \*\*Outlander \*\* - Diana Gabaldon **Pride & Prejudice** - Jane Austen **Gone with the Wind** - Margaret Mitchell **Thornbird** - Colleen McCollough ---
**Author:** ![PigArcher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@PigArcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigArcher)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-5-best-novels-youve-ever-read/191068/117 "2003-07-30T21:27:27Z")
In no particular order: **Fools Die** - Mario Puzo **Ransom** - Jay McInerney **The Razor’s Edge** - Sommerset Maugham **The Last Picture Show** - Larry McMurty **The Sun Also Rises** - Ernest Hemingway ---
**Author:** ![statheist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9adbd/32.png) [@statheist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/statheist)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-5-best-novels-youve-ever-read/191068/118 "2003-07-30T22:59:11Z")
Hello. My first post, a thread I couldn’t pass up. 1. The Brothers K, David James Duncan (the fact that this book is at the top of the following list says A LOT about how great I think it is.) 2. A Confederacy of Dunces 3. Lord of the Rings 4. The Sot-Weed Factor, John Barth 5. Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace I can’t believe 1 and 4 weren’t already listed!! (unless I missed them.) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-5-best-novels-youve-ever-read/191068/119 "2003-07-31T13:25:10Z")
**Atlas Shrugged** - Ayn Rand **Les Miserables** - Victor Hugo **To Kill a Mockingbird** - Harper Lee **The Moon is a Harsh Mistress** - Robert Heinlein **Alice in Wonderland** - Lewis Carroll ---
**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2003, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-5-best-novels-youve-ever-read/191068/120 "2003-07-31T18:34:40Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by AuntiePam_ > It’d be cool if someone could compile the lists and rank the books, wouldn’t it? Some of the books mentioned turn up frequently on other lists but there are a few books that seem to be peculiar to Dopers. **AuntiPam** , I see that you’ve done an initial compilation of the suggestions in this thread. Thanks. Posters might be interested in this thread, [the Doper List of the 100 Most Important Books of the 20th Century,](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=131498) for a compilation of “must read” books that was done in August/September of 2002 (OP by **Chronos** ). The top 10 in that list was: 1. **1984** , Orwell 2. **To Kill a Mockingbird** , Lee 3. **Animal Farm** , Orwell 4. **Grapes of Wrath** , Steinbeck tie for 5. **Catcher In The Rye** , Salinger 5. **Lord of the Rings** , Tolkien tie for 7. **Catch-22** , Heller 6. **On The Road** , Kerouac 7. **Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance** , Pirsig tie for 10. **Brave New World** , Huxley 8. **Diary of Anne Frank** , Frank 9. **In Cold Blood** , Capote 10. **Night** , Weisel 11. **Slaughterhouse Five** , Vonnegut In a class all by itself: **[Flowers For Algernon](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0553274503/qid=1059670749/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/002-9816211-1169652)**, Keyes Other than that, my personal top 5 would be: 1. **[Slaughterhouse Five](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0440180295/qid=1059669129/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-9816211-1169652?v=glance&s=books)** Vonnegut 2. **[The Trial](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0805210407/qid=1059669226/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/002-9816211-1169652)**, Kafka 3. **[Catch 22](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684833395/qid=1059669250/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/002-9816211-1169652)**, Heller 4. **[Unto This Hour](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0670521930/qid=1059669275/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-9816211-1169652?v=glance&s=books)**, Wicker 5. **[Lucifer’s Hammer](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0449208133/qid=1059669311/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-9816211-1169652?v=glance&s=books)**, Niven and Pournelle There are a couple newer novels that I really enjoyed, but haven’t yet stood the test of time to be ranked (and certainly would never appear on a list of “important” books)… **[The Da Vinci Code](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0385504209/qid=1059669403/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-9816211-1169652?v=glance&s=books)**, Brown **[The Vanished Man](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0743222008/qid=1059670720/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/002-9816211-1169652)**, Deaver [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-5-best-novels-youve-ever-read/191068.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-5-best-novels-youve-ever-read/191068.md?page=7)