# What Books Will We Be Reading 100 Years From Now? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 18, 2001, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-will-we-be-reading-100-years-from-now/94043 "2001-11-18T06:49:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-will-we-be-reading-100-years-from-now/94043/1 "2001-11-18T06:49:26Z")
Things go in and out of fashion in the literary world and today’s darling of the critics is tomorrow’s, “What in hell were they thinking when they said he/she was a great writer?” award winner. So what books written or widely read in the 20th Century do you think people will want to read in the 22nd Century? Fiction and non-fiction titles are both welcome here. My WAG: For fiction: _ **1984** _ by Orwell. A timeless piece of work on what happens when a government goes mad. _ **Naked Lunch** _ by Burroughs. This book is such an influence on modern literature and cinema that people will read it for a better understanding of 20th Century art. For non-fiction: _ **A Man on the Moon** _ by Chaikin. The best history of the Apollo program I’ve read so far. People will want to read it as we do the adventurers and explorers of past times. _ **The Johnstown Flood** _ by McCullough. A look at one of the worst disasters in US history, told in a fascinating manner by a great historian. There’s probably more, but I can’t think of any others at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Eternal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@Eternal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eternal)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-will-we-be-reading-100-years-from-now/94043/2 "2001-11-18T07:10:20Z")
A good book will never cease being a good book. The author will only become obscure. That said, I think it’s safe to say that since they’ve been read for so long already, _The Art of War_ and \*_The Prince_ will still be popular. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-will-we-be-reading-100-years-from-now/94043/3 "2001-11-18T07:24:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eternal \* > \*\*A good book will never cease being a good book. The author will only become obscure. > > [snip]\*\* Not necessarily, Poe (for example) was considered by some of his contemporaries (now all but forgotten) to be a hack writer. There’s been numerous writers (and other artists) who were ignored in their own time, and only considered “great” after they died, while their contemporaries who were praised to the hilt during their lives have been forgotten. ---
**Author:** ![tronvillain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@tronvillain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tronvillain)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-will-we-be-reading-100-years-from-now/94043/4 "2001-11-18T10:43:54Z")
I like to think _The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy_ stands a chance. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2001, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-will-we-be-reading-100-years-from-now/94043/5 "2001-11-18T22:57:54Z")
All of Franz Kafka’s major works will still be read frequently. _Catch 22_ by Joseph Heller and _SlaughterHouse 5_ by Kurt Vonnegut will remain popular as long as war continues. _The Catcher in the Rye_ and _The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man_ are still popular with young people today even though they were written several generations ago. And I personally think that _Brave New World_ is a much scarier and more believable description of the future than _1984_ is. As for authors who are universally praised now but may slide into obscurity later, my top three picks would be Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, and Toni Morrison. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-will-we-be-reading-100-years-from-now/94043/6 "2001-11-19T02:19:36Z")
_Ciderhouse Rules_? ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-books-will-we-be-reading-100-years-from-now/94043/7 "2001-11-19T02:24:37Z")
Oh, the Bible, the Koran, and the Torah too, probably 😃