Skip to main content

1,001 BYMRBYD Concensus

Description: The books which are on all the 1,001 Books You Must Read Before You Die lists (currently five). This list shrinks with every new publication, whereas the other grows.

1 2 3 4 5

Rank Title Author Added

1

The Great Gatsby

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

82,665 members

1,301 reviews

3.8

17 Members: gilroy, hipdeep, FAMeulstee, merrystar, blackdove07, sturlington, alex68, eclbates, si, wiskie, ahef1963, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707, gravir, CBanksP

2

by George Orwell

69,787 members

1,002 reviews

4

18 Members: gilroy, hipdeep, FAMeulstee, merrystar, blackdove07, sturlington, Tess_W, eclbates, si, wiskie, ahef1963, kara.shamy, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707, gravir, CBanksP,alex68

3

by Charlotte Brontë

67,764 members

1,016 reviews

4.2

14 Members: FAMeulstee, merrystar, blackdove07, sturlington, Tess_W, eclbates, si, wiskie, ahef1963, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707, gravir

4

Pride and Prejudice

93,685 members

1,508 reviews

½ 4.4

13 Members: Morphidae, FAMeulstee, merrystar, blackdove07, sturlington, eclbates, si, ahef1963, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707, gravir

5

To Kill a Mockingbird

89,712 members

1,557 reviews

½ 4.4

14 Members: gilroy, hipdeep, FAMeulstee, merrystar, sturlington, eclbates, si, ahef1963, kara.shamy, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707, gravir,alex68

6

The Catcher in the Rye

by J. D. Salinger

76,979 members

1,195 reviews

3.8

13 Members: merrystar, blackdove07, sturlington, alex68, eclbates, wiskie, ahef1963, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707, b.b.michael, gravir

7

Wuthering Heights

by Emily Brontë

61,846 members

810 reviews

3.9

13 Members: FAMeulstee, merrystar, sturlington, alex68, Tess_W, eclbates, si, ahef1963, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707, gravir

8

The Little Prince

by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

52,884 members

871 reviews

4.2

13 Members: FAMeulstee, merrystar, blackdove07, sturlington, alex68, eclbates, wiskie, ahef1963, NinieB, skavlanj, steller0707, b.b.michael, gravir

9

Slaughterhouse-Five

by Kurt Vonnegut

49,172 members

775 reviews

4.1

14 Members: gilroy, hipdeep, FAMeulstee, merrystar, blackdove07, sturlington, eclbates, si, ahef1963, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707, gravir, matthagan,alex68

10

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

by Lewis Carroll

32,422 members

534 reviews

4

13 Members: gilroy, hipdeep, FAMeulstee, merrystar, blackdove07, sturlington, alex68, eclbates, ahef1963, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, gravir

11

by J. R. R. Tolkien

107,182 members

1,296 reviews

½ 4.3

13 Members: gilroy, FAMeulstee, merrystar, blackdove07, sturlington, eclbates, wiskie, ahef1963, kara.shamy, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, gravir,alex68

12

Nineteen Eighty-Four

by George Orwell

93,982 members

1,449 reviews

4.2

12 Members: gilroy, FAMeulstee, blackdove07, sturlington, eclbates, ahef1963, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707, b.b.michael, gravir

13

The Fellowship of the Ring

by J. R. R. Tolkien

63,522 members

573 reviews

½ 4.4

13 Members: FAMeulstee, merrystar, blackdove07, sturlington, Tigardite, eclbates, wiskie, ahef1963, kara.shamy, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, gravir, shedfire,alex68

14

Brave New World

by Aldous Huxley

61,330 members

867 reviews

3.9

12 Members: gilroy, FAMeulstee, merrystar, blackdove07, sturlington, ahef1963, kara.shamy, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707, b.b.michael, gravir

15

Great Expectations

by Charles Dickens

43,901 members

479 reviews

3.9

12 Members: gilroy, FAMeulstee, merrystar, sturlington, alex68, eclbates, ahef1963, kara.shamy, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

16

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

by Douglas Adams

43,828 members

802 reviews

4.2

14 Members: FAMeulstee, merrystar, blackdove07, sturlington, eclbates, si, wiskie, ahef1963, kara.shamy, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707, b.b.michael, gravir, ,alex68

17

The Hound of the Baskervilles

by Arthur Conan Doyle

17,819 members

341 reviews

3.9

12 Members: gilroy, FAMeulstee, merrystar, blackdove07, sturlington, eclbates, ahef1963, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, b.b.michael, gravir

18

by Mary Shelley

50,935 members

813 reviews

3.8

11 Members: gilroy, hipdeep, FAMeulstee, blackdove07, sturlington, alex68, eclbates, ahef1963, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

19

Treasure Island

by Robert Louis Stevenson

40,739 members

487 reviews

3.8

11 Members: gilroy, hipdeep, FAMeulstee, sturlington, eclbates, wiskie, ahef1963, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, b.b.michael, gravir

20

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

by Arthur Conan Doyle

18,443 members

275 reviews

4.1

11 Members: hipdeep, merrystar, blackdove07, sturlington, eclbates, ahef1963, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, b.b.michael, gravir

21

Through the Looking-Glass

by Lewis Carroll

8,785 members

141 reviews

4

11 Members: FAMeulstee, merrystar, blackdove07, sturlington, alex68, eclbates, ahef1963, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, gravir

22

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

49,257 members

595 reviews

3.9

11 Members: gilroy, hipdeep, FAMeulstee, sturlington, eclbates, ahef1963, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707, b.b.michael,alex68

23

The Picture of Dorian Gray

46,990 members

749 reviews

4

10 Members: FAMeulstee, merrystar, blackdove07, sturlington, alex68, ahef1963, kara.shamy, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, gravir

24

Of Mice and Men

by John Steinbeck

44,523 members

723 reviews

3.9

10 Members: hipdeep, FAMeulstee, blackdove07, sturlington, alex68, eclbates, ahef1963, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

25

The Scarlet Letter

by Nathaniel Hawthorne

41,660 members

417 reviews

½ 3.4

10 Members: gilroy, merrystar, sturlington, alex68, eclbates, ahef1963, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

26

by Albert Camus

40,663 members

575 reviews

3.9

10 Members: FAMeulstee, merrystar, blackdove07, alex68, eclbates, ahef1963, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707, gravir

27

The Old Man and the Sea

by Ernest Hemingway

35,248 members

561 reviews

3.8

10 Members: gilroy, FAMeulstee, merrystar, sturlington, wiskie, ahef1963, NinieB, skavlanj, steller0707, gravir

28

by Sylvia Plath

32,614 members

558 reviews

4

10 Members: FAMeulstee, sturlington, alex68, eclbates, ahef1963, kara.shamy, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

29

Heart of Darkness

by Joseph Conrad

26,280 members

432 reviews

½ 3.6

10 Members: FAMeulstee, merrystar, blackdove07, sturlington, alex68, ahef1963, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707, gravir

30

The Secret History

25,108 members

643 reviews

4.1

10 Members: FAMeulstee, blackdove07, sturlington, ahef1963, NoPlanetB, kara.shamy, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707, b.b.michael

31

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

by Philip K. Dick

22,124 members

530 reviews

4

10 Members: gilroy, hipdeep, FAMeulstee, blackdove07, sturlington, alex68, eclbates, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

32

The House of the Spirits

by Isabel Allende

15,556 members

282 reviews

4.1

10 Members: hipdeep, FAMeulstee, merrystar, blackdove07, alex68, wiskie, ahef1963, NinieB, steller0707, gravir

33

by J. R. R. Tolkien

56,113 members

354 reviews

½ 4.4

10 Members: FAMeulstee, merrystar, blackdove07, sturlington, eclbates, wiskie, ahef1963, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, gravir,alex68

34

The Return of the King

by J. R. R. Tolkien

54,483 members

335 reviews

½ 4.5

10 Members: FAMeulstee, merrystar, blackdove07, sturlington, eclbates, wiskie, ahef1963, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, gravir,alex68

35

One Hundred Years of Solitude

by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

49,583 members

779 reviews

4.2

9 Members: FAMeulstee, merrystar, blackdove07, sturlington, alex68, eclbates, ahef1963, NinieB, skavlanj

36

Sense and Sensibility

43,945 members

573 reviews

4.1

9 Members: FAMeulstee, merrystar, blackdove07, sturlington, eclbates, ahef1963, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda

37

by Vladimir Nabokov

35,183 members

633 reviews

4.1

9 Members: gilroy, FAMeulstee, sturlington, alex68, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707, b.b.michael, gravir

38

by Daphne Du Maurier

23,903 members

685 reviews

4.2

9 Members: sturlington, alex68, wiskie, ahef1963, kara.shamy, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

39

The Name of the Rose

21,741 members

335 reviews

4.2

9 Members: FAMeulstee, merrystar, sturlington, alex68, wiskie, ahef1963, skavlanj, b.b.michael, gravir

40

Stranger in a Strange Land

by Robert A. Heinlein

12,094 members

182 reviews

3.8

9 Members: aprille, Morphidae, merrystar, blackdove07, sturlington, eclbates, ahef1963, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda

41

by Yevgeny Zamyatin

9,945 members

244 reviews

3.8

9 Members: aprille, FAMeulstee, merrystar, blackdove07, sturlington, alex68, ahef1963, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda

42

The Nine Tailors

by Dorothy L. Sayers

4,803 members

124 reviews

4

9 Members: aprille, merrystar, blackdove07, sturlington, ahef1963, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

43

Gulliver's Travels [Dover Thrift Editions]

by Jonathan Swift

411 members

6 reviews

½ 3.5

9 Members: FAMeulstee, merrystar, sturlington, alex68, ahef1963, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, gravir

44

47,403 members

1,049 reviews

3.9

9 Members: gilroy, FAMeulstee, sturlington, eclbates, ahef1963, kara.shamy, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707, gravir,alex68

45

41,207 members

682 reviews

4

9 Members: gilroy, hipdeep, blackdove07, sturlington, eclbates, wiskie, ahef1963, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda,alex68

46

The Grapes of Wrath

by John Steinbeck

38,986 members

516 reviews

4.1

8 Members: gilroy, FAMeulstee, sturlington, alex68, NoPlanetB, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda

47

by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

35,735 members

531 reviews

4.1

8 Members: hipdeep, FAMeulstee, merrystar, alex68, wiskie, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, gravir

48

by Louisa May Alcott

33,077 members

472 reviews

4

8 Members: FAMeulstee, merrystar, sturlington, eclbates, ahef1963, kara.shamy, NinieB, skavlanj

49

by Gustave Flaubert

29,718 members

426 reviews

½ 3.7

8 Members: FAMeulstee, sturlington, alex68, eclbates, ahef1963, NinieB, skavlanj, steller0707

50

The Master and Margarita

by Mikhail Bulgakov

23,738 members

513 reviews

4.2

8 Members: FAMeulstee, blackdove07, alex68, eclbates, wiskie, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

51

A Confederacy of Dunces

by John Kennedy Toole

23,512 members

508 reviews

3.9

8 Members: hipdeep, sturlington, eclbates, ahef1963, kara.shamy, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

52

23,066 members

345 reviews

3.8

8 Members: FAMeulstee, merrystar, sturlington, alex68, ahef1963, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, gravir

53

The Color Purple

by Alice Walker

22,523 members

369 reviews

4.1

8 Members: FAMeulstee, sturlington, ahef1963, kara.shamy, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

54

21,006 members

518 reviews

½ 4.3

9 Members: hipdeep, FAMeulstee, blackdove07, sturlington, eclbates, ahef1963, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, gravir,alex68

55

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

by Robert Louis Stevenson

19,656 members

367 reviews

½ 3.7

8 Members: FAMeulstee, blackdove07, sturlington, alex68, ahef1963, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda

56

The Age of Innocence

by Edith Wharton

15,943 members

334 reviews

4

8 Members: merrystar, blackdove07, sturlington, alex68, ahef1963, NinieB, skavlanj, steller0707

57

Brideshead Revisited

by Evelyn Waugh

14,077 members

286 reviews

4

8 Members: FAMeulstee, sturlington, alex68, ahef1963, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

58

A Passage to India

by E. M. Forster

13,922 members

167 reviews

3.8

8 Members: aprille, merrystar, sturlington, alex68, ahef1963, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda

59

by Wilkie Collins

12,062 members

274 reviews

4

8 Members: merrystar, sturlington, alex68, ahef1963, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

60

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

by Agatha Christie

12,044 members

385 reviews

4.1

8 Members: aprille, merrystar, blackdove07, sturlington, ahef1963, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda

61

by Edith Wharton

10,628 members

239 reviews

½ 3.6

8 Members: merrystar, blackdove07, alex68, Tess_W, ahef1963, NinieB, skavlanj, steller0707

62

Cold Comfort Farm

by Stella Gibbons

6,392 members

240 reviews

4

8 Members: merrystar, sturlington, eclbates, ahef1963, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

63

Death in Venice

5,990 members

119 reviews

½ 3.7

8 Members: FAMeulstee, blackdove07, alex68, wiskie, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707, gravir

64

The Long Goodbye

by Raymond Chandler

5,863 members

126 reviews

4.2

8 Members: aprille, merrystar, blackdove07, alex68, ahef1963, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, gravir

65

by Joseph Heller

44,244 members

578 reviews

4.1

7 Members: gilroy, FAMeulstee, blackdove07, sturlington, eclbates, skavlanj, b.b.michael

66

43,929 members

567 reviews

4.1

7 Members: merrystar, sturlington, eclbates, ahef1963, NinieB, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

67

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

26,644 members

320 reviews

4.1

7 Members: hipdeep, FAMeulstee, sturlington, eclbates, ahef1963, skavlanj, steller0707

68

by Toni Morrison

26,448 members

447 reviews

3.9

7 Members: FAMeulstee, sturlington, ahef1963, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

69

25,578 members

405 reviews

3.8

7 Members: merrystar, sturlington, alex68, eclbates, ahef1963, NinieB, ManWithAnAgenda

70

Things Fall Apart

by Chinua Achebe

23,304 members

459 reviews

3.8

7 Members: FAMeulstee, eclbates, ahef1963, kara.shamy, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

71

by Isaac Asimov

23,298 members

441 reviews

4

7 Members: merrystar, blackdove07, sturlington, eclbates, ahef1963, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda

72

by Virginia Woolf

23,197 members

376 reviews

3.8

7 Members: FAMeulstee, blackdove07, alex68, ahef1963, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

73

The War of the Worlds

21,450 members

358 reviews

½ 3.7

7 Members: aprille, hipdeep, merrystar, blackdove07, sturlington, ahef1963, skavlanj

74

by George Eliot

20,686 members

367 reviews

4.2

7 Members: FAMeulstee, sturlington, alex68, ahef1963, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

75

The Time Machine

20,149 members

389 reviews

½ 3.7

7 Members: gilroy, blackdove07, sturlington, ahef1963, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

76

The Remains of the Day

by Kazuo Ishiguro

19,099 members

521 reviews

4.2

7 Members: sturlington, eclbates, ahef1963, kara.shamy, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

77

I, Robot [Anthology]

by Isaac Asimov

17,090 members

311 reviews

4

7 Members: gilroy, FAMeulstee, merrystar, blackdove07, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda, gravir

78

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

16,390 members

205 reviews

3.9

7 Members: aprille, FAMeulstee, merrystar, alex68, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

79

Lady Chatterley's Lover

by D. H. Lawrence

15,268 members

241 reviews

½ 3.5

7 Members: aprille, blackdove07, sturlington, ahef1963, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

80

2001: A Space Odyssey

by Arthur C. Clarke

15,139 members

247 reviews

4

7 Members: aprille, merrystar, blackdove07, sturlington, wiskie, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda

81

The Woman in White

by Wilkie Collins

14,515 members

374 reviews

4

7 Members: merrystar, sturlington, alex68, ahef1963, NinieB, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

82

Tender Is the Night

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

14,499 members

195 reviews

½ 3.7

7 Members: aprille, sturlington, alex68, ahef1963, skavlanj, steller0707, gravir

83

The Shipping News

by Annie Proulx

14,340 members

275 reviews

3.9

7 Members: FAMeulstee, sturlington, wiskie, ahef1963, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda

84

If on a Winter's Night a Traveler

by Italo Calvino

14,217 members

283 reviews

4

7 Members: merrystar, blackdove07, alex68, ahef1963, skavlanj, steller0707, gravir

85

by J. M. Coetzee

11,818 members

297 reviews

3.9

7 Members: aprille, FAMeulstee, alex68, ahef1963, kara.shamy, skavlanj, steller0707

86

by Raymond Chandler

11,472 members

314 reviews

4

7 Members: blackdove07, sturlington, alex68, ahef1963, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda

87

The House of Seven Gables

by Nathaniel Hawthorne

9,624 members

117 reviews

½ 3.5

7 Members: aprille, merrystar, alex68, ahef1963, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

88

Wide Sargasso Sea

9,429 members

272 reviews

½ 3.6

7 Members: blackdove07, sturlington, ahef1963, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

89

The Quiet American

by Graham Greene

8,702 members

206 reviews

4

7 Members: aprille, blackdove07, eclbates, ahef1963, kara.shamy, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda

90

The Talented Mr. Ripley

by Patricia Highsmith

7,229 members

221 reviews

3.9

7 Members: aprille, blackdove07, sturlington, ahef1963, kara.shamy, NinieB, skavlanj

91

7,138 members

287 reviews

½ 3.5

7 Members: aprille, hipdeep, FAMeulstee, blackdove07, eclbates, ahef1963, NinieB

92

The Good Soldier

by Ford Madox Ford

5,327 members

122 reviews

3.8

7 Members: hipdeep, FAMeulstee, blackdove07, alex68, ahef1963, kara.shamy, skavlanj

93

The Postman Always Rings Twice

by James M. Cain

3,890 members

144 reviews

½ 3.7

7 Members: aprille, blackdove07, sturlington, ahef1963, NinieB, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda

94

Lord of the Flies

by William Golding

56,728 members

811 reviews

½ 3.7

7 Members: FAMeulstee, sturlington, eclbates, ahef1963, kara.shamy, skavlanj, gravir,alex68

95

The Handmaid's Tale

by Margaret Atwood

48,270 members

1,233 reviews

4.1

6 Members: sturlington, ahef1963, kara.shamy, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

96

Love in the Time of Cholera

by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

30,857 members

444 reviews

3.9

6 Members: merrystar, blackdove07, wiskie, ahef1963, skavlanj, steller0707

97

The Count of Monte Cristo

by Alexandre Dumas

30,715 members

493 reviews

½ 4.3

6 Members: Morphidae, FAMeulstee, sturlington, eclbates, wiskie, skavlanj

98

The Poisonwood Bible

by Barbara Kingsolver

28,610 members

539 reviews

4.2

6 Members: sturlington, ahef1963, kara.shamy, skavlanj, ManWithAnAgenda, steller0707

99

A Clockwork Orange

by Anthony Burgess

28,580 members

415 reviews

4

6 Members: blackdove07, sturlington, alex68, eclbates, ahef1963, skavlanj

100

by Stephen King

27,206 members

530 reviews

4.1

6 Members: aprille, hipdeep, blackdove07, sturlington, ahef1963, ManWithAnAgenda

1 2 3 4 5

About This List

Started: skavlanj
March 2020
Type: Unnumbered, Adding restricted

Related Lists

The Guardian's 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read

DigitalDreamDoor top 300

Classics you know you should have read but probably haven't

1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

LibraryThingers' 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

Recommended Reading : 600 Classics Reviewed, Editors of Salem Press, 2015

Current Discussions

None

Related Tags

19th century (31,359) 20th century (25,286) adventure (13,762) American (13,208) American literature (26,616) British (15,749) British literature (16,640) classic (96,776) classics (107,975) dystopia (14,304) England (14,326) English literature (17,848) fantasy (54,084) fiction (554,126) French literature (13,648) historical fiction (24,845) horror (14,735) literature (86,316) mystery (19,783) novel (92,051) read (49,346) romance (15,837) Russian literature (12,232) science fiction (64,248) to-read (245,479)

Verdana Standard Verdana Small The Lorax System Standard System Large Georgia Large Text Atkinson