I'd say you need some more female speculative fiction representation. Ursula K. LeGuin (novels most commonly suggested: The Left-Hand of Darkness, The Dispossessed, The Word for World is Forest. Short story: The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas) and Octavia Butler (my faves are Parable of the Sower and the Xenogenesis trilogy) are two kick-ass authors.

That's okay. I'm sure more than a handful of these will leave me the same way, but first I have to try them out to know

Are you reading the english translation or the original French of Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex? This is quite a heavy philosophical read.

Also, which edition/translation of the Epic of Gilgamesh are you planning to read?

I would also suggest Le Morte d’Arthur by Sir Thomas Mallory, there should be plenty of english editions around

I've been really underwhelmed by the two Ishiguri books I've read, and I really wanted to like them. 🤷‍♀️

I might be biased cause i'm German but i'm quite surprised that you don't have Faust on your list. Can also recommend Nietzsches thus spoke Zarathustra, if you enjoy philosophy.

You should put 1Q84 tbh

The Left Hand of Darkness- Ursula K LeGuin. Incredible feminist scifi, truly ahead of its time.

Sunset Song- Lewis Grassic Gibbon. One you might not know at all. It's the story of a farm girl during WW1, written in a synthetic version of the Scots language. It's not hard to read at all though. A story of perseverance during difficult times, and our connections with the land. Chris Guthrie is one of literatures best heroines, up there with Lizzie Bennet and Jane Eyre!

Casino Royale by Ian Fleming, or Greenmantle by John Buchan. Or Our Man In Havana by Grahame Greene. I didn't see any spy fiction on your list!

My god I gotta read these books. Seems I missed two, maybe three. Gibson is exploring something else. It is fine and it is not Necromancer or Count Zero.

Oh I second Beloved!!!

Ulysses, The Sound And The Fury, Frenkenstein, Dracula

Edited: formatting

I would add:

Perfume by Patrick Süskind Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

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For Morrison, Beloved is the most famous but Bluest Eye and Song of Solomon are also great

Madam Bovary?

Honestly you're probably right. I love things like that, so might as well

I think Oliver Twist deserves to be on this list too! Also, you should share your Good Reads if you use it. To keep track of your progress and reviews of each book!

Cannery Row

Noted and added!

The Yellow Wallpaper by CPG is a short story, in case you didn't realize. You really should add Lonesome Dove and probably move it to the top of your queue because it's the greatest novel ever and that is a fact lol.

The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie. It’s not my favorite of his, but definitely the most culturally significant.

🤣🤣🤣 If Stephen Hawking had written The Gunslinger, it might have actually been readable.

Not making fun, I'm sure it was just a typo or something. I'm just laughing at the idea of Hawking writing fantasy.

Valid criticisms, has been updated with some changes

Number 35 is the GOAT

Mr. Dumas, Dickens, Ishiguro, and Tolkien are up there multiple times too lol

But, I am adding and removing as the thread continues, and duplicates will be the first thing to go as I sort through suggestions

Saunders is the guy who makes me go, "why even try writing?" I love his work.

Edit: Auto correct on Saunders.