Actual Modern Library Readers' List of the Best Books of the 20th Century

1.
Atlas Shrugged
Atlas Shrugged
by: Ayn Rand
3.69 avg rating — 402,805 ratings
2.
The Fountainhead
The Fountainhead
by: Ayn Rand
3.89 avg rating — 333,866 ratings
3.
Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000
Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000 3.55 avg rating — 23,906 ratings
4.
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings 4.54 avg rating — 716,557 ratings
5.
To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird 4.26 avg rating — 6,689,689 ratings
6.
1984
1984 4.20 avg rating — 5,227,202 ratings
7.
Anthem
Anthem
by: Ayn Rand
3.61 avg rating — 164,233 ratings
8.
We the Living
We the Living
by: Ayn Rand
3.96 avg rating — 30,437 ratings
9.
Mission Earth Series, Vols 1-10
Mission Earth Series, Vols 1-10 3.57 avg rating — 67 ratings
10.
Fear
Fear 3.21 avg rating — 1,877 ratings
11.
Ulysses
Ulysses 3.77 avg rating — 138,359 ratings
12.
Catch-22
Catch-22 3.99 avg rating — 873,379 ratings
13.
The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby 3.93 avg rating — 5,732,056 ratings
14.
Dune (Dune, #1)
Dune (Dune, #1) 4.28 avg rating — 1,570,503 ratings
15.
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress 4.15 avg rating — 136,881 ratings
16.
Stranger in a Strange Land
Stranger in a Strange Land 3.92 avg rating — 323,295 ratings
17.
A Town Like Alice
A Town Like Alice 4.15 avg rating — 60,769 ratings
18.
Brave New World
Brave New World 3.99 avg rating — 2,015,881 ratings
19.
The Catcher in the Rye
The Catcher in the Rye 3.80 avg rating — 3,800,868 ratings
20.
Animal Farm
Animal Farm 4.01 avg rating — 4,357,089 ratings
21.
Gravity’s Rainbow
Gravity’s Rainbow 4.01 avg rating — 46,900 ratings
22.
The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath 4.02 avg rating — 971,671 ratings
23.
Slaughterhouse-Five
Slaughterhouse-Five 4.10 avg rating — 1,451,414 ratings
24.
Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind 4.31 avg rating — 1,258,072 ratings
25.
Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies 3.70 avg rating — 3,117,781 ratings
26.
Shane
Shane 3.95 avg rating — 14,379 ratings
27.
Trustee from the Toolroom
Trustee from the Toolroom 4.31 avg rating — 5,547 ratings
28.
A Prayer for Owen Meany
A Prayer for Owen Meany 4.24 avg rating — 332,404 ratings
29.
The Stand
The Stand 4.35 avg rating — 814,391 ratings
30.
The French Lieutenant’s Woman
The French Lieutenant’s Woman 3.88 avg rating — 54,872 ratings
31.
Beloved (Beloved Trilogy, #1)
Beloved (Beloved Trilogy, #1) 3.97 avg rating — 477,015 ratings
32.
The Worm Ouroboros
The Worm Ouroboros 3.70 avg rating — 5,025 ratings
33.
The Sound and the Fury
The Sound and the Fury 3.86 avg rating — 192,286 ratings
34.
Lolita
Lolita 3.87 avg rating — 919,313 ratings
35.
Moonheart
Moonheart 4.05 avg rating — 6,715 ratings
36.
Absalom, Absalom!
Absalom, Absalom! 3.99 avg rating — 47,018 ratings
37.
Of Human Bondage
Of Human Bondage 4.15 avg rating — 60,346 ratings
38.
Wise Blood
Wise Blood 3.82 avg rating — 36,565 ratings
39.
Under the Volcano
Under the Volcano 3.76 avg rating — 26,363 ratings
40.
Fifth Business (The Deptford Trilogy, #1)
Fifth Business (The Deptford Trilogy, #1) 4.06 avg rating — 20,127 ratings
41.
Someplace to Be Flying (Newford, #5)
Someplace to Be Flying (Newford, #5) 4.32 avg rating — 5,839 ratings
42.
On the Road
On the Road 3.61 avg rating — 438,548 ratings
43.
Heart of Darkness
Heart of Darkness 3.43 avg rating — 545,791 ratings
44.
Yarrow
Yarrow 3.91 avg rating — 2,635 ratings
45.
At the Mountains of Madness
At the Mountains of Madness 3.79 avg rating — 61,195 ratings
46.
One Lonely Night (Mike Hammer #4)
One Lonely Night (Mike Hammer #4) 3.63 avg rating — 979 ratings
47.
Memory and Dream (Newford, #2)
Memory and Dream (Newford, #2) 4.23 avg rating — 5,461 ratings
48.
To the Lighthouse
To the Lighthouse 3.81 avg rating — 207,216 ratings
49.
The Moviegoer
The Moviegoer 3.64 avg rating — 30,281 ratings
50.
Trader (Newford, #4)
Trader (Newford, #4) 4.10 avg rating — 2,994 ratings
51.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1)
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1) 4.22 avg rating — 1,970,175 ratings
52.
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter 3.99 avg rating — 116,851 ratings
53.
The Handmaid’s Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1)
The Handmaid’s Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1) 4.15 avg rating — 2,323,560 ratings
54.
Blood Meridian, or, the Evening Redness in the West
Blood Meridian, or, the Evening Redness in the West 4.16 avg rating — 204,536 ratings
55.
A Clockwork Orange
A Clockwork Orange really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 753,968 ratings
56.
On the Beach
On the Beach 3.98 avg rating — 48,164 ratings
57.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man 3.64 avg rating — 161,010 ratings
58.
Greenmantle
Greenmantle 4.01 avg rating — 3,414 ratings
59.
Ender’s Game (Ender's Saga, #1)
Ender’s Game (Ender's Saga, #1) 4.31 avg rating — 1,449,836 ratings
60.
The Little Country
The Little Country 4.08 avg rating — 4,276 ratings
61.
The Recognitions
The Recognitions 4.20 avg rating — 6,164 ratings
62.
Starship Troopers
Starship Troopers 4.01 avg rating — 241,855 ratings
63.
The Sun Also Rises
The Sun Also Rises 3.79 avg rating — 482,081 ratings
64.
The World According to Garp
The World According to Garp 4.11 avg rating — 235,975 ratings
65.
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Something Wicked This Way Comes 3.90 avg rating — 146,007 ratings
66.
The Haunting of Hill House
The Haunting of Hill House 3.81 avg rating — 365,390 ratings
67.
As I Lay Dying
As I Lay Dying 3.72 avg rating — 182,494 ratings
68.
Tropic of Cancer (Tropic, #1)
Tropic of Cancer (Tropic, #1) 3.66 avg rating — 76,601 ratings
69.
Invisible Man
Invisible Man 3.92 avg rating — 198,745 ratings
70.
The Wood Wife
The Wood Wife 4.20 avg rating — 3,533 ratings
71.
The Magus
The Magus 4.05 avg rating — 62,329 ratings
72.
The Door Into Summer
The Door Into Summer 4.02 avg rating — 28,116 ratings
73.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values (Phaedrus, #1)
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values (Phaedrus, #1) 3.78 avg rating — 241,469 ratings
74.
I, Claudius (Claudius, #1)
I, Claudius (Claudius, #1) 4.24 avg rating — 71,609 ratings
75.
The Call of the Wild
The Call of the Wild 3.91 avg rating — 461,087 ratings
76.
At Swim-Two-Birds
At Swim-Two-Birds 3.85 avg rating — 14,062 ratings
77.
Fahrenheit 451
Fahrenheit 451 3.97 avg rating — 2,719,352 ratings
78.
Arrowsmith
Arrowsmith 3.84 avg rating — 8,373 ratings
79.
Watership Down (Watership Down, #1)
Watership Down (Watership Down, #1) 4.09 avg rating — 499,205 ratings
80.
Naked Lunch: The Restored Text
Naked Lunch: The Restored Text 3.46 avg rating — 96,903 ratings
81.
The Hunt for Red October (Jack Ryan, #3)
The Hunt for Red October (Jack Ryan, #3) 4.12 avg rating — 385,160 ratings
82.
Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #1)
Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #1) 4.02 avg rating — 152,249 ratings
83.
The Puppet Masters
The Puppet Masters 3.89 avg rating — 33,862 ratings
84.
It
It 4.24 avg rating — 1,227,589 ratings
85.
V.
V. 3.97 avg rating — 24,778 ratings
86.
Double Star
Double Star 3.91 avg rating — 24,060 ratings
87.
Citizen of the Galaxy
Citizen of the Galaxy 4.01 avg rating — 17,627 ratings
88.
Brideshead Revisited
Brideshead Revisited really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 123,570 ratings
89.
Light in August
Light in August 3.94 avg rating — 65,245 ratings
90.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
by: Ken Kesey
4.20 avg rating — 767,690 ratings
91.
A Farewell to Arms
A Farewell to Arms 3.82 avg rating — 344,511 ratings
92.
The Sheltering Sky
The Sheltering Sky 3.89 avg rating — 30,065 ratings
93.
Sometimes a Great Notion
Sometimes a Great Notion
by: Ken Kesey
4.26 avg rating — 23,503 ratings
94.
My Ántonia
My Ántonia 3.84 avg rating — 144,877 ratings
95.
Mulengro
Mulengro 3.91 avg rating — 1,485 ratings
96.
Suttree
Suttree 4.20 avg rating — 27,024 ratings
97.
Mythago Wood (Mythago Wood, #1)
Mythago Wood (Mythago Wood, #1) 3.77 avg rating — 10,802 ratings
98.
Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah
Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah 4.15 avg rating — 65,954 ratings
99.
The Cunning Man (Toronto Trilogy, #2)
The Cunning Man (Toronto Trilogy, #2) 3.92 avg rating — 2,913 ratings
100.
The Satanic Verses
The Satanic Verses 3.71 avg rating — 70,308 ratings