The best books I've read in my 40 years on Earth (no order)

A Listmania! list by jol legend (Brighton, UK)
 
The White Hotel
1.  The White Hotel by D M Thomas
The list author says:
  "DM Thomas is amazing. I'm surprised he is not better known. Vivid story telling, sometimes surreal, very Freudian, very erotic. This is his masterpiece, but they're all good."
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Collected Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe (Wordsworth Special Editions)
2.  Collected Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe (Wordsworth Special Editions) by Edgar Allan Poe
The list author says:
  "I'm not normally so keen on short story collections but these famous tales are amazing. One of the rare writers who combines great writing with great plots."
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The Magus (Vintage Classics)
3.  The Magus (Vintage Classics) by John Fowles
The list author says:
  "All Fowles books are good, and all very different. This is a bit of a student classic. Also try The Collector, A Maggot, and French Lieutenant's Woman."
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Thérèse Raquin (Penguin Classics)
4.  Thérèse Raquin (Penguin Classics) by Émile Zola
The list author says:
  "A classic with a gripping murder plot."
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Rebecca (Virago Modern Classics)
5.  Rebecca (Virago Modern Classics) by Daphne Du Maurier
The list author says:
  "The ultimate novel. I don't expect there are many people reading this list who haven't read it already although it helps put the other recommendations in context of taste."
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The Chymical Wedding (Picador Books)
6.  The Chymical Wedding (Picador Books) by Lindsay Clarke
The list author says:
  "An atmospheric tale of alchemy, paganism and green men."
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Norwegian Wood
7.  Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
The list author says:
  "I've only just discovered this author, and he is currently my favourite. A deceptively simple style of telling simple stories with a surrealistic edge. This one straighter than some & a good first."
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Flying in to Love
8.  Flying in to Love by D.M. Thomas
The list author says:
  "This is one of those fascinating stories that mixes historical fact with fiction. Very clever."
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Jane Eyre (Penguin Popular Classics)
9.  Jane Eyre (Penguin Popular Classics) by Charlotte Brontë
The list author says:
  "Ok, not a very original choice, but a classic that stands out from other classics in my memory."
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Cloud Atlas
10.  Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
The list author says:
  "Not to everyone's taste but for me the best book I've read over the last few years. A vast satisfying Russian Doll of a novel."
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One Hundred Years of Solitude (Essential Penguin)
11.  One Hundred Years of Solitude (Essential Penguin) by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The list author says:
  "The greatest South American family saga"
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The Old Man and the Sea
12.  The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
The list author says:
  "A little gem of storytelling. Unique."
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Heart of Darkness
13.  Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
The list author says:
  "Conrad's classic short story retold in the film Apocolypse Now"
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Behold The Man (S.F. Masterworks)
14.  Behold The Man (S.F. Masterworks) by Michael Moorcock
The list author says:
  "A really clever plot. A time traveller goes back to meet Jesus with blasphemous consequences."
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The Chrysalids
15.  The Chrysalids by John Wyndham
The list author says:
  "Another masterful storyteller. They are all great, this one just takes top spot for me."
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The New Confessions
16.  The New Confessions by William Boyd
The list author says:
  "A romp through the 20th century through the eyes of a flawed movie mogul."
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Time's Arrow
17.  Time's Arrow by Martin Amis
The list author says:
  "An original novel playing around with time running backwards, a bit like the film Memento. I preferred this to his more celebrated London Fields."
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The Lord of The Rings (Based on the 50th Anniversary Single volume edition 2004)
18.  The Lord of The Rings (Based on the 50th Anniversary Single volume edition 2004) by J. R. R. Tolkien
The list author says:
  "Oh yes, of course. The ultimate fantasy, perfect boys' escapism."
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The Rabbit Omnibus
19.  The Rabbit Omnibus by John Updike
The list author says:
  "An acknowledged 20th century American masterpiece. This comprises the first 3 in the series. If you want just one read Rabbit Run, but you'll want more!"
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Into Thin Air: Personal Account of the Everest Disaster
20.  Into Thin Air: Personal Account of the Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer
The list author says:
  "I love these human endurance adventures"
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1984 Nineteen Eighty-Four (Penguin Modern Classics)
21.  1984 Nineteen Eighty-Four (Penguin Modern Classics) by George Orwell
The list author says:
  "The best of its kind"
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East of Eden (Penguin Modern Classics)
22.  East of Eden (Penguin Modern Classics) by John Steinbeck
The list author says:
  "Great straight forward deceptively simple writing. A magnificent vast novel."
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Being Dead
23.  Being Dead by Jim Crace
The list author says:
  "A great beach read"
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Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter
24.  Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa
The list author says:
  "Another favourite from my South American Magic Realism phase"
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Labyrinths: Selected Stories and Other Writings (Penguin Modern Classics)
25.  Labyrinths: Selected Stories and Other Writings (Penguin Modern Classics) by Jorge Luis Borges
The list author says:
  "A classic collection of essays and shorts. Some devastating tales, some only a few paras long."
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jol legend (Brighton, UK)
Last updated: 10/09/2007
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