Being and Time
Perhaps the twentieth century’s most influential philosophical work, which shaped existentialism and postmodern thought. More
The Sheltering Sky
Bowles’s landmark literary novel, a classic work of psychological terror. More
Our Town
Pulitzer Prize–winning drama; hailed by Edward Albee as “The finest play ever written by an American.” More
The Hours
Winner of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize and PEN/Faulkner Award; made into an Oscar-winning film. More
Brave New World
Huxley’s best-known novel; a prophetic classic of speculative fiction that continues to resonate. More
A Prayer for Owen Meany
Irving’s beloved coming-of-age tale that ranks among the most cherished of American classics. More
V.
Winner of the William Faulkner Foundation Award for best debut novel in 1963. More
American Gods
An instant classic and winner of both the Hugo and Nebula Awards. More
Pilgrim
A finalist for the Giller Prize and a Canadian bestseller that surpassed the author’s own impressive sales records. More
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Kundera’s postmodern masterwork; named one of the best books of 1984 (New York Times Book Review). More
Nostromo
A sweeping masterpiece considered by many to be Conrad’s greatest novel. More
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith
This 1972 Booker Prize–nominated novel was also made into a 1978 Australian film. More
The 42nd Parallel
The first volume of the “brilliantly original” (Alfred Kazan) U.S.A. trilogy, a landmark of modernism. More
Matt Haig
It sounds ridiculous, but reading saved my life. More
The Corrections
Winner of the National Book Award in 2001 and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 2002. More
The Monkey Wrench Gang
Classic, irreverent novel that helped spark the modern movement of environmental activism. More
Lionel Shriver
Why I write: To find out what I think. More
The Wapshot Chronicle
Winner of the 1958 National Book Award, it established Cheever as a major American novelist. More
Lawrence Hill
Writing is the one pursuit I have always pursued, and always known I was compelled to pursue. More
The Bridge of San Luis Rey
The Pulitzer Prize–winning novel of fate, tragedy, and the meaning of the human condition. More
T. C. Boyle
I read in the way that I breathe, as a necessity of life. More
Joe Hill
Our lives are increasingly crowded by the instruments of distraction. More
Under the Volcano
A landmark of modernism, hailed as “one of the towering novels of this century” (New York Times). More
The Crying of Lot 49
This highly original satire is a classic of postmodern literature. More
Fahrenheit 451
Though set in a dystopian world without books, Bradbury’s most famous work has never gone out of print. More