Have you noticed how most book-lovers are also list-lovers? Someone should look into it scientifically. My favorite lists are of course book lists: I’m a regular explorer of GoodReads’ Listopia universe and have others in the computer that I update regularly, like the seven below.

Some of them were put together by literary experts/critics/academics while others are the choice of the general public. Of the seven, my favorites, and the ones more trust-worthy as a source of recommendations, are BBC’s The Big Read and the 100 Favorite Novels of Librarians (they’re coincidentally the lists where I tick more boxes).

Do you also have book lists you update regularly? Send them my way! I can already imagine the happy times ahead going through them.

1. BBC The Big Read

Read: 65/100
TBR: 6/100

In April 2003 the The Big Read and BBC began the search for the UK’s best-loved novels and then put together a list with the top 100 and top 200. It’s an old list (does anyone know if they plan to updated it?), but still the one of the best.

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2. The 100 Favorite Novels of Librarians

Read: 64/100
TBR: 9/100

Also an old list that deserves an update. Who knows better than librarians?!

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1001 Books to read before your die

Read: 123/1000
TBR: 16/1000

Probably the most famous best-books list around. I use the 2010 edition.

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Guardian’s 1000 novels everyone must read: the definitive list

Read: 149/1000
TBR: 23/1000

This is a 2003 list selected by the “Guardian’s Review team and a panel of expert judges”. It’s an interesting one because it’s divided into eight categories: love, crime, comedy, family and self, state of the nation, science fiction and fantasy, war and travel.

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Waterstones’ 100 Best 20th Century English Novels

Read: 40/100
TBR: 6/100

In 1997, Waterstones announced the results of its Books of the Century poll to find out what the public considered to be the 100 greatest books of the twentieth century. Over 25,000 people participated. It’s similar to the BBC and Librarians lists, but slightly more high-brown.

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The Modern Library 100 Best

Board’s List
Read: 17/100
TBR: 2/100

Readers’ List
Read: 25/100
TBR: 2/100

Although I only update the 100 Best Novels, Modern Library also has a Best 100 NonFiction list. For each they published the books chosen by a panel of experts and another by the general public. It’s interesting to compare both.

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Times all-time 100 novels

Read: 22/100
TBR: 2/100

A 2005 list by TIME’s literary experts. It only includes English language novels published anywhere in the world since 1923, the year that TIME Magazine was created.

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Past Listopia posts

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