The 50 Greatest Books of All Time - Reaction

📚 Read the Great Books with Hardcore Literature: / hardcoreliterature
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📔Contents Page: cutt.ly/CmNhRY3
🎖️ War and Peace: cutt.ly/U3nzGma
🎭 Shakespeare Project: cutt.ly/B3nxHH7
🐳 Moby Dick: cutt.ly/K3nzVKf
☄️ Blood Meridian: cutt.ly/P3nz6Qp
🍂 Wuthering Heights: cutt.ly/N3nxxYt
🇮🇪 Ulysses: cutt.ly/x3nxQmN
🚂 Anna Karenina: cutt.ly/vmNhAWv
💀 Crime and Punishment: cutt.ly/rmNhFt5
⚓ Persuasion: cutt.ly/amNhX7b
☕ In Search of Lost Time: cutt.ly/5mNh8oD
⚔️ The Hero’s Journey: cutt.ly/UmNjrE3
🌸 Siddharta: cutt.ly/YmNjuzi
🎠 Don Quixote: cutt.ly/cmNjoK4
❤️Shakespeare’s Sonnets: cutt.ly/nmNlW7V
🇫🇷 Les Misérables: cutt.ly/J3YixoA
🕯️ The Turn of the Screw: cutt.ly/nToAQQ3
🖋️ Dickens Seasonal Read: cutt.ly/9ToAybt
📖 Middlemarch Serial Reading: tinyurl.com/45rv965c
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0:00 the 50 greatest books list
1:22 books 50-45
8:58 books 44-40
16:13 books 40-35
22:24 books 34-30
25:56 books 29-25
30:56 books 24-20
35:18 books 19-15
39:37 books 14-10
43:37 books 9-5
48:50 books 4-3
51:06 books 2-1
55:52 my thoughts on this list

[@markfardreamer]

Authors and titles of this list: 1. Proust, Marcel - In Search of Lost Time 2. Joyce, James - Ulysses 3. Cervantes, Miguel de - Don Quixote 4. García Márquez, Gabriel - One Hundred Years of Solitude 5. Fitzgerald, F. Scott - The Great Gatsby 6. Melville, Herman - Moby Dick 7. Tolstoy, Leo - War and Peace 8. Shakespeare, William - Hamlet 9. Homer - The Odyssey 10. Flaubert, Gustave - Madame Bovary 11. Alighieri, Dante - The Divine Comedy 12. Nabokov, Vladimir - Lolita 13. Dostoyevsky, Fyodor - The Brothers Karamazov 14. Dostoyevsky, Fyodor - Crime and Punishment 15. Bronte, Emily - Wuthering Heights 16. Salinger, J. D. - The Catcher in the Rye 17. Austen, Jane - Pride and Prejudice 18. Twain, Mark - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 19. Tolstoy, Leo - Anna Karenina 20. Carroll, Lewis - Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland 21. Homer - The Iliad 22. Woolf, Virginia - To the Lighthouse 23. Heller, Joseph - Catch-22 24. Conrad, Joseph - Heart of Darkness 25. Faulkner, William - The Sound and the Fury 26. Orwell, George - 1984 27. Dickens, Charles - Great Expectations 28. India/Iran/Iraq/Egypt - One Thousand and One Nights 29. Steinbeck, John - The Grapes of Wrath 30. Faulkner, William - Absalom, Absalom! 31. Ellison, Ralph - Invisible Man 32. Lee, Harper - To Kill a Mockingbird 33. Kafka, Franz - The Trial 34. Stendhal - The Red and the Black 35. Eliot, George - Middlemarch 36. Swift, Jonathan - Gulliver’s Travels 37. Morrison, Toni - Beloved 38. Woolf, Virginia - Mrs. Dalloway 39. Chekhov, Anton - The Stories of Anton Chekhov 40. Camus, Albert - The Stranger 41. Bronte, Charlotte - Jane Eyre 42. Virgil - The Aeneid 43. Borges, Jorge Luis - Collected Fiction 44. Hemmingway, Ernest - The Sun Also Rises 45. Dickens, Charles - David Copperfield 46. Sterne, Laurence - Tristram Shandy 47. Whitman, Walt - Leaves of Grass 48. Mann, Thomas - The Magic Mountain 49. Joyce, James - A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man 50. Rushdie, Salmon - Midnight’s Children

[@VasilikiFitzmaurice91]

THANK YOU!

[@bluesque9687]

Thank you! But boring books... one looks for tasty cult like cool, a little offbeat, rare, forbidden or crazy or even decadent... something a little off-center always! And also volumes of fiction prose can be beaten by a sonnet or a poem... poetry, poetry, poetry!!

[@mikesmyth8515]

Thanks.

[@MegaFount]

I don’t think Leaves of Grass should be on this list because it is poetry. And Hamlet is a play as great as it is. The rest of the list is narrative fiction. Also, for Hemingway, For Whom The Bell Tolls, is his superlative novel. And definitely, To the Lighthouse for Woolf. There’s not one novel by Balzac or Zola.

[@dr.tinalight5115]

You are awesome 😊

[@JWells-mz1jr]

I have always been a big reader. Since I retired ten years ago I have read many, many books that I had been putting off. Don't do that! My favorite book is "Anna Karinina" by Tolstoy. Anything by Hemingway, Steinbeck and the Russian authors. What a wonderful retirement I have reading 3 to 5 books each week. Read, my friends!

[@joanlenahan8653]

Yes so many add madam bovary, crime and punishment, in cold blood, east of eden, the red pony, novels of Thomas Hardy and for a laugh The Diary of Adrian Mole☘greetings from the emerald isle☘

[@xpsxps1339]

@@joanlenahan8653 Adrian Moles' diary is fantastic! Thanks for the reminder.

[@cmshaw52]

The Mill on the Floss. I stayed up till the middle of the night to finish it. And got up the next day and started in the middle and read it again.

[@patriciamartine5410]

Anna Karenina is also one of my favorites. As well as The Brothers Karamozov and Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment.

[@franciscocabrera9787]

That's my favorite book as well.

[@user-zx2sz4uo3r]

When I was a kid, my dad took me to the library every Wednesday night. I could only take out kids books but my dad would take out anything I wanted. My dad and I would discuss whatever I had read.

[@spookyfish6981]

Where have you been all my life? I have been in a reading slump for years. This is a great, unpretentious breakdown by someone who loves literature, and who has the maturity to know that one's affinity to a book is also influenced by life's experiences. I like how you break down each book with just enough for me to know if this is something I want to delve into, and there are many in the list that I've added to my list. Thank you!

[@filipepereira2688]

I'm always bothered by not seeing Alexandre Dumas getting the recognition he deserves. I really cannot understand how "The Count of Monte Cristo" doesn't make it to this list... I strongly feel I have never read a better novel than that.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

I'm with you there, Filipe. One of my personal favourites, and I'm currently putting some content together on it because I love it so much.

[@j.chriswatson6847]

Hear Hear!

[@aclark903]

Dumas is great on action, not so great on background.

[@patriciamartine5410]

The Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas is my favorite. Surely the most exciting and entertaining. I also love Balzac , Zola and Flaubert.

[@aclark903]

@@patriciamartine5410 But not #Maupassant or #Hugo?

[@stephenjablonsky1941]

As an 80 year-old I was delightfully surprised at how many of these books I have actually read, many a long time ago. Your video prompted me to discover if there is a top 50 list of great classical music. Thanks again for the excellent review. Yes, reading great literature does make you a better person.

[@stevelivingstone4616]

You say reading great literature makes you a better person. Please you elaborate a little on your position?

[@musicborders]

Is there one?

[@stephenjablonsky1941]

@@stevelivingstone4616 I believe that exposure to greatness gives you a better frame of reference in evaluating what you experience in life. If truth and beauty are your goals in life then you need to know when you have found them. Can you truly appreciate cuisine if you have only eaten at Burger King your whole life?

[@marygarrapa3537]

Great idea! Would love to see (and listen to) such a list.

[@stephenjablonsky1941]

@@marygarrapa3537 Albeniz Suite Espanola Bach Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring Barber Adagio for Strings Bartok The Miraculous Mandarin Beethoven Symphony 5 Berg Violin Concerto Berio Rendering Berlioz Symphonie fantastique Bernstein On the Waterfront Bizet L'Arlesienne Suites Borodin Polovetsian Dances Brahms Intermezzo Op. 118, No. 2 Chopin Mazurka Op. 17, No.4 Copland Billy the Kid Debussy La Mer Delius Prelude to Irmelin Dukas La Peri Dvorak New World Symphony Falla Nights in the Gardens of Spain Franck Symphony in D minor Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue Gorecki Totus Tuus Grieg Piano Concerto Handel Water Music Haydn Trumpet Concerto Hindemith Mathis Der Maler Ives Three Places in New England Kodaly Hary Janos Mahler Symphony 1 Mendelssohn Violin Concerto Mozart Piano Concerto 23 Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition Prokiev Alexander Nevsky Rachmaninov Piano Concerto 2 Ravel Daphnis and Chloe Reich Variations for Winds, Strings, and Keyboards Respighi Pines of Rome Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade Satie Gnossienne No 1 Schoenberg Verklaerte Nacht Schubert Symphony 8 Scrabin Piano Concerto Shostakovitch Symphony 5 Sibelius Symphony 5 Strauss Ein Heldenleben Stravinsky Petrushka Takemitsu A Flock Descends into the Pentagonal Garden Tchaikovsky Serenade for Strings Vivaldi The Four Seasons Wagner Tristan Prelude & Liebestod Webern Six Pieces for Orchestra

[@marwanaraji]

It's too sad that there is not some Victor Hugo in here especially for his book : Les Misérables. One of the greatest book in French Litterature.

[@RaineriHakkarainen]

Victor Hugo!!!

[@unlimitedpower978]

I’ve only gotten about 1/4 of the way through Les Mis and I’ve been blown away The priest might be my favorite character in all literature and I’m not religious or morally cheesy at all but I’m constantly in awe of his human grace. It’s just so good, very hard to put down

[@damonpugh4402]

Most definitely agree. Two books each by Joyce and Wolfe might be a bit excessive. Hugo is a heavyweight.

[@nbenefiel]

Joyce is probably the best writer in the English language since Shakespeare.

[@giovannanapolitano817]

I totally agree....It should be in the 50 most read book. When you think of all the adaptations made of it in musicals and movies and the incredible life lessons contained in it.

[@mikesmyth8515]

We had this high school teacher in the '60s who had us read nine or more, In Selected Readings. He was the only teacher in my life, before college, who challenged students' ideas and made us think. He was an oddball because he wore a colored shirt with his tie and sport coat. He spent lots of time deriding the establishment and telling we young rebels that we were all part of it. We read fabulous things, like the Brothers K and The Red and the Black. What worlds. What a gift he gave us, a taste for timeless delicacies when our palates were still forming.

[@poladelarosa8399]

I read _Jane Eyre_ in a storm tossed bunk aboard a small trawler many years ago. The memory of bracing myself with one hand and holding the book with the other will always be with me, along with her parting words, "We are born to strive and endure."

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Wow. That is an incredible story! You lived the book, Pola!

[@davecorley5514]

Reminds me … Two Years before the Mast, by Dana, and The Voyage of the Beagle by Darwin. Both non-fiction, both great books.

[@cherylmoss3632]

I can clearly see a picture of you in the trawler in the two worlds. your own world and the world of Jane Eyre.

[@cherylmoss3632]

@@davecorley5514 My father took my sister and I to see the movie " Two years before the mast" when we were little girls. My sister jumped up onto her seat and shouted at the screen "You can't do that" when the man was keel hauled. My father often recounted that about my sister My mother berated my father for taking two little girls to see such a movie My father took us to see war and cowboy movies Maybe he wanted boys He used to read poetry to us at bedtime and his favourite was The rhyme of the ancient Mariner My father died long ago and my sister five years ago. How stories bind us in magical ways ...

[@kevinrussell1144]

@@cherylmoss3632 Great story. My dad (reportedly) wanted a girl, as boys seem to be a drug on the market on his side of the aisle. Four children later, all intended to be named "Virginia", all male. The middle name of the girl I married is Virginia. We have one child....a boy. Fortunately, none of us were put into dresses, named Sue, or coerced into playing with dolls. I always considered myself the least favorite of my mother, but the most like her, and the only one that could sing (as she could). The stories and memories that bind us all, indeed, although the parents are long gone and we are now old ourselves.

[@marylou7089]

Recently I was reflecting on how books literally saved my life. They provided an escape during my challenging childhood. They also provided the voices of sane adults. David Copperfield was very comforting. Our fourth grade teacher read Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn aloud to the class. I picked up Tom Sawyer again, now in my sixties. So good to hear voices of sanity again. The world has changed too quickly for me. I agree completely with your thoughts about satire.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

That's so beautiful. Thank you for sharing that, Mary Lou. I used to escape into great literature because these books felt like the voices of sanity too. And the world has definitely changed far too quickly. Even 5-10 years ago, it was a very different world! Thank you for being here :)

[@ramonafrances4364]

Yes!

[@4thlinemaniac356]

@Thinking And Destiny by Harold Percival @ The Naked Bible by Mauro Biglino @ Just How To Wake The Solar Plexus by Elizabeth Towne @ Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte after The Queen's of Literature Debate Austen vs Bronte @ Intelligence Squared channel.Enjoy.

[@vulcan65]

what are ur favorite books?

[@marksanchez4230]

I and others would tend to agree with you MARYLOU

[@randybailin4902]

In Search of Lost Time is a dazzling combination of experiences, impressions, ideas and gorgeous writing that you could probably literally spend a lifetime reading and studying. I agree that it's generally not a book for younger folks. I've read through it, all 6 volumes, 2 times since I turned 45. Both times took about 6 months and it was like taking a trip around the world. It's really in a class by itself.

[@almada1113]

It’s too bad. You’re getting no replies because no one’s read it.

[@TeresaLeandro]

@@almada1113I’ve read it countless times. First in my native Portuguese, later I dared to approach it in the original. Magical, obsessive, at times painful, so many deep hidden personal feelings it awakes in us.

[@Daniel-wi6sk]

As a Frenchman and a Proust lover, may I suggest that the next step would be to try to read La Recherche (as we often say) in the original French. Even in part if reading the entire book in the original is too daunting. I’m fairly fluent in English and Spanish and I can (somewhat) read Italian. I also know some German and Russian, but not enough, unfortunately, to read directly in these two languages… However, when I read German or Russian books in translation, I try to also have the original with me, so that when I particularly like a page, or a dialogue, or a descrIption, etc., I can read the original next to the French translation and open a window on what words, nuance, construction, the author actually used. I love to do it this way…

[@randybailin4902]

@@Daniel-wi6sk Thanks for the suggestion. I'll try it, although my French is rather basic.

[@buddharuci2701]

I read through Dostoyevsky when I was a teenager. Tough going. Reread in my sixties and seventies. Got it!

[@charlesmarshall8046]

That happens to a lot of us. When you’re a teenager you think you’re clever - maybe you are - but you lack the experience to deal with such stuff. Dostoevsky, Joyce, Thomas Mann, even Flaubert, need an adult perspective.

[@Scottlp2]

I loved Dostoyevsky is college but my Cooperative lit prof said that he was more suited to young people and that one gets to appreciate Tolstoy as one gets older. He was right and if you haven't checked out War and Peace and Anna K, I'd recommend it.

[@buddharuci2701]

@@Scottlp2 I read war and peace. Maybe your professor was referring to the pace of the action and depth of description? I wonder. Anyway, bouncing along with Tristram Shandy and ducking devils in Paradise lost right now.

[@Scottlp2]

@@buddharuci2701 Dostoyevsky is a very psychological book. Tolstoy eg War and Peace is concerned with things that you can appreciate more as you get older eg SPOILERS Andrei’s spiritual flowering and Tolstoy’s theory of history (where he breaks 4th wall and speaks directly to reader late in book).

[@debcollins8231]

@@buddharuci2701 I wonder the same. I remember being exhausted by a page of, The Brothers Karamazov.

[@mahammatbaba8666]

This channel has changed my life. I enrolled in my first literature at college ( Survey of Russian Literature), and I love it! I’m sincerely considering pursuing a Ph.D. in Literature. Thank you!

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

That's so kind of you to say! Your Survey of Russian Literature class sounds wonderful - who do you have on the syllabus? :) Happy reading, my friend.

[@mahammatbaba8666]

@@BenjaminMcEvoy Alexander Pushkin’s “ The Bronze Horseman,” Mikhail Lermontov’s “ A Hero of Our Time,” Nikolai Gogol’s Table of Ranks, and “ The Nose,” Ivan Goncharov’s Oblomov, Mikhail Shishkin’s “ afterword,” Leo Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich, “ A Man in the Case,” “Gooseberries,” “About Love,” Valentina Dmitrieva’s memoir, Mikhail Zoshchenko’s “ Skaza,” Mikhail Bulgakov’s “ Fatal Eggs,” Lyudmila Petushevskaya’s “ Words” and “Medea,” Dunya Smirnova’s “Anyway”

[@DressyCrooner]

It has changed my life too. :)

[@nataliemoon1512]

Lead me where the light is our by n galilea

[@WorldCitizen333]

@@mahammatbaba8666 What a wonderful syllabus. Have fun!

[@LorettaKayfeld]

I came across your channel by chance. I must tell you, l am an avid reader as well as a composer and author of mostly children's stories. Not only did l enjoy listening to your video, having read a great many of the books you mentioned but your articulation, enthusiasm and passion enthralled me and as the sunlight crept through the slits on my shaded windows early in my morning, l felt a great need to reread many of the books in your top 50 list. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and unbounded joy discussing such wonderful.literature. Books and music fill my life and will continue to do so. l shall subscribe to your channel now as l down my well earned toast and marmalade, much later this morning, all due to the thirst acquired to listening twice to your lecture. Thank you once again

[@tracy4aminute376]

Ann Karenina is just about my absolute favorite piece of literature. I read it about 30ish years ago and it changed my life. Besides the fact that it was beautifully written…I would stop whilst reading it and just stop and ponder the beauty of the configuration of the words before me…

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Anna Karenina changed my life too! It sounds like we had a very similar experience :) I would get to the end of some passages and just stare off in silence for long gaps of time. Profound work!

[@JumpingCow]

I loved Anna K. as well. It totally convinced me that Tolstoy was one of the greats. I just finished War and Peace, and didn't like it nearly so much. Yes, certainly a great novel, but didn't have the emotional appeal of Anna, and had a lot of distractions like battlefield scenes, and philosophy (at the end).

[@randomdude8327]

Which translation did you read?

[@hopefortheworld5296]

Try to read it again now, you’ll probably find so much new in it as I did while reading it a few times..

[@nicholasschroeder3678]

Agree about it's beauty. I wondered at times if it was even more beautiful in Russian. The story itself is pretty much a soap opera; it was the beauty that kept me hooked.

[@YuyinSports]

Some books mentioned in the video: 26. 1984 25. The Sound and the Fury 24. Heart of Darkness (short) 23. Catch-22 22. To the Lighthouse 21. The Iliad 20. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland 19. Anna Karenina 18. The Adventures of Huckeberry Finn 17. Pride and Prejudice 16. The Catcher in the Rye 15. Wuthering Heights 14. Crime and punishment 13. The brothers karamazov 12. Lolita 11. The Divine comedi 10. Madame Bovary 9. The Odyssey 8. Hamlet 7. War and Peace 6. Moby Dick 5. The Great Gatsby 4. One Hundred Years of Solitude 3. Don Quixote 2. Ulysses 1. In Search of Lost Time

[@jwylde2]

Thanks for listing the top 26.

[@smkh2890]

i have read 15 of those! plus 'some' of Dante.

[@debcollins8231]

@@smkh2890 Ditto. But never read anything by Proust 😳 Better get on it.

[@smkh2890]

@@debcollins8231 I love to read a paragraph or page of Proust, the same thing usually, and savour how he expands on minute sensations. I wish I could read the French!

[@debcollins8231]

@@smkh2890 Good morning. I just ordered, "In Search of Lost Time," and am eager to begin. I often savor small sections of writing too, and there can never be enough detail for me. This channel showing up in my feed yesterday, is so timely because due to cataracts, reading is torturous. My second removal surgery is Monday, and as a gift to myself, I am going to read every title listed and reread several others. Have a lovely weekend.

[@christopherwren7893]

The library was my babysitter in the summer. My mom would leave us at the library all day to read and browse. I wouldn’t go near the Russian author’s section. I always assumed I would not understand the plot. I thought Russians were smarter than Americans-especially smarter than a black kid in Texas. I never outgrew my fear of Russian literature. Watching your videos has given me courage to read a book by a Russian author.

[@kristinross4733]

Try 'Anna Karenina", and don't be put off by 'War and Peace' - apart from the history, the exploration of human nature is fascinating!

[@christopherwren7893]

@@kristinross4733 Thank you.

[@lkeeble]

I was the same as you as far as being intimidated. I read "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" recently by Tolstoy and recommend it if you're looking to try something by a Russian author without committing too much time (it's a fairly short book). Good luck!

[@Anastashya]

You will 100% not be intimidated once you start reading! I really hope you enjoy the Russian authors - I too suggest starting with Ana Karenina 😊

[@TheKim369]

I recommend Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn - A Day in the Life of Ivan Denesovich. Anna Karenina is 800 pages. Ivan is about 250 and he had quite a day. If you like that maybe consider taking a bigger bite.

[@lizzieh5284]

Ive just found this channel and am so impressed. I completely agree with you about Great Expectations. I studied it at A level as a mature student and loved it! I have reread it over the years and I always find some new insight. I look foward to watching your other videos on the classics. Thank you

[@amiryuldashev5421]

“War and peace” and “Anna Karenina” are the most tremendous masterpieces for me. I wish I could forget it and start again with the new passionate

[@daydays12]

I think someone who could write, among many other things, Macbeth, Othello, King Lear, Hamlet, Antony and Cleopatra, Henry 1V parts 1 and 2, Henry Vth, Richard 3rd, Twelfth Night, Much Ado about Nothing, As You Like it, A Midsummer Nights Dream, Julius Cesar, Troilus and Cressida, Romeo and Juliet, The Sonnets.... is rather greater than Tolstoy, especially since Tolstoy considered Shakespeare to be rubbish.

[@daydays12]

I agree.. Tolstoy can be rather long winded in English translation ( I don't know how it is in Russian)... in addition to being having imperialist attitudes. @DiogenesNephew

[@iodex694]

My introduction literally says:”blessed he who hasn’t read war and peace for he can read it for the first time”

[@livinginsidegemses]

@@daydays12 It seems to me you are hating on Tolstoy just because he is Russian. Who are you to judge his personal opinions? I bet you are the same type of guy who supports wokeism and preach about how everyone is entitled to have their own opinions while being a prejudiced hyprocrite yourself.... No one said Tolstoy is better than Shakespeare but he is much better than many upstart American authors and is undeneiably one of the best authors of all time. Everyone in those days was imperialist........ What about Daniel Defoe, who was clearly racist. Is being imperialist worse than being racist?

[@davecostello3095]

I love that Moby Dick starts with, "Call Me Ishmael." It puts into question everything that follows. He does not say my name is Ishmael. He says the reader should call him that. He is the sole survivor, and a first person narrator. Both are questionable storytellers. Fantastic book.

[@Inevitable.Change]

The novel is also extremely hilarious in how downright absurd it can be.

[@BillSikes.]

@@Inevitable.Change No it's not !

[@Inevitable.Change]

@@BillSikes. Apart from the witty use of humour of which there are several examples, Captain Ahab's quest in and of itself is rather absurd. Revenge on a whale is certainly absurd. It was only Starbuck who showed signs of doubt. Ahab gained favour in his endeavour through his passionate oratory skills, the promise of money and his power as Captain.

[@andrewanderson6121]

The Confidence Man is stupendous and maddening! Melville should be read in his many manifestations.

[@FolkMetalProject]

@@Inevitable.Change I caught a fish, it was white, and it was THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS BIG!

[@pmathews109]

As an Irishman I think this guy is really brilliant given the very short time he has to review these books, makes me want to go back and re read, and read for the first time a lot of these great books, thank you sir!

[@agaobi573]

And if you were not Irishman you wouldn't think this man is brilliant? 🤔

[@cormacoreilly7632]

@@agaobi573 As an Irish man I laughed out loud at your comment 😂

[@jamesbarlow6423]

Hah! Because he put Joyce over Hemingway lol!

[@tonirose6776]

The Irish are masters of language and literature. He only mentioned four. There are countless others...including Canadian and American authors with Irish ancestry (Cormac McCarthy). What's with that?

[@myrahunter131]

@@tonirose6776 he did flip through snapshots of Cormac McCarthy at the end when speaking of books that he thinks are better than some on the list.

[@patrickellsworth5427]

I've started rereading the books that first turned me onto literature when I was in high school: Crime and Punishment, Great Expectations, Wuthering Heights, Metamorphosis, The Hound of the Baskerville, and Watership Down. These books have a special place in my heart.

[@NeonRadarMusic]

I love how passionate you are and so uncondescending about supposedly high-brow works. I wanna read all the books in the list now.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Thank you so much. That's incredibly kind of you to say. And I'm thrilled you're enthused to read these great books! :)

[@michaelbush2885]

Hi Benjamin - just wanted to say a huge thank you for reigniting my love of literature (not just the classics, but in general). I came across your channel a week ago, by chance, and it was this presentation of 50 greatest books which drew me in. Now I listen to your channel in the car going to and from work (I am a college lecturer) and it inspires me to pick up my books again. I still have plenty of your channel to work through so I am excited as to what else I shall discover! Once again, thank you and keep up this brilliant work 👏

[@trinityflow]

Have you read “A Farewell to Arms”? I guess I am a hopeless romantic as I never tire of this masterpiece. I feel like I am right there with Frederick and Catherine. The drinking, the guilt, the love, and the heartbreak.

[@Anastashya]

Loved that book!

[@debrahunt603]

Yes, I enjoyed it

[@carl5563]

Bravo! It has been a while since I listened to someone speak with such enthusiasm and personal refection about literature. You hooked me as a great admirer when you spoke what was on my heart about Walt Whitman, "Leaves of Grass." I found myself joining in, out loud, with my comments and some different perspectives regarding these works and their authors, as if you were across the room from me, drinking Scotch neat. It brought me back to conversations my ex-wife and I had. You're the best KZbin creator. Thank you.

[@GypsysMom]

Catch 22 is one of my all-time favorites. Have read it twice. Several of these books are ones I read clear back, many, many years ago, in high school. You have inspired me to go back and re-read a few and delve into some I have only heard about. I read Crime and Punishment aloud to two of my friends in college. I must read it again!

[@janmariolle]

Your channel recently appeared in my KZbin feed and I was immediately intrigued. I am currently moving through a difficult period in my life, your enthusiasm and rich content has renewed my love and appreciation for great works of literature. Yes, I will revisit those beloved friends. It feels so wonderful to be stirred back toward life. Thank you from a new subscriber.

[@tonirose6776]

I echo her (his?) sentiments.

[@dweamy1]

Snap!!! Same here!

[@keithdmaust1854]

. After the Longest Night Caught in each golden sunrise there is more than just the daily quickening of light. More like a universal knowing beckons sight, a burst of comprehension on a shore Where not one staying shadow cuts the line of blooming truth. Brighter than trumpets, white as new drifts under dazzling sun. In spite of night, even the longest one, design returns, erasing doubt and fear; The rich aroma life wraps round the eager heart Breaks like a burst of promise; pulses start that logic labeled dead. The dawning pitch of hope that grief or anger had concealed In every sunrise, is again revealed.

[@janmariolle]

@@keithdmaust1854 ❤️Beautiful!

[@trishsaki4203]

Hi, Ben! I love what you do here. 😊 I'm a reader who just got out of a slump, and one of the encouraging videos I watched was one of yours -- on Crime and Punishment. I read that classic and It's one of my favorites now. I loved it. Thanks and I hope you continue what you do! God bless you!

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Hi Trish! Thank you so much :) That really means a lot to me, and I’m so happy you’re here! God bless to you too 😊

[@caroledrury1411]

This was so much fun! Being a Francophile , I was so pleased to see Proust at the number one spot, especially since there are actually seven books to the Temps Perdu Collection. I was quite surprised not to see my very own favorite, Victor Hugo either Les Miserables or the hunchback of Notre Dame. I very much enjoyed not only your list by algorithm but how you gave personal brief summaries for every book. I hope I can find your book club somewhere. I have subscribed and look forward to more book recommendations. As I wrote down this list I was pleased to check off 35 of these books that I have read either in high school or my college literary course. Though I did not major in literature, instead went to art school and am an artist, reading goes very much hand-in-hand with the kind of work I do in the studio. Thank you again

[@denisecampbell-baldwin4287]

I came across your youtube by chance whilst having a break from sorting out a very old bookcase with very old books in it! It is an interesting list and I was fascinated to see that many that I studied for English O and A Levels, many moons ago, are in your top 50, including Middlemarch, Portrait and Hamlet. Some of the books on the list have never appealed to me but there are a few that I might visit or revisit. Thank you!

[@dougimmel]

Thank you! This Yank raised amidst vast Indiana cornfields in the late 1950's, a child of pastor - historian and historian - author who laid books all about upside down and open, in homes of books for walls, finds your treasure! 57 years on, a small summer grant reading history at Hertford/Oxford was pure bliss. Encouraging deep draught of books again, you offer a life of the mind akin to arduous athletic training with a fine payoff. Thank you, Mr. McEvoy.

[@mmcs4973]

Thank you! When you spoke of A Christmas Carol, the lovely memories, a month before Christmas, every year, my father would begin reading this aloud, every night. My sisters and I knew every word, but he did all the voices and would stop to let us fill in the gaps, or finish a sentence The rest of the year, it would be Dickens, Bronte, all the classics. We all grew up to be voracious readers, for which I am forever grateful. What a gift!

[@spinozareader]

How very lovely. To have a parent such as this...*that* is treasure.

[@daveboise9868]

Wow, what a great dad.

[@mmcs4973]

@@daveboise9868 thank you...he was💚

[@amv_books_and_films]

Reading Ulysses while reading The Odyssey at the same time as an undergraduate was incredibly difficult, but wow! So many parallels and reimagining. Loved it!

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

That sounds like a challenging but incredibly rewarding experience :) I'm so glad you loved it, April!

[@lukasuon3719]

A good English teacher can turn you onto good books and turn you into an avid reader. The really good English teachers are the ones who not only point you to some great books but inspire you to write your own. 11th grade English teacher turned me onto Dante and all of 2005 I read through "Inferno", "Purgatorio,", and "Paradiso" and the following year I started writing my own stories and poetry. Now, I've got a channel on KZbin full of crazy stories. Thanks, Mr. D'Agostino! You put the writer's spark in me and I haven't stopped since! You're the Fourth Bushwacker.

[@StriborCumez]

100 years of solitude are the cause of my most interesting subconscious experience. Just after finishing the book I finished in the hospital with horrible fever for one week. During that time I was hallucinating that I am all of the Buendias at once. I was not a person, but a family ,observing parts of me as a sum of my other parts, worried about the families reproduction.

[@amanuensis9873]

I have a really hard time believing Tolkien didn’t crack the Top 50. I think the fact that it’s fantasy worked against it, but in terms of sheer influence and creativity I think it certainly deserves a Top 50 (although this is an aggregated list).

[@withnail-and-i]

Also The Book of the New Sun

[@SidPil]

And Harry Potter even though it's considered childish, it got multiple generations to read books

[@georgestamatakis697]

@@SidPil Over Demons and anything from Ipsen, Shakespeare, Kafka or Thomas Mann?

[@SidPil]

@@georgestamatakis697 yes

[@georgestamatakis697]

@@SidPil Have you even read them?

[@LN-fi1nf]

I am so glad to have found this channel. I have recently started reading books again after years of stopping completely. I went through a traumatic period in life and could not bring myself to open the cover of a book at all. I lost reading but still loved books. So, I always kept some close, just like always, Just their presence was comforting. I didn't know if I'd ever read again. And this year, I've found that I can read again. I wasn't sure until I had actually been able to finish at least a few books that I read together with my sister. Now, I want to read selectively, choosing great books, or at least significant ones, ones that expand my human experience that cause me to explore with thought and feeling, books that stick with me and provoke me to grow and connect to what is meaningful. So, I've been watching book review channels, and this channel came up in my feed. It really fits me now. I'm following the podcast on Spotify now too. I've got Blood Meridian on my near to-be-read list.

[@dejan9005]

"The Master and Margarita" not being in the top 50 is criminal, also "The Idiot" by Dostoyevski...

[@jenniferh9630]

This is the first video I've seen from your channel, and I will be back for more. This was a delight and highly engaging. I am impressed by your ease of expression. While this looks to be an impromptu discussion, your sophisticated thoughts, cadence and crafting of language came across as a polished text. I feel smarter just for listening.

[@sayhirachel]

So glad I found this channel. The thing about not really having people in your life that are interested in literature rings very true for me. Being a novice reader who is in love with the classics such as Don Quixote, Les Miserables, and many works of Dickens, I go about searching for more on my own. Trying to find the translations of ones that were not originally written in English that will be best for my brain has been overwhelming as well and those videos are helping immensely. Also, a very nice voice to listen to and that means a lot for me so it’s just all great.

[@aarushidwivedi7825]

i searched for your youtube channel looking for a new video because i thought i missed some of the uploads and when i came here i saw almost 50k subs and 350k+ views on this video!! it makes me feel so happy and proud of you. I have been watching your videos for a while now and i remember you only had 1000 subs or less when i found you out. so so happy to see my favorite channels getting the recognition they deserve. heartfelt congratulations benjamin!

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Thank you, Aarushi :) You've been here since the beginning, my friend! I really appreciate the fact that you've shared this little journey with me. Hitting 50k recently has blown my mind 😲 How wonderful that so many want to talk about books and love literature this deeply :)

[@minajones1635]

I love your passion of books!! You’re so enjoyable to watch and listen to … you have an incredibly rich knowledge on a diversity of literature. I’m impressed. 😊

[@kieranhooton9665]

I’ve been waiting eagerly for more content and to give me my daily fix I rewatch a lot of your content. I’ve also stumbled across a plethora of lovely comments that other lovers of literature have left and replies from yourself and I thought I’d show my appreciation once more- this time for both you and the commenters. Only 2 months ago you were 20k and even prior to that when I fell in love with your content and subscribed you were around 14k I believe and now you have surpassed 40k! I’m so happy this video blew up and your content is getting the recognition it deserves. I hope the mass of newcomers doesn’t overwhelm you as I know it does many KZbinrs. Simply, I hope you keep well! Can’t wait for more content :)

[@kieranhooton9665]

As always I write long-winded ramblings. I do apologise haha, it is done with the best intentions I assure you.

[@YuyiLeal]

I shouted with joy to find In Search of Lost time in number 1 - more than anything because I am currently reading it, in the original French, and enjoying it so thoroughly...it's absolutely delightful, relishable...it puts me in a great mood every time..and like you, I tend to reread the pages, just because i want to truly savour the author's subtle and delicate energy, the subtexts...ahhhh, I'm truly in love with it! Thank you so much for this wonderful video, Benjamin! What a pleasure to watch!....and you have inspired me to read many of these wonderful works!

[@michaelgomez3343]

A simply phenomenal presentation. Thank you so very much for this. I was struck when you said Proust got you through a hard time in your life. I began reading Proust two years ago during one of the hardest periods of my life. I had put him off for a long time (seemed too daunting), but he was a "constant companion" as you say and his reading was the only thing, some days, that kept me going to the next day. Many, many thanks for your wisdom and commentary.

[@Fitness4London]

Awesome romp through the top 50, Benjamin. I remember trying to discuss literature with my school friends. When I mentioned Don Quixote, one of them said, "Why would you want to read a novel about a donkey?" They were more enthusiastic about Homer, they all loved watching The Simpsons.

[@wmichaelh29]

Love, your channel. A few years ago I came across a list of terms that Shakespeare wrote into his works such as "screamed bloody murder", "blood bath" and even "skim milk". Who would have thought? I find it very exciting that we have incorporated many into our everyday language.

[@EricMcDowellegm]

Great list! I was so hoping to see some Thomas Hardy on it along with D. H. Lawrence. I fell in love with Hardy's work as an undergraduate, so much so that I ended up writing my MA thesis on the theme of the grotesque in three specific novels of his. Glad to have discovered your channel!

[@aapesos]

both are so much greater than Fitzgerald

[@nicholasschroeder3678]

Agree that both are superb writers, and yes, better than Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald is kind of a one horse pony: obsession with money and status and the corruption it fosters. At his best, though, he does write beautifully as well.

[@Pat206]

So excited to have found this video today by chance. And surprized to have read about 70% of these books. Lived in a small town, left school at 15 [1971], and read the popular stuff. It was in my 20's I needed more. So it began. Many of your books on the list went over my head, but not all. But with neither like-minded peoole nor a computer!, normal life took its course. So only TODAY I realize I can persue this love. Thank you. [Dust covered Ulysses stares down from the book shelf, and will probably gather more]. But I did see the humour in Kafka's 'The Trial'. SUBSCRIBED from Oz

[@catherine_cinema_books5884]

Really enjoyed watching this video. I was pleased to see so many respectful literary pieces on the list. "Anna Karenina" is also one of my top favourite, although reading it was a bit psychologically tense. BTW, your manner of speech is really compelling)

[@willd.8040]

It’s so refreshing to see someone who is SO well-read and knowledgeable about these great works. I’ve been looking to join a book club and I think I will join yours. Reading The Brothers Karamazov now, and wish I could discuss it with others. Great video! Thanks for this.

[@SailOnSG]

Oh my! You touched my heart and my eyes welled up when you said, “It is almost like spending time with that teacher.” I, too, had such a teacher and he inspired me to become a teacher myself. My heart swelled with my own memories of Mr. Dlouhy and with pride of profession. Thank you for sharing this heartfelt sentiment.

[@myrahunter131]

Me, as well. Mine was my sixth grade literature teacher. She gave me the gift bound edition of The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. Sigh. My father took me to the library about the same time and introduced me to his favorite fiction authors, but alas, he had a fifth grade (country) education. I read historical fiction by Edison Marshall and other books by John Mason, and the few in school such as Scarlet Letter and Tale of two cities, but missed out on most of the classics. Just retired and am going to get through as many of these as I can. I did read Siddhartha, Catch 22 and loved Shakespeare (hamlet, midsummer night's dream) and some Dante and Faulkner in college. I have a long way to go, but I'm looking forward to it, now that I know the list! Thanks you Benjamin McEvoy. I, too, am enlivened by your passion and eloquence.

[@djc1497]

Waiting for your next video 😄50k subscribers Q&A perhaps? I've been binge watching your videos and I can't wait what future contents you'll upload. I'm really happy to stumble upon this channel, the way you talk about books inspires me to read more 😊

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Thank you, Dennice :) Oh, definitely, we'll have a 50k Q&A. In fact... there may even be a little announcement going up about that soon ;) Thank you so much for being here. I appreciate you!

[@philipmann5317]

I read Moby Dick while on holidays last week. It does read like a book written almost two hundred years ago, but what a book. The pacing, the description, the buildup to that final battle are fantastic. In my mind's eye, I was gripped by a scene near the end, when Ahab refuses to help find a boy lost at sea. he looks at the other person who is pleading for help, and says " I will not do it, Captain Gardner." There are so many scenes that are just as powerful, and a lot of stretches where you know something will happen.

[@nahyanameen7155]

Thanks for this video! i was losing my faith in life, and literature. This video made me strengthen my resolve, read these books and get back into it. They are doorstops that seem like they take forever, but every page is illuminating.

[@crazyduck1254]

i cannot recall the title now but one of the most memorable novels i read in my lifetime was a book i found (found me) on our local library shelf about a man who finished a lit degree at Oxford and dreamed of opening a small book shop in Oxford. He bumped into an old friend from Oxford on the steps and commented on how life had changed him and how he looked sadder somehow. Broke my heart that book. Thank you to that author.

[@carolworthey2067]

You open the door to each book, creating a bit of suspense and anticipation and allowing us to experience the life within each of these as if we were entering different houses, new landscapes. I was excited to find out that I have read most of these books, not all, but to realize that each book I have experienced has enhanced my life in particular ways, and some need to be revisited as (at the time I read them, like Ulysses) I was not ready to delve into or behind the style or the narrative or perhaps the character.... so I have new books to read and a few to revisit. I am a "contemporary classical composer" since early childhood, also a painter and since 2016 an avid writer with four books (a novel, 2 poetry, 1 non-fiction) self-published. I am deeply concerned with threats to mankind in our technological close-to-sci-fi world: to revisit these masterpieces of literature and to hear your cogent, heartfelt thoughts about each book has given me the strong hope I needed that "cancel culture" will never really cancel true art, which exists to illuminate life, ask questions, transform us! Thank you and perhaps I shall consider joining your bookclub. If you are curious to hear my "Romanza" for violin & piano or other works of music, my website is www.carolworthey.com --- It's 2:30 in the morning and now I want to READ!!

[@shirleymuhleisen683]

Glad that Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass” is in top 50. I’ve committed several lines from “Song of the Open Road” to memory that are always uplifting, “Henceforth I ask not good fortune, I myself am good fortune.” (There was a beautiful Volvo commercial (long version) a few years back, with lovely mystical visuals from the road, while “Song” was narrated in background by Josh Brolin. So touched. I saved the commercial from YT, and while watching and hearing the poem read in it, I’m brought to tears every time)

[@MaineScenery]

My mother and grandfather taught me to read when I was 4 years old. I started with the comic strips in the daily newspaper, Now as I approach my 80th birthday, I watched this list with some curiosity. How many have I read? A conservative estimate: perhaps 40 of the 50. Your commentary has made me add some to my reading queue, so thanks for that. To be honest, today I read for escapism and entertainment. I'm not looking for a life changing experience any more, so I am not sure how many of these books I will actually finish. Time will tell (or run out unexpectedly.) As for the order of the books, it is a list. Probably nothing like a list I would make. Of course my list today would be very different than my list from just 3 months ago. I recently read Pride and Prejudice for the first time. It shot into my top 10 immediately. Everything evolves. Thanks again.

[@christophervanasse9911]

I read through a bunch of Hemingway's short stories earlier this year. You're right in saying it's his form of poetry. Absolutely masterful depth and emotion in just a few pages. My favorite was The Indian Camp.

[@davidm6027]

Thank you, Ben. I don't know how I ended up with your vid but I'm glad that I did. I'm in my seventies and many of the books on the list were required reading when I was in high school (private school). We had to read the books and write about what we thought the author was saying along with discussions. I love reading and I probably will read some the works mentioned to see if I have a different perspective. Your enthusiasm for books is contagious! Reply

[@stasiaerickson9342]

Just discovered your channel and really enjoyed this video! It's really cool to hear someone talk about all of these classic works that are on my reading list because it makes me look forward to what's to come.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Welcome to the channel, Stasia :) I'm so happy you're here! Thank you so much for your kind words. I really appreciate you :)

[@tompribyl2884]

I was a bit surprised and disappointed that my all-time favorite novel, Les Miserables, did not crack the top 50. It has been a positively life changing book for me.

[@Jimdunne_]

Its up there with my most favourite, too. Don't worry I'm here for you like Jean Veljean would be.

[@marjoriedybec3450]

I completely agree.

[@mayankdwivedi9719]

Likewise!

[@khadimndiaye7730]

I think the focus is mainly on English works and kind of best of the rest. French, Russian, Italian or German books are heavily underrepresented in this list

[@michaelwu7678]

The list is shit

[@Ekkis25]

I read Quixote in high school and 7 years later after i had learned Spanish I read Cervantes in Spanish-Castilian dialect in fact and it was so much deeper, so I admire you for pursuing Dante in Italian. I appreciated your comment on Irish authors and satire that is interesting. Next please do short stories.

[@tonirose6776]

Speaking of wonderful Irish writers, J.G. Farrell's trilogy (loosely thematically connected about the British Empire): Troubles, The Siege of Krishnapur, and The Singapore Grip. Hilarious black comedy, great characterization, and gorgeous writing. The Siege of Krishnapur won the Booker, and many years later, Troubles won the Lost Booker.

[@kouprey1]

As I biologist I've always enjoyed Melville's inclusion of so much natural lore in Moby Dick. I recently picked up Ahab's Rolling Sea by Richard J. King which delves into and elaborates on this aspect of the novel. Worth a read as a companion piece or to spur you to reread Moby Dick.

[@jesseleighbrackstone8365]

Please make the time to watch the movie Heart of the Sea (starring Chris Helmsworth and Cillian Murphy). For those who found/find reading Moby Dick as something of a Tylenol situation, The Heart of the Sea provides a profound and heart-wrenching foundation for the future enjoyment of Melville’s tale. Blessings! 🙏🏻 Jess.🌹

[@MisterWondrous]

I would like to have seen several great masterpieces included, but each are, for various reasons, obscure and challenging. "Finnegan Wake" of course, and also "Gargantua & Pantagruel", "Canterbury Tales", "The Decameron", "The Unbearable Lightness of Being", "Darconville's Cat", "Earthly Powers" as well as one of the great works by Italo Calvino, Marlowe, Shaw, Confucius, Lao Tzu, Lin Yutang, Rumi, Saadi, Hafiz, Martin Buber, Hesse, and Flann O'Brien. Great show. Subscribed and sharing.

[@Eyologist1]

Thank you so much for not only your list but for your enthusiasm for literature. You might want to look at these titles: Not-Two Is Peace, Prior Unity, and The Aletheon. These are among the more important books I've ever read. Many Blessings.

[@davecorley5514]

My mother was a university librarian during the 70s and 80s. The collection was reviewed and renewed about 1980. She saved an almost complete set of “Great Books of the Western World” for me. I’ve kept them but haven’t read many of them … until I retired six years ago. I’m an engineer by training and career. I was especially surprised by the depth of meaning of the ancient Greek epics, tragedies and comedies. And it opened my eyes and mind to a realization that humans have dealt with the great ideas for millennia. Joyce, Sterne, Steinbeck, Hemingway stand on the shoulders of the ancients. Missing from the list of fifty are the histories of (edit) Thucydides (/edit), Herodotus and Gibbon; the philosophical treatises of Plato, Aristotle and Marcus Aurelius; the political treatises of Plato, Locke, Hobbes, Spinoza, Nietzsche and the US Federalist papers; the economic treatises of Adam Smith; and the great biographies - Plutarch’s Lives and Boswell’s Samuel Johnson; and the scientific works of Euclid, Newton, and Faraday. But, IMHO the greatest absence in the list is Milton’s Paradise Lost.

[@christhauma2981]

Absolutely agree with your list. Where's Shakespeare? Doesn't he qualify? Or don't plays belong to books?

[@xpsxps1339]

I also definitely agree - the ancients are a missing staple for me, especially Plato and Marcus Aurelius.

[@mikesmyth8515]

Dave, Because my major was the General Program of Liberal Studies, I was lucky enough to read in college all the other titles you mentioned. We had a six-credit great books seminar every semester where we did about a book a week. We also had a four-credit history of science course every semester, reading Newton, the astronomers like Brahe, Galileo, Copernicus, Kepler, etc. I mention all this because there are a lot of sympathetic souls in this forum that might like such an opportunity for themselves or their kids. My school, Notre Dame, still has a robust GP major. A couple St. John's Universities also teach the classic curriculum. They all derive from the U. of Chicago and Adler, Hutchinson and ??. And ultimately from the trivium and quadrivium in the first European universities. But the point is there's a heaven on earth for lovers of knowledge and the history of knowledge: the General Program. (aka a Humanities major). Maybe some such courses are available to audit. Thanks to all the fans of Benjamin and copious thanks to Benjamin himself for creating the most interesting comments page I've ever seen.

[@davecorley5514]

Mike Smyth, I got my BS in engineering at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis. I avoided every “bull” (English, philosophy, history, poli sci, etc) class I could while there. I was and am a “nuke” through and through. I must’ve walked past the St John’s campus a thousand times then. A year after I retired I started reading the Great Books. I researched and applied to St John’s just before COVID hit. Even reserved a tiny Apt just off-campus. COVID hit, St John’s shut down. “…best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men…”

[@angusspencer627]

@@christhauma2981 Hamlet is number 8.

[@melindaaimeeroth5580]

My father a professor told me with "Ulysses," to read this with eight explanatory books- this is what I did, I read ten pages out loud at night during the Pandemic, in an Irish accent.

[@idlersoup6253]

I feel like Epic wise, Camões is often overlooked. Perhaps due to lack of a great translation. One of the greatest poets of all time.

[@carol-ina.]

My mind was blown when you talked about the nighteen eighty four opening line (which I always liked but apperently never understood). Although the translation I read (brazilian portuguese) didn't change the meaning of the 13 hours I always thought it meant 1pm, as we usually mean when talking like that, at least in Brazil... you really got me opening this book and thinking about it!

[@h.m.7218]

Part one of Don Quixote is absolutely both hilarious ( the "adventures" ) and fascinating ( the conversations and wisdom of Don Quixote and Sancho ). Makes you wish you could have met Cervantes, the great mind that created such an immortal litterary couple. Céline, the french writer, should be there somewhere, with one of his first two books, Journey to the end of the night or Death on credit. Both game changers in the XXth century litterature.

[@Sattyavathi]

Thank you for this really interesting video about the AI's suggestion for the top 50 books ever written. I'm happy to see that I have actually read quite a number of them, and that I am also familiar with the rest of them, which I now intend to read, thanks to you. Suggestions for three other great reads, and which I consider important literature, but which were not mentioned, could be: 1. "All and Everything. Beelzebub's Tales to his Grandson" by G.I. Gurdjieff; 2. The Poetic Edda (several translations, perhaps the best being Jackson Crawford's, and the translation by Annie Gisvold and Knut Harris) ; and 3. "Peer Gynt" by Henrik Ibsen.

[@greg1mcintosh844]

I love your sentiments about your English teacher sitting on the desk reading the books doing the voices. All my high school English teachers had the same romantic effect on inspiring me about literature and books even though I haven't pursued than enough in my life. Thank you teachers

[@laurateall8847]

Two comments--I've started "The Brothers Karamazav" (only at the beginning of Book 4-TheStrains. I have NEVER been so in love with a book and it's author in my life!! When you mentioned that you would soon be doing a video around the book, I smiled for about a minute! I have been wanting to talk about this book to someone, anyone! And I'm not even 1/4 way through. Second comment--"The Count of Monte Cristo" most definitely should be on this list. I know that this is subjective, but holy moly!! Everyone adores this book--and rightfully so. I really enjoyed your video (just found you here on youtube). You have a new fan. Thanks very much.

[@dggjr1759]

Which translation are you reading ?

[@badboybootz8]

Which translation are you reading?

[@hopefortheworld5296]

I absolutely fell in love with Brothers Karamazov also. Made a huge impact on me and it was very enjoyable to read although I only managed to read one chapter per day in the evenings. Great for people interested in people’s physics

[@lunaridge4510]

Dostoevsky is the greatest writer of all times. Read the Idiot next, you won't be able to put the book down.

[@rosiesmallshaw]

Almost 58 minutes and yet I did not look away from the video once, it sure felt like a five minute review-utterly stunning and engaging review! Bravo! English is my second language, and I was over 22 when I started learning it, but I absolutely concur with this list, and especially, with your adept comments. One of my favorite novellas of all time is Notes from the Underground by Dostoevsky, I simply adore it. My favorite book by Márquez is Love in the Time of Cholera; I’ve read it twice in English and twice in Spanish. Now I have to move to Russia so I can learn the native language of my favorite authors and read Anna Karenina and Wat and Peace in the original language. I love this video so very much! Thank you!

[@thales7438]

Just found you about an hour ago; brilliant! And as the list was dwindling towards number one, I knew it had to be Proust otherwise I would have had a terrible night. Thank you!

[@yolandasilverio1205]

I am joyful that Marcel Proust made number 1, as I am on a journey to start reading In Search of Lost Time for my 70th birthday, and will read it slowly with a journal next to my side to write all my thoughts about this incredible masterpiece of Marcel Proust.

[@joecarter2812]

Brothers Karamazov is my favorite book and I'm glad to see it so high.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

I was happy to see it so high up too :)

[@orlandofurioso2034]

@@BenjaminMcEvoy but not below Gatsby. Btw, it was the favourite book of some greatest minds, incl. Einstein.

[@nicolettew1]

Thanks for the review! I grew up reading Chinese literature and world literature -- Chekhov's stories & plays and Madame Bovary were the books that made me aspire to be a writer when I read them at 15.

[@claymccleery9451]

It's a delight to see a young man with such enthusiasm about the written word. I have enjoyed my everchanging library for almost seventy years now, and now with my new lens implants, hope to enjoy for many more!

[@stratford1]

I haven't read most of these books, because I'm still in high school and never really found the clothbound classics intriguing. But over the last few years, I have craved more poignant and detailed literature, rather than the young adult fantasy novels I read in my spare time when I was younger. Since the books I'm now interested in are much more challenging to read, I've been looking for something very engaging, yet also finely detailed and beautifully written. I read The Great Gatsby this year, and I think I've found it. What an incredible book. It has already influenced my own writing style, and by emulating the book when I write, I find that my words come out more sharply and defined, and depict personal and intricate images and emotions satisfactorily. Great video, I have a lot of catching up to do! :)

[@kellyl5349]

Really interesting point you made about satire and our current reality. I had not thought about it that way but now that you've mentioned it, I completely agree. Also, I am very grateful for this channel. I have also gone through periods where I felt that I did not really have anyone to share my love of literature with. Your channel is such a breath of fresh air and in my opinion, a much-needed balance to current popular media options.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Aw, thank you so much, Kelly. I really appreciate that. I've gone through the same thing myself. These videos are definitely born out of wanting to discuss these great books with like-minded lovers of literature like yourself :) I'm grateful for you being here!

[@karenryder6317]

My god yes! How could one possibly carry something such as our current wildly satiric-like experiences to any greater extreme! Where did all this ridiculousness explode from? Is it all due to social media?

[@madamepampadour]

I love your comment on Kafka. Perhaps you could say 'Read Kafka, think Yes, MInister'. That's what happened to me the second time I read it and I finally could finish the book without a sense of overwhelming desperation.

[@agm2531]

Nice video and nice list! Surely, we would all alter something, but I think it’s pretty decent. If I had to change something though, I would go for Don Quixote at number 1. It’s a profound and multi-layered book, with deep ideas and philosophical reflections that are as relevant today as they were in Cervantes’ time. With each read, new gems come to light. It’s astounding when you realize the depth with which Cervantes could understand human nature and mask it in playful and comedic interactions. Other authors have also had this deep understanding of the human psyche (Dostoyevsky, a favorite of mine, is probably the most obvious example), but Don Quixote’s originality puts it in a category of its own.

[@dennisdavis3919]

I call myself a francophile, yet... Thanks for inspiring me to dig out my Proust and try again. I will strive to savor, reread, pause and reflect. This approach rings so true! Having heard your thoughts, I am certain this is the way finally to instill the love and respect for Proust that I've always felt I should have. Au plaisir de commencer le voyage avec enthousiasme.

[@kieranhooton9665]

I’m so happy that you posted another video! I quite literally watch you religiously and check every day (more like every couple of hours) to see if there is anymore content to devour both podcast and youtube- great stuff as always! I was initially hesitant to ask once again for advice as I’ve commented prior and I feel as if I’m abusing your wisdom (I just feel bad for no reason basically) but I couldn’t resist asking this. I’m in the beginning of my gap year after A level and looking at obviously applying in the next coming months for 2023. For some context: I managed to beat the odds I went from getting Ds in year 12 and pretty much all the way up to the end of year 13 to coming out of the exam with my first ever B! I got a B overall! 15 marks from an A! (I’ve never done this well) and just because I’m so proud my breakdown was actually an A* in paper 1 (Othello, unseen prose and Gatsby and poetry) literature and a solid B in the second paper. That’s such a jump and I’m so so proud even if I’m gutted that I couldn’t get 15 more marks or better grades in my other courses. My coursework let me down unfortunately but it’s okay. Now to my question: I came out with B (English lit) and two Cs unfortunately- I know it isn’t the best but I was wondering if I could gain some insight into how I can decide on where to go? My dream places are all BBB courses (Northumbria for example) and then a step down from that it’s all BBC places. I am yet to find anywhere that appeals to me that’s BCC or below to be completely honest. Maybe it’s because I’m wishing to go to somewhere out of my league so much that I am not giving anywhere else a chance. Even though this perhaps is the case, my main question is: is there any possibility of me getting into a BBB place with BCC or is it just impossible? Sorry for the ramble and thanks in advance if you do manage to read my lengthy mess of a comment. I’m leaning towards doing English literature and creative writing joint honours just so you know. Thanks again! Love all of what you do!

[@JohnBullard]

It was my great fortune to find the list a of The Great Books in the last chapter of Mortimer J. Adler's wonderful book, HOW TO READ A BOOK, and it inspired me to read the great Books in chronological order, which gave me a sense of civilization's maturation process through the centuries, and trained me to read well and to converse with great minds. That started almost thirty years ago, and I consider many of the writer's works you mentioned as my good friends. You make some great literary recommendations, one of which I will pick up. Library of Babel sounds good. So nice to hear from someone else who loves the Aeneid.

[@davidmclaughlin8465]

i think your comment that going back to a favourite novelist is so right. Dickens is a classic example. Going back to him now in my old age having devoured him in my youth is a real joy. I can now appreciate just how clever, how funny, how brilliant a novelist he was. Age gives perspective. So true that great novels read you, rather than the other way round.

[@mmatamoni]

There are so many amazing brazilian authors and t's so sad that they are not as popular as they deserve to be. But I love your videos, thank you so much for doing them!

[@tedpeters896]

Brilliant. I read many of these in the first half of my life and for the past couple decades have read little... as if I've experienced it all... and because I didn't want other writers to influence my own work (something I believe Hemingway once said). But I feel a need to refresh my appreciation for this art form AND I feel secure enough not too worry about comparing my self to others. Fortunately, I am blessed with extremely good health and look forward to enjoying reading as many of these as possible in the last quarter century of ,my life. Thanks.

[@blackraven0513]

You are absolutely amazing. I'm currently doing a Masters in English and enjoying every minute of it. It's wonderful to see someone who shares the passion that I have for literature.

[@BenjaminMcEvoy]

Thank you so much. That's very kind of you to say. And how wonderful to hear you're doing your MA in English! I wish you all the best with your studies :)

[@clairebarnes3510]

Ben, I love your channel and have become a member. I have so much to say, but to keep things short here's a suggestion: what if you did a special course focused on world literature from places like China, Japan, Brazil, India and Persia? People below are making so many exciting suggestions of writing traditions to explore. As an American I have never been exposed to such works at university, or even on local library shelves. I love your thoughtful and well-informed analysis. It would be so much fun to accompany you through what is, for many of us, an as-yet untramelled reading arena. Just a thought.

[@giacomocervelli1945]

sorry to break it down for you but persia doesnt exist anymore

[@AlexandreBrautigam]

I agree with you... brazilian liteature is extremelly rich and I do not doubt that the same occurs with China, Japan and India literature. These are not "the 50 greatest books of all time", but instead they are for sure 50 great, superb books of all time. We have astonishing literature from Brazil that could be into this list as well...

[@giacomocervelli1945]

@@silver_soul fact1: it doesnt exist fact2: it existed like 500 years ago or something

[@giacomocervelli1945]

@@silver_soul dont really know, i just know its called iran now

[@li0904426]

@@AlexandreBrautigam Just an example of an excellent Brazilian author is the 19th-century Machado de Assis, a genius!!!

[@albuch520]

@Benjamin McEvoy Thank you for the great video and review, I'm very curious about your opinion on Goethes' larger works Like Faust or the sorrows of Werther. I find them astonishing and I'm always so amazed and confused that they are never on such a lists(especially Faust)

[@TheGiacchina]

I enjoy your enthusiasm, Benjamin! Makes me want to ... read great literature! Since this list is so American and Brit and Irish heavy, perhaps you could do videos on "greatest French novels" or "greatest Italian novels," etc. Just a though!

[@knowsutrue]

I am 57 and yesterday I started reading my first book by Proust. I read a suggestion that it’s nice to have somebody who’s read him before to talk to as I start and I realized I do not have anybody in my life who has. hmmmm. Has got me thinking, but I did reach out to an old friend who was an English teacher who I’ve lost contact with and hopefully I hear from her. She is probably well familiar.

[@heartofcinema3454]

I think Conan Doyle and Sherlock should be there. I would also include Ishiguro's "The remains of the day". Actually there needs to be more Japanese writers included.

[@robinholbrook6576]

You do know that Ishiguro has lived in England since he 5 and is an English citizen. Just checking.

[@goldface6658]

Haha! You'd think if he has read the book or even just seen the film he would be able to figure that out. But I guess not. Although I do think the books subject matter could almost have had a Japanese setting due to the peculiar similarity between certain traditional British and Japanese behaviours.

[@guidavaranda5262]

Such a great video. Would love for you to make one about the other 50 that made the top 100. ( I would love if you could even do a top one thousand but that would probably be a little pushy. ) This video was so pleasurable to see, it reminded me of the ones I read long ago that I enjoyed, some that I did not, some I’m reading now and the ones I should check out. Thank you for your great videos, they remind us no one should be afraid of classic littérature, it’s so rewarding.

[@donwild50]

I love Dante too, but not just for the literature. My first love is history and the Comedy almost requires a knowledge of that period of Italian history to really appreciate some of the work and the characters. A lot of people fixate on Inferno; some don't even know it's one of three. I've read it over and over and then fell in love with Purgatory, flipping back and forth with Inferno for the parallels.

[@myrahunter131]

Martha Beck's book, The Way of Integrity leans heavily on Dante and Virgil. You might like it. It's a great metaphor for life, IMO