See the previous entry for the New York Times list.  In no particular order (fiction only):

• The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
• The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
• The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
• Empire Falls by Richard Russo
• Goodnight Mr. Tom by Michelle Magorian
• Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Plainsong by Kent Haruf
• Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
• Heidi by Johanna Sypri
• Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
• Atonement by Ian McEwan
• Life of Pi by Yann Martel
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
• Suite Francaise by Irene Nerimovsky
• Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling
• We Are All Completely Beside Oursevles by Karen Joy Fowler
• Euphoria by Lily King
• Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

Of these, my top few would be:

• The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
• Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
• Atonement by Ian McEwan
• The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
• Euphoria by Lily King

And if I had to pick just one, I think I’d go for Cloud Atlas.  So there you have it – the best fiction book of the last 125 years.

What are your picks?

The New York Times has a “vote for the best book of the last 125 years” feature.  Their nominated books, alongside my Goodreads rating and any thoughts I had on them, are listed below:

1. 1984 – Have not read
2. All the Light We Cannot See – 4 stars – no comments, sadly.  But I remember thinking it was good but definitely not great.  A little too on point, if that makes sense.
3. Beloved – 4 stars – “I think this must be the type of book you have to read twice to really understand. The writing is beautiful, but the book is depressing from end to end – and confusing from end to end. It reminds me a little bit of the God of Small Things in writing style but without the waves of understanding at the end.”  Basically, probably it went over my head.  And also was very depressing.
4. Catch-22 – Have not read
5. The Catcher in the Rye – read in high school.  Liked but did not love, if memory serves.  Not transcendent in any case.
6. Charlotte’s Web – 4/5 – An excellent children’s books, but there are better out there.  “I re-read this sweet little book for the first time since 2nd or 3rd grade. L seemed to enjoy it, though she’s not sure she liked it quite as much as the “Laura and Mary” books. I liked the way it dealt with heavy themes, like death, in an accessible way that wouldn’t, for the most part, frighten a small child. Reading it led to some good conversation about where our food, and bacon in particular, comes from. Mostly, though, it’s just a low-key, lovely read for a young child.”
7. A Confederacy of Dunces – Have not read
8. The Fellowship of the Ring – 4/5 – A great book, no doubt.  The best in the last 125 years?  No.  Slow to get going, lacking action, lacking strong female characters, etc.  But I look forward to re-reading it, and maybe reading it to my kids.
9. A Fine Balance – Have not read
10. A Gentleman in Moscow – Have not read
11. Gone With the Wind – 3/5 – “It’s impossible to write about this book without writing about the racism. Most old books are racist, but this is a book about the Civil War and race, and that makes it different, and in my opinion, worse. I can’t even begin to enumerate the ways in which it’s offensive. As a result, though I loved many things about the book, I really can’t recommend it.GWTW is the first book I’ve read about the Civil War in ages. I’ve read novels that have touched on that war, but this book really centered on the war and of course, Reconstruction. It’s easy to forget in the modern age how incredibly devastating that war was to our country and especially to the South. What a tragedy! In any case, I enjoyed relearning something I’ve thought of very little since AP History class twenty years ago.

    Scarlett is a wonderful, tragic character. I find myself jaded in my old age, and I don’t enjoy rom coms and the like the way I used to. I find it harder to be stirred by romance in books and movies, but the romance of Scarlett and Rhett is one for the ages.”  – Best book?  Really?

12. Grapes of Wrath – 5/5 – Now we’re getting somewhere.
13. The Great Gatsby – Read it a long time ago.  I don’t remember it being particularly extraordinary.
14. The Handmaid’s Tale – 4/5 – A bow to trendiness and today’s politics and while an excellent book, by no means Atwood’s best. The Blind Assassin, which won the Booker Prize, was far better.  I also preferred Cat’s Eye. “Re-reading it years later, it’s interesting to see how my perspective has changed. As a mother of young children, it is wrenching to read of her daughter being taken from her. Of course, this happens to women all over the world, but really, how utterly and completely unacceptable. Otherwise, the book spends a lot of time very slowly unwinding the details of the society in which “Offred” is trapped and how she got stuck in her current position. I found it a little lacking on forward action – everything has already happened until near the end.The book contained some elements well familiar to me from other Atwood novels, particularly her affair with Nick. It is very much like the romance from The Blind Assassin – a dangerous and ill-advisable affair, an inscrutable lover, the relationship seemingly being physical and sexual only and yet not, lack of conversation.”
15. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – 5/5 – Having read this aloud to my kids recently, I really do love this book.  Best of the last century?  Maybe best kid’s book.  Maaaybe.  Best book period?  Nah.
16. Infinite Jest – haven’t read
17. To Kill A Mockingbird – 5/5 – An excellent book no doubt.  I haven’t read it in decades, though.
18. A Little Life – haven’t read
19. Lolita – haven’t read.  And really?
20. Lonesome Dove – haven’t read
21. One Hundred Years of Solitude – haven’t read
22. The Overstory – haven’t read
23. A Prayer for Owen Meaney – haven’t read
24. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn – not rated on Goodreads, but I loved it.  An excellent YA book.
25. Ulysses – haven’t read, and probably not smart enough to understand it anyway.

Out of this list, I’d probably vote for the Grapes of Wrath.

Which is your favorite, or your favorites, off this list?  Vote here.  Excepting Ulysses and Lolita, I’m excited to take a crack at the ones I haven’t read.