100 Best American Authors
American authors that write about the American experience.
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Bluedaizy
2449 books
88 friends
88 friends
The Book Whisperer (aka Boof)
2051 books
643 friends
643 friends
Ricki
4939 books
1486 friends
1486 friends
Diane
17912 books
204 friends
204 friends
Susanna - Censored by GoodReads
3370 books
864 friends
864 friends
Rebecca
367 books
510 friends
510 friends
Holly
3730 books
11 friends
11 friends
Clara
397 books
30 friends
30 friends
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This list should really just be called 100 best American books as authors appear more than once and that seems to be the way the ranking works.
Also Ian Banks (author of the wasp factory #82) is not American he is Scottish so he shouldn't be on here, however good/relevant to this list his book may be.
Also Ian Banks (author of the wasp factory #82) is not American he is Scottish so he shouldn't be on here, however good/relevant to this list his book may be.
Hieveryoneilovebookstoo wrote: "This list should really just be called 100 best American books as authors appear more than once and that seems to be the way the ranking works.
Also Ian Banks (author of the wasp factory #82) is n..."
Also James Joyce #134 is Irish.
I swear I'm not just looking for mistakes
Also Ian Banks (author of the wasp factory #82) is n..."
Also James Joyce #134 is Irish.
I swear I'm not just looking for mistakes
Hieveryoneilovebookstoo wrote: "Hieveryoneilovebookstoo wrote: "This list should really just be called 100 best American books as authors appear more than once and that seems to be the way the ranking works.
Also Ian Banks (auth..."
Leo Tolstoy #197.....?
Also Ian Banks (auth..."
Leo Tolstoy #197.....?
Hieveryoneilovebookstoo wrote: "Hieveryoneilovebookstoo wrote: "Hieveryoneilovebookstoo wrote: "This list should really just be called 100 best American books as authors appear more than once and that seems to be the way the rank..."
Paolo Coelho #210.
Paolo Coelho #210.
Removed, for not being by an American:
The Wasp Factory, by Iain M. Banks
Ulysses, by James Joyce
The Man in the Iron Mask, by Alexandre Dumas
The Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare
Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy
Tess of the D'Urbevilles, by Thomas Hardy
Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte
Company, by Max Barry
The Alchemist, by Paolo Coelho
The Wasp Factory, by Iain M. Banks
Ulysses, by James Joyce
The Man in the Iron Mask, by Alexandre Dumas
The Taming of the Shrew, by William Shakespeare
Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy
Tess of the D'Urbevilles, by Thomas Hardy
Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte
Company, by Max Barry
The Alchemist, by Paolo Coelho
You could add it; it's easy to add books to a list. At the top of the list, at the tab next to "all votes."
I'm really surprised that Stephen King's books are considered over Henry Miller's, who does not even appear in this list. I mean, I got nothing against King's books, but Miller has been much more influential to literature (not only American) than King, I would say. I would even favor Charles Bukowski and William Burroughs over King. I could mention several books by all of them, but it's so obvious that I don't even bother.
What about, Norman Mailer, Tom and Thomas Wolfe, etc.
What about, Norman Mailer, Tom and Thomas Wolfe, etc.
You could add Miller's books. It's easy to add books to lists. At the top of the list, at the tab next to "all votes."
Matt wrote: "How are Koontz and Bradbury on this list twice yet Pynchon nowhere to be found?"
Pynchon at 87 and 128. Gravity's Rainbow and The Crying of Lot 49.
Pynchon at 87 and 128. Gravity's Rainbow and The Crying of Lot 49.
I was really sad not to see any Hunter Thompson on this list. Fear and Loathing is definitally one of the 100 most influential american novels.
Susanna wrote: "I'd love to remove it, but the author is an American."
Yes, that's why I only flagged it on this list as well ... for the time being.
Yes, that's why I only flagged it on this list as well ... for the time being.
Themis-Athena wrote: " ~☆ Alice☆~ wrote: "Ken Follett is still there twice but it renumbered as people voted."
Removed."
Thanks, it kept bothering me as I nearly clicked on them more than once.
Removed."
Thanks, it kept bothering me as I nearly clicked on them more than once.
Matt wrote: "How are Koontz and Bradbury on this list twice yet Pynchon nowhere to be found?"
Pynchon is on the list, Gravity's Rainbow, #91.
Pynchon is on the list, Gravity's Rainbow, #91.
At least two books are missing from this that were both wildly important pieces of American literature. Upton Sinclair's The Jungle caused enough of an uproar when it was published, that Theadore Roosevelt sent inspectors to Chicago's meat packing plants to investigate. Their findings eventually led to the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 which established the FDA. Also, Uncle Tom's Cabin isn't on here for some reason. The only book that sold more copies than Uncle Tom's Cabin during the 19th century was the freaking Bible. Uncle Tom's Cabin is credited as being a major reason for the growth of the Abolitionist movement in the years leading up to the Civil War. That's the one that ended slavery and led to the death of 600,000-1,000,000 Americans. But I guess twilight and the notebook were better choices. Sad
They may indeed be on the list, just not on the first page; and you could add them. It's easy to add votes to lists; at the top of the list, at the tab next to "all votes."
ETA: This is a crowd-sourced list. I suspect more folks at GR have read Twilight than The Jungle and Uncle Tom's Cabin combined. Popularity tends to rule on lists.
ETA: This is a crowd-sourced list. I suspect more folks at GR have read Twilight than The Jungle and Uncle Tom's Cabin combined. Popularity tends to rule on lists.
I have to comment on this. Lost Horizon was a great book. James Hilton a great author. BEFORE YOU SAY IT, he was not a native born American. He was, however, a naturalized American citizen. He died in California and was buried in Virginia. And Lost Horizon .... a great book. He should be on the list.
I am currently reading Tropic if Cancer by Henry Miller, and I would agree that this book belongs on this list. I expected to find a bunch of "smut" as they used to call it, but, I have been amazed at the writing style and use of the language, which exceeds the writings of King, who while entertaining, is hardly the author of great literature,
Very hard to compile a list like this when you are so frequently comparing apples and oranges with regard to subject matter, style, frame of reference, culture, etc. Most of this comes down to personal taste and simply what certain people like or dislike. For example, how do you compare The Call of the Wild and Breakfast at Tiffany's? Or The Color Purple and The Stand? Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Little Women? I'm fine with this list---but it should be understood that this is really just a list of good/great books by American authors that a few, some, or a lot of people like to varying degrees. That's it.
Must include Frank Norris's "The Octopus" and "McTeague", two classics of literary realism. Popular in their day his novels are now on undergraduate reading lists and subjects of MA Thesis and Doctoral Dissertations.
I've removed The Magus, as John Fowles is not American (nor is The Magus about 'the American experience', if I remember correctly).
No less than 40% of these can't qualify, as they're not literature, at least not in the sense of having achieved notable impact on how large numbers of us think.
When names like Michener, and others pointed out by commenters, don't even show up on this list, the urge to contribute near-spontaneously transmogrifies into a core realization that: a) List is worth saving to re-read many of these great influences on our rearing, and b) A mathematical majority of contributors to this list provide adequate reason for me to move on, looking for reasonably literate people to interact with. (Five smart people, and too many typical, ah..... hoi polloi? :-)
Thanks to GoodReads.com for a still-very-valuable list. Cheers.
.
When names like Michener, and others pointed out by commenters, don't even show up on this list, the urge to contribute near-spontaneously transmogrifies into a core realization that: a) List is worth saving to re-read many of these great influences on our rearing, and b) A mathematical majority of contributors to this list provide adequate reason for me to move on, looking for reasonably literate people to interact with. (Five smart people, and too many typical, ah..... hoi polloi? :-)
Thanks to GoodReads.com for a still-very-valuable list. Cheers.
.
Where's Thomas Woolf and Tom Wolfe?! Typical canon of the poorly read. What is The Da Vinci code doing on the list???
Thomas Pynchon IS listed > YOU WHO SAID HE WASN'T.
Thomas Pynchon IS listed > YOU WHO SAID HE WASN'T.
Sally - junk writing, incl. journalism, influences how many think , that does not qualify it as literature
You could, of course, vote on it yourself; the form to add books to the list is at the right-hand side of the page.