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Flavorwire's the 50 Books Everyone Needs to Read, 1963-2013

BY EMILY TEMPLE
The thing about reading is this: it takes a long time. There are innumerable books in the world, and many more good ones than can be read by any mortal in a lifetime. It's hard to choose — especially if you're a slow reader. So, to go along with the list of the best albums from 1963-2013, here you will find a single must-read book from each of the last 50 years. Of course, this is by its very nature an absurd undertaking, and many books have gotten the short end of the stick — there's no other way to do it. The choices here are influenced by the following: the stipulation that any specific author should not be chosen for more than one year, a general focus on fiction over other genres, and the tastes/whims/glaring prejudices of Flavorwire's literary editor. Feel free to argue in the comments, but keep it nice. Unless you're Martin Amis.
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The Bell Jar (Sylvia Plath)
The Bell Jar
1
Sylvia Plath
Herzog (Saul Bellow)
Herzog
2
Saul Bellow
The Autobiography of Malcolm X (Alex Haley and Malcolm X)
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
3
Alex Haley and Malcolm X
Against Interpretation
Against Interpretation
4
The Master and Margarita (Mikhail Bulgakov)
The Master and Margarita
5
Mikhail Bulgakov
Slouching Towards Bethlehem (Joan Didion)
Slouching Towards Bethlehem
6
Joan Didion
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou)
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
7
Maya Angelou
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. (Judy Blume)
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
8
Judy Blume
The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor (Flannery O'Connor)
The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor
9
Flannery O'Connor
Invisible Cities (Italo Calvino)
Invisible Cities
10
Italo Calvino
Gravity's Rainbow (Thomas Pynchon)
Gravity's Rainbow
11
Thomas Pynchon
The Dispossessed (Ursula K. Le Guin)
The Dispossessed
12
Ursula K. Le Guin
The Great Railway Bazaar
The Great Railway Bazaar
13
Speedboat
Speedboat
14
The Shining (Stephen King)
The Shining
15
Stephen King
The Sea, the Sea (Iris Murdoch)
The Sea, the Sea
16
Iris Murdoch
The Bloody Chamber (Angela Carter)
The Bloody Chamber
17
Angela Carter
Ender's Game (Orson Scott Card)
Ender's Game
18
Orson Scott Card
Outside Over There
Outside Over There
19
The Color Purple (Alice Walker)
The Color Purple
20
Alice Walker
Cathedral (Raymond Carver)
Cathedral
21
Raymond Carver
Money (Martin Amis)
Money
22
Martin Amis
The Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood)
The Handmaid's Tale
23
Margaret Atwood
Maus (Art Spiegelman)
Maus
24
Art Spiegelman
Beloved (Toni Morrison)
Beloved
25
Toni Morrison
Bad Behavior: Stories (Mary Gaitskill)
Bad Behavior: Stories
26
Mary Gaitskill
Geek Love (Katherine Dunn)
Geek Love
27
Katherine Dunn
The Things They Carried (Tim O'Brien)
The Things They Carried
28
Tim O'Brien
Possession (A.S. Byatt)
Possession
29
A.S. Byatt
The Shipping News (Annie Proulx)
The Shipping News
30
Annie Proulx
The Ice Storm
The Ice Storm
31
The Secret History (Donna Tartt)
The Secret History
32
Donna Tartt
Sabbath's Theater
Sabbath's Theater
33
Infinite Jest (David Foster Wallace)
Infinite Jest
34
David Foster Wallace
Underworld (Don Delillo)
Underworld
35
Don Delillo
Birds of America (Lorrie Moore)
Birds of America
36
Lorrie Moore
Disgrace (J. M. Coetzee)
Disgrace
37
J. M. Coetzee
Pastoralia
Pastoralia
38
Austerlitz (W.G. Sebald)
Austerlitz
39
W.G. Sebald
Middlesex (Jeffrey Eugenides)
Middlesex
40
Jeffrey Eugenides
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