I've been using this site for years and years, and have finally made my first published list! (Thank you to the many wonderful list-makers who've gone before me.) I'm from Washington, D.C., and Michael Dirda is a legend here. His idiosyncratic literary essays in The Washington Post are a joy to read. If it weren't for him, I might not have read Oblomov (included in this list), which is one of my favorite books.
This list is taken from his book Classics for Pleasure, and the items are in book order. It includes only named titles from the chapter headings for each author (so no generic "stories" or "essays") *unless* not including a generic entry would have left the author without any entries on the list. A little arbitrary, I know. I've added a few titles to List Challenges to make this list, so I hope you'll find something new. Happy clicking!