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I recently had a request from a man who is my cousin but much more–my brother–about what books I consider to be the most influential, in terms of literature.
As a professor, I could not simply answer without considering several possibilities. Today I will post what I consider to be the ten most influential texts to the world of literature. Of course, this is my opinion and open to debate.
Here they are, in no particular order:
The Collected Works of Shakespeare. William Shakespeare.
The Illiad and The Odyssey. Homer.
The Canterbury Tales. Geoffrey Chaucer.
Le Morte d’ Arthur. Sir Thomas Malory.
Don Quixote. Miguel de Cervantes.
Frankenstein. Mary Shelley.
To Kill A Mockingbird. Harper Lee.
Beloved. Toni Morrison.
Moby Dick. Herman Melville.
1984. George Orwell.
What do you think of this selection?
In another post, I will offer ten books that have been personally influential.
I like your list, but I don’t know about Beloved. Do you think a book needs to stand the test of time and influence multiple generations before we call it a “most influential” book? Uh, but then what would I suggest in its stead? Uncle Tom’s Cabin? Lord of the Flies? War and Peace? Gulag Archipelago? Oh! how about Dracula?
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You make excellent points, and I did consider Dracula. I should probably expand the list!
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It’s funny, because I’m watching Robocop and thought, “This is like Frankenstein meets a western.”
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Yes!
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Because it influenced so much of our literature, I would include the Bible on the list of most influential books.
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Hi Liz, the only reason I did not was because I wanted to keep the books on the list to fiction.
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That makes sense.
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Good choices!
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Thank you!
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Thank you, Charles.
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You are very welcome!
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Excellent list, Charles. I might add Old Man and the Sea.
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Jennie, thank you!
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You’re welcome!
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This was such an interesting post. I have to think about it for a while. Thanks!
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You are very welcome.
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You should check out this YouTube channel of “Great Books” documentaries (many of your titles are included): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkjRGIgL7AyiQoRfvfx_27ohqXZ4Bp5Ov
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thank you!
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You’re welcome.
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Good list, I’ve read most of those.
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Thank you!
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That’s a nice list!
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Thank you!
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Don’t forget that famous fictional story: The Bible
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Excellent list and a good reminder that I must read more.
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thank you!
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There are so many good stories in Le Morte D’Athur. The Oddessey has some great stories as well.
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Yes, they both do.
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