For a segment on Hugh Hewitt's radio show, John Mark Reynolds compiled a list of thirty books that every college student should read. Since John Mark is the founder of the Torrey Honors Institute at Biola University its not surprising to see that his list contains many of the standard works common to a "great books" programs. Indeed, while I might quibble over a few of the selections (Satre's No Exit? Really?) it would be difficult to improve on the excellent selections he's chosen.
Reading the list, though, got me to thinking about what books should be read after those thirty. What works should the young collegian or autodidact turn to next? Because I think the primary need of young adults is to learn to think critically and creatively I've chosen fifteen pairs--presumably to be read together--to help them on that task:
The best book on modern architecture and the best book on modern art by the best essayist in the modern world.
The two most essential books for understanding the 20th century.
The key primers on warfare and strategy. (Note: Here is an online copy of Warfighting (PDF))
Although biographical in format, these works transcend the genre, illuminating not only the subjects but the reader as well.
Practical wisdom is one of the most neglected areas in education. The book of Proverbs is the greatest guide to practical wisdom every produced. Hewitt's book, while written for Christians, is one of the best modern example of a vade mecum
Math and philosophy are cleverly illuminated in this pair of intriguing books.
Swinton's book teaches tactical thinking using an intriguing series of dreams. Card's book also provides lessons on tactics in one of the best science fiction books ever written. Both are on the Marine Corps Professional Reading List. (Note: Here is an online version of Duffer's Drift)
Anyone who wants to become a better thinker should learn how metaphors and logic work. These are two of best books on those subjects.
Two masterworks by a pair of the most creative nonfiction writers in America.
The two reference books that every student should read, study, and digest.
Postman was not only our most astute media critic but one of the most prophetic voices of the last thirty years. Essential reading for understanding how our culture is shaped by media and technology.
Big, bold, broad surveys of intellectual history.
While we may find ourselves trapped by location -- whether in a Soviet gulag or in Lorain, Ohio -- our freedom is dictated by our will. While the short novels by Solzenitzhen and Morrison may not appear to have much in common, both show how our beliefs can either set us free or trap us within ourselves.
The dismal science made slightly less dismal. Each will change the way you think about economics, and therefore how you think about life.
Although these books would be filed in the Management section of the bookstore, each shows that "business" is about more than making money. Morris is a superb philosopher who shows how Aristotle ideas on truth, beauty, goodness, and unity should shape our lives. In compiling their "greatest hits", Fast Company, the most fascinating business magazine of the last century, has produced an indispensable collection of innovative ideas.
[Note: Since this list is for all college students, I've tried to leave off books that I thought would only appeal to Christians.]
Other posts in this series:
In his Devil's Dictionary, Ambrose Pierce defined a novel as "a short story padded." The inability to prune a story to its essential story is a unfortunate quality shared by many modern writers and the primary reason that bookshelves are filled with that bloated form of literature. William Faulkner once wondered if writers didn't become novelists after having failed at the short story, "the most demanding form after poetry." Perhaps this is the reason there are even fewer great short stories than there are novels.
I certainly wouldn't know what works would fill the category of "greatest short fiction" which is why -- as is my standard disclaimer -- the following list of short stories is not intended to be representative of the best or most profound works in a particular category. These are merely my favorite 25 stories (at least the ones I could remember). The list is in no particular order and contains links to the stories whenever they are available online.
Here then are my favorite short stories:
1. Flannery O’Connor, Parker’s Back (The last story Flannery O'Connor is the first in my estimation of great short stories.)
2. Leo Tolstoy, Three Questions
3. Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It
4. Frank Stockton, The Lady or the Tiger?
5. Ambrose Bierce, An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge
6. W. W. Jacobs, The Monkey's Paw
7. Stephen Vincent Benet, The Devil and Daniel Webster
8. George Saunders, Pastoralia
9. Jonathan Lethem, Hardened Criminals (A strange tale that describes a prison whose walls are made entirely out of convicts.)
10. Flannery O’Connor, Good Country People (A Cinderalla story -- Southern Gothic style)
11. Ring Lardner, Haircut
12. Shusaku Endo, The Final Martyrs (A great tale of cowardly regret by one of Japan's greatest Christian writers.)
13. Ernest Hemingway, A Clean, Well-Lighted Place
14. Thom Jones, The Pugilist at Rest
15. Franz Kafka, A Hunger Artist
16. Franz Kafka, The Metamorphosis
17. Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Birth-mark
18. James Thurber, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
19. Shirley Jackson, The Lottery (One of the best examples of an undderrated genre: Horror.)
20. Jack London, To Build A Fire
21. Richard Connell, The Most Dangerous Game
22. John Cheever, The Swimmer (On first reading this story I could see what all the fuss was about. But years later I still can't forget the haunting ending.)
23. Flannery O’Connor, Good A Man Is Hard To Find
24. George Saunders, CivilWarLand in Bad Decline
25. Jonathan Lethem, The Happy Man (The soul of the main character in this strange story makes occasional visits to hell. His body, though, remains behind in a zombie-like state to be cared for by his exhaustively patient family. A peculiar, moving tale of speculative fiction by one of the best writers in America.)
[Note: Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, the Friday feature "The Lists" is being moved ahead a day.]
"That movie was totally overrated. Now if you want to see a really worthwhile flick you should see..." Because film buffs like me say this type of thing all the time so I thought it would be a worthwhile exercise to actually list 50 of the most overrated and 50 of the most underrated films of all time. A few of the overrated films are just plain bad while most are merely undeserving of the critical or popular praise they receive. The underrated films, though, are all examples of excellent cinema and should be considered at least slightly more worthy than the corresponding "overrated" film with which they share a category. The categories, which range from the obvious to the just plain odd, are intended to cover a broad selection of interests but are not meant to be exhaustive (expect to see an additional list of 50 in the future).
Here then are 100 of the most overrated and underrated films of all time (overrated on the left, underrated on the right):
1. Most overated/underrated: Raging Bull | Metropolitan (Raging Bull is often referred to as one of the best films of the '80s. Such people obviously do not like either a) movies or b) humanity for the film is all style and no substance. Metropolitan, on the other hand, is nearly the opposite of Raging Bull in every way. It is urbane, witty, and subtle. But the main difference is that Whit Stillman's charming little film shows a depth of undertanding about the human condition that is completely lacking in Scorsese's misanthropic "masterpiece.")
2. Movie about fraternities: Animal House | PCU (I hesitate to include these two together simply because the criminally overhyped John Belushi shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath as comic genius Jeremy Piven.)
3. Disney movie about dogs: 101 Dalmations | The Fox and the Hound
4. John Wayne movie: The Searchers | Big Jake (Both are about the search for a kidnapped family member but Big Jake has two things missing from The Searchers: love and humor.)
5. Harrison Ford movie Witness | The Mosquito Coast
6. Movie about a rock band: Gimme Shelter | Some Kind of Monster (I'm not a fan of either the Rolling Stones or Metallica. But Gimme Shelter shows that deep down the Stones are uninteresting dullards while Monster reveals the members of Metallica to be fascinatingly neurotic.)
7. Cold war movie : Dr. Stangelove | Crimson Tide
8. Mobster movie: Scarface | Miller's Crossing
9. Audrey Hepburn movie: Breakfast At Tiffany's | Roman Holiday
10. Movie about a pig: Charlotte's Web | Babe
11. Sam Raimi movie: Evil Dead | Army of Darkness: Evil Dead 3
12. Western: Shane | Winchester '73
13. Horror film: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre | 28 Days Later
14. Movie about a kid who plays chess: Searching for Bobby Fischer | Fresh
15. "Best Picture" Oscar Winners (1927-1959): From Here to Eternity (1953) | It Happened One Night (1934)
16. "Best Picture" Oscar Winners (1960-2005): American Beauty (1999)| The Apartment (1960)
17. Batman movie: Batman | Batman Begins
18. Foreign film (France): Breathless | Brotherhood of the Wolf (BotW is quite possibly the best French import since French Fries.)
19. Foreign film (Germany): Aguirre, the Wrath of God | Run Lola Run
20. Foreign film (Italy): Blow-Up | Cinema Paradiso
21. Foreign film (Japan): Spirited Away | In the Realm of the Senses
22. Foreign film (China): Chungking Express | Eat Drink Man Woman
23. Foreign film (Mexico): Y Tu Mama Tambien | Like Water for Chocolate
24. Movie based on a foreign book no one ever reads: Doctor Zhivago | Dangerous Liaisons
25. Movie about a couple on the run from the law: Badlands | The Sugarland Express
26. Serious sci-fi movie: 2001: A Space Odyssey | Dark City
27. Incoherent movie about a hippie: Easy Rider | The Big Lebowski
28. Sports movie: Chariots of Fire | Kingpin
29. Movie based on a comic book: Superman | Hellboy
30. Comedy: Caddyshack | Raising Arizona (The nearly plotless Caddyshack hasn't aged well and is not as funny as you remembered. Raising Arizona, on the other hand, remains as fresh and hilarious as ever.)
31. Cult classic: The Rocky Horror Picture Show | Heathers
32. Mel Gibson movie: Mad Max | Gallipoli
33. Musical: A Chorus Line | Moulin Rouge
34. Martial arts movie: Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon | House of Flying Daggers
35. Denzel Washington movie: Mississippi Masala | The Mighty Quinn
36. Documentary: Roger & Me | Brother's Keeper
37. Movie about politics: Wag the Dog | Election
38. Sequel: Star Wars: Episode IV | X2: X-Men United
39. John Hughes film: Planes, Trains & Automobiles | Some Kind of Wonderful
40. Biopic about a civil rights leader: Gandhi | Boycott
41. Movie about amoral businessmen: Wall Street | Boiler Room
42. Vampire movie: Interview with a Vampire | Near Dark
43. War movie: The Thin Red Line | Breaker Morant
44. Christmas film: Frosty The Snowman | Elf
45. Movie about teen angst: Rebel Without a Cause | Ghost World
46. Kevin Costner sports movie: Field of Dreams | Tin Cup
47. Chick flick: Thelma & Louise | The Truth About Cats & Dogs
48. Movie based on a cheesy TV show: The Brady Bunch Movie | Josie and the Pussycats
49. Blacksploitation flick: The Mack | Watermelon Man
50 . Movie with a "Christian" theme: The Passion of the Christ | Ponette (Watch them both and you'll see what I mean.)
Have a list of overrated/underrated films? Send me the link to your blog post and I'll include it below.
[Note: Because no one wants to read (and I hate to write) anything serious on Fridays, I have a rotating list of features for this day. “The Lists” is yet another occasional Friday feature that has been added to the mix.]
The following is a list of 50 of my favorite films that explore spiritual themes in a significant and serious manner. The criteria for inclusion was that the film:
(a) Must exemplify a high degree of quality as a work of narrative art.
(b) Must address a spiritual theme that would be of theological interest to a Christian.
(b) Can be found on DVD.
Some of the movies on the list (i.e., To End All Wars) were created from a distinctly Christian worldview. Most of the selections, though, could not in any way be considered "Christian" yet share a significant degree of common grace that makes them worthy of engagement and dialogue.
As with the previous entries in this series, I don't pretend to be compiling a list of the best or most profound works in a particular category. This is simply the list of my favorite movies that fit the narrow criteria I've outlined. These artificial contraints skew the list toward more recent movies (though it appears the "Golden Age" of cinema seems to have been far less concerned with spiritual themes than we might have imagined) and cinematic features released or produced in America. The first ten are ranked in order of preference while the rest are listed alphabetically. Sequels and series are treated as one entry.
Here then are my favorite spiritually significant films:
1. Ponette (1996) (This story of a child grieving over the death of her mother is one of the most devastating explorations of loss ever captured on film. Four year old Victoire Thivisol, giving one of the best performances of any actor ever, shows the profundity of a child's faith.)
2. The Apostle
3. Unforgiven
4. Groundhog Day (1993)
5. It's A Wonderful Life (1946)
6. Dekalog ("The Decalogue") (1989) (Ten one-hour television dramas made for Polish TV by Krzysztof Kieslowski, each one a modernized, free-standing part based on one of the Ten Commandments. Considered by many critics to be one of the best film series of the 1980s.)
7. Three Colors: Blue, White, Red (1993-1994) (A three-film collection of stories about contemporary French society based upon the 3-colors of the French flag by Krzysztof Kieslowski.)
8. Barcelona (1994)
9. Dancer in the Dark (2000) (You are as likely to hate this movie as you are to love it. At times director Lars von Trier makes it hard to appreciate his work (slow-pacing, experimental cinemetagrophy). But those who can appreciate this strange musical drama will be haunted by it long after it is over.)
10. To End All Wars (2001)
The Addiction (1995)
Angels & Insects (1995)
Babe (1995) (A beautiful story about human dignity is disguised as a film about a young pig.)
Beauty and the Beast (1996)
Ben-Hur (1959)
Blade Runner (1982)
Breaking The Waves (1996) (Another difficult masterpiece by Lars von Trier.)
Changing Lanes (2002)
Chariots of Fire (1981)
Citizen Ruth (Alexander Payne pulls no punches in this infuriating and hilarious satire about abortion politics. Whether you are pro-choice or pro-life you'll see your ox being gored. But it will make you appreciate the fact that human depravity complicates the issue more than we often let on.)
The Claim (2000) (Based on Thomas Hardy's "The Mayor of Casterbridge", this movie follows the story of miner who traded his wife and newborn daughter for a gold mine.)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
The Eyes of Tammy Faye (A documentary that examines the rise and fall of Tammy Faye Bakker Messner and her televangelist ex-husband Jim Bakker that shows that Christians are both flawed and redeemable.)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Finding Nemo (A deeply prodound pro-life message is hidden is this disarming Pixar film about a fish who loses his young son.)
Fight Club (1999) (An unfliching look at the logical outcome of the pop-nihilism that pervades Western consumerist culture.)
Gattaca (1997)
Grand Canyon (1991)
In the Realms of the Unreal (2004)
Leon (The Professsional) (1994)
Les Miserables
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)
Magnolia (1999)
Matchstick Men (2003) (An examination of how we cannot escape the "revenge of conscience."
A Man For All Seasons (1966)
The Matrix (1999)
The Passion Of The Christ (2004)
Pulp Fiction
The Rapture (1991) (Although a caricature of fundamentalism, this movie treats pre-millinarianism more seriously than The Omega Code or the Left Behind Series.)
Requiem for a Dream (2000) (An unflinching look at the dehumanizing effects of hardcore drug use.)
Schindler's List (1993)
The Seventh Seal (1957)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Signs (2002)
Spider-Man 2 (2004) (Oddly enough, this film presents a the comic-book superhero as the best allegorical representation of Christ since Aslan.)
The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
Tender Mercies (1983)
The Third Miracle (1999)
The Truman Show (1998)
Wit (2001)
Movies that probably should be on the list but I have to (shamefully) confess that I have never seen:
The Gospel According to Matthew
Babette's Feast
Luther
Hotel Rwanda
The Big Kahuna,
The Passion of Joan of Arc
13 Conversations About One Thing
Andrei Rublev
Wings of Desire
Jesus Of Nazareth
Shadowlands
Dogville
Movies that people will say belongs on the list but that are not as worthy as they might think:
The Ten Commandments
Dogma
La Dolce Vita
2001: A Space Odyssey
[Note: Because no one wants to read (and I hate to write) anything serious on Fridays, I have a rotating list of features for this day. “The Lists” is yet another occasional Friday feature that will be added to the mix.]
The following is a list of my 99 favorite songs in that fall under the genre of "Christian" music. Since I'm not exactly sure what that even means, I won't attempt to define the parameters. All of these songs, though, are by Christain artists and have a Christian theme.
As with the previous entry on imaginative literature, I don't pretend to be compiling a list of the best or most profound works in a particular category. This is simply the list of my favorite songs (at least the ones that I can remember) that fit this genre. The first ten are ranked in order of preference while the rest are listed alphabetically. Links to pages with the lyrics are provided whenever they were available.
Here then are my favorite songs in the genre of Christian music:
1. I Can Only Imagine -- Mercy Me (live version)
2. Amazing Grace -- Traditional hymn
3. Let Your First Thought Be Love -- Whiteheart
4. Why -- Nicole Nordeman
5. Show Me Your Glory -- Third Day
6. O How I Love Jesus -- Traditional Baptist hymn
7. The Finish Line -- Steve Taylor
8. A Love Supreme -- John Coltrane
9. Savior -- Michael English
10. In Your Presence -- Jeremy Camp
St. Matthew Passion -- J.S. Bach
Best Thing -- Big Tent Revival
Breaking My Fall -- Jeremy Camp
I Still Believe -- Jeremy Camp
One Day at a Time -- Jeremy Camp
Stay -- Jeremy Camp
Take My Life -- Jeremy Camp
Understand -- Jeremy Camp
Walk By Faith -- Jeremy Camp
The Man Comes Around -- Johnny Cash
Don't Stop Dancing -- Creed
Lullaby -- Creed
Don't Let the Fire Die -- Steven Curtis Chapman
Atmosphere -- DC Talk
Jesus Freak -- DC Talk
Strong Medicine -- Bryan Duncan
Black, Brown, & Beige (Come Sunday) -- Duke Ellington (w/ Mahalia Jackson on vocals)
Gotta Serve Somebody -- Bob Dylan
Holding Out Hope To You -- Michael English
In Christ Alone -- Michael English
Love Moves in Mysterious Ways -- Michael English
There's Not A Crown Without a Cross -- Michael English
It Wasn't His Child -- Skip Ewing
Revolution -- Kirk Franklin
Go Rest High On That Mountain -- Vince Gill
El Shaddai -- Amy Grant
Father's Eyes -- Amy Grant
Spiritus Domini: Introit -- Gregorian Chant
Messiah -- Handel
Streets Of Las Vegas -- Benny Hester
Jesus Loves Me -- Whitney Houston
Flood -- Jars of Clay
Liquid -- Jars of Clay
No One Loves Me Like You -- Jars of Clay
Trainwreck -- Mat Kearney
A Little More -- Jennifer Knapp
Undo Me -- Jennifer Knapp
Down In The River To Pray -- Alison Krauss
I'll Fly Away -- Alison Krauss and Gillian Welch
Gravity -- Shawn McDonald
The Day The Earth Stood Still -- Bryan McKnight
When The Chariot Comes -- Bryan McKnight
Here Am I -- Mercy Me
Control -- MuteMath
Peculiar People -- MuteMath
John Woo -- Newsboys
Love Liberty Disco -- Newsboys
Shine -- Newsboys
Burnin' -- Nicole Nordeman
Fool For You -- Nicole Nordeman
I Am -- Nicole Nordeman
Mercies New -- Nicole Nordeman
To Know You -- Nicole Nordeman
Tremble -- Nicole Nordeman
Wide Eyed -- Nicole Nordeman
Adonai -- O.C. Supertones
That Old Rugged Cross -- Brad Paisley
Magazine -- Pedro the Lion
Friends -- Michael W. Smith
The Moshing Floor -- Steve Taylor
Meant to Live -- Switchfoot
This is Your Life -- Switchfoot
Harder To Believe Than Not To -- Fleming and John's cover of Steve Taylor's song
I Blew Up The Clinic Real Good -- Steve Taylor
Agnus Dei -- Third Day
King of Glory -- Third Day
I Don't Know -- Third Day
It's a Shame -- Third Day
Nothing Compares -- Third Day
When the Rain Comes -- Third Day
Burn For You -- TobyMac
Getaway Car -- TobyMac
J Train -- TobyMac (w/ Kirk Franklin)
Because He Lives -- Traditional Baptist hymn
Blessed Be the Name -- Traditional Baptist hymn
By And By -- Traditional Baptist hymn
How Great Thou Art -- Traditional Baptist hymn
I Surrender All -- Traditional Baptist hymn
Just As I Am -- Traditional Baptist hymn
Power in the Blood -- Traditional Baptist Hymn
Softly and Tenderly -- Traditional Baptist hymn
There is a Name I Love to Hear -- Traditional Baptist hymn
What a Friend We Have in Jesus -- Traditional Baptist hymn
Long Black Train -- Josh Turner
40 -- U2
Gloria -- U2
It's Alright (Send Me) -- Winans Phase2
Fly -- Paul Wright
Your Love Never Changes -- Paul Wright
[Note: Because no one wants to read (and I hate to write) anything serious on Fridays, I have a rotating list of features for this day. “The Lists” is yet another occasional Friday feature that will be added to the mix.]
The following is a list of favorite works compiled by a literary snob. Unlike similar lists, though, you won't find anything as unreadable as Joyce's Ulysses or as faddish as the latest Salman Rushdie novel. In fact, on first glance the inclusion of children's books and graphic novels might give the impression that it is rather lowbrow, if not philistine. But each of the entries was carefully selected because they have what most modern fiction lacks: a compelling story.
C.S. Lewis once wrote that it is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between. This is an an especially useful axiom for 20th century literature, which tends to pale in comparison to time-tested works. I find it difficult, for example, to justify reading a doorstopper by by Jonathan Franzen when Tolstoy would provide more enlightenment per page.
But a preference for works that have proved themselves over the centuries does not mean that modern literature should be completely avoided. While the works on this list are not the best books of the last century – or even the best books that I have read – they all tell interesting stories that are worthy of attention.
One last note about my particular prejudices. I not only prefer the old to the new but I prefer non-fiction to fiction. Fiction lovers will therefore rightly take issue with my narrow choices. I also prefer short stories to long novels, magical realism to realistic narrative, and the fantastical to the mundane. Such taste make for an admittedly odd mix.
Here then are my favorite works of 20th century imaginative literature:
1. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing --Judy Blume
2. A Man for All Seasons -- Robert Bolt
3. The Mad Scientists Club -- Bertrand R. Brinley (The ubertext for pre-Atari Gen-X nerds.)
4. On The Road With Archangel - Frederick Buechner
5. Astro City: Life in the Big City -- Kurt Busiek (After Alan Moore's highly overrated graphic novel "Watchmen" deconstructed the superhero genre, Busiek's Astro City series restored it to its glory.)
6. Ender's Game -- Orson Scott Card 
(A brilliant book on young geniuses, military tactics, and much more.)
7. Invisible Cities -- Italo Calvino
8. The Uncanny X-Men (Annual #4 – 1980) -- Chris Claremont (This 1980 edition of the X-Men introduced me to Dante's Inferno and sparked a love for classic literature.)
9. The Name of the Rose -- Umberto Eco
11. Foucault’s Pendulum -- Umberto Eco
12. The Lord of the Flies -- William Golding
13. The Princess Bride: S Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure -- William Goldman (Suprisingly, Goldman wrote this novelization after writing the screenplay. The highest praise I can give it is to say that the book is as charming as the movie.)
14. Mariette in Ecstasy -- Ron Hansen 
15. Starship Troopers -- Robert Heinlein (Not being a fan of sci-fi, I was reluctant to read this novel when I found it on the Marine Corps' professional reading list. But Heinlein presents some intriguing ideas in this short work. Not to be confused with the horrible film adaptation by Paul Verhoeven.)
16. Out Of The Dust -- Karen Hesse (Written in stanza form, this Newberry Award Winner tells the story of a young girl in the Depression-era Oklahoma dust bowl. A beautiful story for teens that deserves to find an adult readership.)
17. Expecting Someone Taller -- Tom Holt (A lighthearted gem that mixes comedy and fantasy.)
18. The Pugilist at Rest -- Thom Jones (If Raymond Chandler had joined the Marines and read too much Schopenhauer, he would have written short stories like Jone's tales of hardboiled existential angst.)
19. Cold Snap -- Thom Jones
20. Flowers for Algernon -- Daniel Keyes
21. The Bear Went Over the Mountain -- William Kotzwinkle
22. A Wrinkle in Time -- Madeline L'Engle
23. The Wall of the Sky, The Wall of the Eye -- Jonathan Lethem
24. Till We Have Faces -- C.S. Lewis
25. The Chronicles of Narnia -- C.S. Lewis
26. Tooth Imprints On a Corn Dog -- Mark Leyner (Sublimely weird, hysterically funny tales.)
27. Einstein's Dreams -- Alan Lightman (Lightman, a physics professor and gifted writer, presents a fascinating exploration into places where time behaves quite differently.)
28. The Giver -- Lois Lowry
29. All the Pretty Horses -- Cormac McCarthy
30. A River Runs Through It - Norman MacLean
31. Leaving Cheyenne – Larry McMurtry (McMurtry's first novel isn't his best work. But the unusual love triangle at the heart of the book shows why he is one of the best -- though most erratic -- of American novelists.)
32. Lonesome Dove -- Larry McMurtry (McMurtry's masterpiece gives us one of the century's best fictional characters -- Augustus McRae.)
33. The Borderlands anthologies Thomas F. Monteleone (Editor) (These hard-to-find anthologies reinvented the horror genre and made it accessible to people who would normally flee at from anything associated with the words "horror genre.")
34. The Bluest Eye -- Toni Morrison
35. A Good Man Is Hard to Find -- Flannery O'Connor (O'Connor in all her brilliance.)
36. Fight Club -- Chuck Palahniuk (I stumbled across this odd book long before the Brad Pitt movie made if famous. Nihilistic, but compelling.)
37. The Fountainhead -- Ayn Rand
38. Where the Red Fern Grows -- Wilson Rawls (The only book that ever made me cry.)
39. The Complete Adventures of Curious George -- H. A. Rey (My first introduction to God's greatest comedic creatures: monkeys.)
40. The Sparrow -- Mary Doria Russell (These two books by Russell make one of the finest stories about a Catholic priest/linguist traveling to another planet that you'll ever find. Science fiction that transcends the genre.)
41. Children of God -- Mary Doria Russell
42. Holes -- Louis Sachar (Magical realism for tweens. A magnificient book.)
43. Civilwarland in Bad Decline -- George Saunders (Saunders is simply the best short story writer alive today.)
44. The Catcher in the Rye -- J.D. Salinger (A book that everyone should be embrace as a teenager and denouce upon reaching adulthood.)
45. Where the Wild Things Are -- Maurice Sendak
46. The Encyclopedia Brown series -- Donald J. Sobol (The desire to know as much as Encylopedia Brown is the reason I now have an interest in just about everything.) 
47. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch -- Alexander Solzenitzhen
48. The Secret History -- Donna Tartt
49. A Handful of Dust -- Evelyn Waugh
50. The Complete Calvin and Hobbes -- Bill Watterson (Unarguably the greatestest comic strip of all time. Calvin is the premier philosopher of the 20th century.)
(HT: Jared whose own list of 50 Great literary works gave me the idea.)