Apparently they left out To Kill a Mockingbird because they weren't sure whether its literary merit stood the test of time compared to some of the other books on the list. What??

Dos Passos's U.S.A. Trilogy is truly a masterpiece. Experimental and ground-breaking for its time, with so many characters narrators and POV styles, and covering such a length and breadth of the American experience. Extremely under-rated today imo, I hardly ever hear anyone talking about it. I loved it.

love this vid!! it was so great to see your live reactions!! some of the newer picks... were a bit unusual lol

Great video, I’m glad you took up the challenge of doing this and introducing it to a wider audience and opening it up for discussion. For clarity’s sake, Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery is a short story and most likely her best known work and a quintessentially taught story in high schools. It would take you under twenty minutes to read and I almost want to assign it to you as homework, because it’s that good and that amazing and will embed itself in your mind forever. I see it as a right of passage of teen years, the same as reading Catcher In the Rye. So that is the must read work that is not on this list. It is great to see graphic novels on this list, but one you may not have known about is the Will Eisner book, A Contract With God. Eisner really deserves equal billing with Art Spiegelman for reviving the graphic novel and setting a high bar for what would come after. I would probably also switch out Watchman for Alison Bechdal’s Fun Home as the more recent graphic novel contender. Going over this list with you and considering what’s missing, I would say it needs another children’s book and one from Kate DiCamillo, who I feel is the inheritor of E.B. White’s mantel. While fantasy books are her masterpieces, as American novels go Because of Winn Dixie would most likely be the best fit to this list. With the emergence of YA at the end of the 20th century I feel there should be at least one title for that category. I would most likely choose A Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds.

So glad you decided to review this list. Great job as always!

Great Video Greg! Love you’re style ~ thank you for having dinner with me😉😁 I agree, Barbara Kingslover - especially Demon Copperhead. BTW, did I miss To Kill A Mockingbird, was it on there? Great list as a reminder of so many great books ❤

I enjoyed this piece so much. I recognized a number of old friends. I could spend the rest of the afternoon adding my reaction to it, but I have other things pressing. I will listen through this piece again and share it with other of my lit pals.

Greg, I love your long vids! Can't wait to give this the time it deserves and dig into the comments, too. (Currently on vacation in Oahu. Aloha!)

This was fun! Instant subscriber here. This reminded me that I have read each of Slaughterhouse 5, Fahrenheit 451, and Catch 22, and I get them kind of jumbled in my brain. Must be the numbers. 🤯

Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko is a Native American novel dealing with native war vets coming home and trying to reconnect with their home and pass their culture along despite how war has broken them. It's very unapologetic about writing for the native gaze and not the white gaze. Very good. Highly recommend.

Haven’t commented in a while Greg. Hope you’re well. Always enjoy your list commentary’s! Must be getting to your trip soon!

I read Invisible Man in both high school and college and thought it was phenomenal. It has stayed with me since! Highly recommend and very happy to see it on this list!

Strongly support the inclusion of 'Housekeeping' and 'Blood Meridian', two of the greatest English-language novels of the second half of the twentieth century. Seven important titles omitted that would merit consideration: --'The Professor's House' (1925) by Willa Cather --'Light in August' (1932) by William Faulkner --'Two Serious Ladies' (1943) by Jane Bowles --'Wise Blood' (1952) by Flannery O'Connor --'The Power of the Dog' (1967) by Thomas Savage --'Sophie's Choice' (1979) by William Styron --'The Hours' (1998) by Michael Cunningham

I am very glad you did this. I part because you inspired to make my own list.

Great video. Love the Great America Book debates. My favourite is Lonesome Dove. I’d put a Wallace Stegner book in. Crossing To Safety for me

I’m glad you did this Greg. I usually have the same taste as yours when it comes to books I definitely think Demon Copperhead or something with Barbara Kingsolver souls have made this list!

I haven’t even finished watching your vid but am pissed at TA’s methodology so had to stop to post!! To limit the list to the last 100 hundred years is absurd! The books/authors that this automatically eliminates completely delegitimizes the list. You can’t talk about great American novels without talking about Hetman Melville (Greg I’m going to encourage you again to read Moby Dick. It’s a great book) & Mark Twain. And the historical significance of Uncle Tom’s Cabin can’t be overstated (though I really did not love it as a novel). Ok, I’m off my soap box. Back to the vid…😊

I was excited that "The Stand" was included! I love a lot of more literary novels but LOVE "The Stand" and always felt alone in my deep love! Reading "There, There" right now. I love lists like this one and actually retyped all the titles with author into a check list format that I could print out and mark off. I don't plan to read all of them but there are a lot that have been on my list of "to be read" for years.

Thanks for this great video! It was a lot of fun. The book that I have read that I am most thrilled to see included on this list is "Little, Big" by John Crowley. I am a big fan of fantasy -- nearly half my fiction reading is fantasy novels -- and I definitely think "Little, Big" is one of the five best fantasy novels I have ever read. It is also probably the most "American" of the fantasy novels I've read, with many links to American history and culture, and so richly deserves being included on a "Great American novels" list. It's one book I really think everyone should read. My other comment is that I am disappointed that "Blonde" was the Joyce Carol Oates book on this list. I have never read it, not because I have heard it's a bad book; I don't think I had run across that evaluation of it before watching this video; but just because I am not very personally interested in fictionalizations of the life of Marilyn Monroe. But I have read several other Joyce Carol Oates books and think she probably does deserve to be included in a "great American" novels list that includes over 130 selections. Of her books I have read, I would nominate "Bellefleur" for the list, perhaps because it has some "magic realist" aspects and so better fits my love of fantasy. Despite her enormous output, I do find Oates a better author than other prolific bestseller types like Danielle Steel and James Patterson, and so think something by her should have been included -- just not "Blonde"!

Thank you for this wonderful video! Much food for thought. I would highly recommend Carson McCullers. Being a lifelong reader, when I first read her novels just 10 or so years ago, I thought where has she been all my life? She was a friend of Truman Capote. I would have liked to have seen him on this list. Also, I agree with you about the more current choices. They just don't seem to be as substantial as past classics.

Thank you for sharing the complete list! I agree that the earlier selections are better. I tried a number of the later ones and DNF-ed some of them. I tried to read Infinite Jest a number of times, but it's a huge book and I didn't think the time commitment was worth it. As for The Corrections, I loved it but didn't like any of his other books. I will be reading Passing (had never heard of it) per your recommendation, thanks again!

I am surprised that there are no John Irving Books on the list: no World According to Garp or Cider House Rules. I am also surprised that there is no Neil Gaiman. American Gods is a book I try to read at least every other year

Took me all evening to watch this cause I kept pausing to add books to my TBR list plus then everyone’s omission recommendations in the comments. I need to convert to a religion that says you can be reincarnated just to keep reading through your TBR list. This was such a fun video with your live reactions. I agree that Barbara Kingsolver should be here-I haven’t read Poisonwood Bible or Demon Copperhead yet (Forgive me, Booktuber, for I have sinned-I’ll be remedying that this year), so I would pick The Bean Trees. The later novels seem an odd choice, but I haven’t read most, so I guess I need to do I can have an opinion. :) Thank you for a great video, and especially the conversation and community you bring. Hi to Joel and scritches to Teddy.

Little, Big is my favorite book and I never see people talk about it!! I'm so happy it's there. It's literary leaning fantasy/magical realism. I think it falls into a weird in-between place so it doesn't quite catch the attention of either fantasy readers or literary readers. The prose is beautiful.

Great video. There are a lot of remarkable books on this list that I want to read. I highly recommend Kerouac's On the Road. A marvellous story and the language is beautiful, rhythmic and intoxicating.

Turned on the TV while having my coffee this morning and, as a lifelong reader with degrees focusing on American lit, was so excited to see this video. Like you, I wanted to pause and react before seeing the list. I was surprised you suggested The Color Purple given a recent video where you pointed out how uneven the book is. When I saw that discussion, I remembered feeling the same way about how the sister's segments really dragged, and dragged down my opinion of the book's overall quality. On the other hand, I've never read a Toni Morrison book that I didn't like, always thought all those novels were perfectly well-written, which is what I'm looking for in a great American novel. It was beyond sad to see the recent Oscar-nominated documentary ABCs of Book Banning listed all of Toni Morrison's books on a banned list. People need to be able to see what good writing looks like! Never read Catcher in the Rye, but I wonder if it's more a boy's book, like Tom Sawyer. I can see why Twain is deservedly praised as a certain type of writer, but don't really have an emotional connection to his work. Gone with the Wind is definitely a girl's book and a great feat of writing, and should not be cancelled. But it shouldn't be on the list for the reasons you state. I'm surprised you said a lot of people don't like Gatsby. Having read, taught, and gone over it multiple times, my feeling is it's undeniably great. Now that I've reacted to your initial thoughts in this video, I'm excited to see what's on the actual list, hope it's not just trendy. I can think of a few you didn't list that should definitely be on there. Two minutes later: Oh, only the past 100 years, that immediately crosses some of my picks off the list 😅 I hate paywalls. But I appreciate your balanced approach. Will have to see if the Libby app through my library has The Atlantic.... after I watch the rest of your video!

I completely agree with you about some of the more recent books included, and Barbara Kingsolver being left off this list seems like a very serious omission. She definitely belongs on the list. I share your appreciation of Salinger and Catcher. It was a very important book to me as well. Thanks for doing this video, Greg. Really thoughtful commentary.

I love all Supposedly Fun videos!!!

Thanks Greg this was fun. I agree with you that some of these books won’t stand the test of time but you are being a little hard on them the title of the article was the great American novel of the last one hundred years not last one hundred years ending in 2000. I will say The Biography of X was expectional. I’m glad to see it’s getting some love. Never read I Hotel because. It’s seemed so experimental but I’m intrigued . I decided to get Sansei and Sensibility a story collection first. But alas still sitting on the shelf

Did not finish either of those Franzen books either, but I finally got through a Franzen with Crossroads. Didn't make me want to go back and read more, but I enjoyed it and can't wait for the rest of the trilogy.

Hm. Love Medicine. The Trees. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Gilead. It seems sort of shallowly provocative to include some of the more recent books without including these novels, and others. It’s an odd list, I think.

I like how there’s a mix of genres. Lots of books I haven’t read yet.

Just jumping into say hope you give DeLillo another shot someday! Also not a White Noise fan, but I love a number of his other works. In particular, I think Libra is one of the great American novels, and it's much less of a commitment than Underworld.

I was thrilled to see the Catcher in the rye. It lead me to the life of reading. For the first time I, a teenager , found a friend in the book.

Glad to see Philip Roth was on the list…I was a huge fan of his back in the day…so happy my new favorite, Percival Everett was mentioned!

I’ve only read 10 on this list. Here’s tag idea for you. Imagine a book list 60yrs from now. What books would be on the list from 1980 to 2024?

Really glad to see something by Judy Blume on the list!

Greg, I did not know you went to high school in SF! Where did you go? Still watching the video. You are a million percent correct about not giving a certain writer any "oxygen," and not wanting to read that abomination. Enough said about that. Yes, audiobooks can make all the difference. I think I might have liked Lincoln in the Bardo a lot better if I'd listened to a well-produced audio with a wide cast of characters 😄 Not that you need more for your tbr, but I recently read Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell for my library's book club. Excellent writing, loved this short story collection that includes a different take on presidents in the bardo, preceding Lincoln in the Bardo by a couple of years. 😀

Before starting video, list should definitely include: 1. Grapes of Wrath 2. East of Eden 3. Catch-22 4. Catcher Rye 5. Confederacy of Dunces 6. Goosebumps choose your story series

My deep and abiding love of Catcher in the Rye is well documented! I pretty much agree with your expectations list, even the ones that I don't personally like (looking at you, Ernest Hemingway). In several cases I was also surprised about which novel they chose to represent an author. I sort of wish they'd restricted it to one book per author to include more authors, and maybe include more graphic novels or YA.There are many favorites here but it gets a little odd towards the end. So glad that my current obsession Percival Everett made it. Yes! Do read "The Lottery" and Their Eyes Were Watching God.

Listening to you I thought “Oh man, there are so many books I haven’t read!” too! And I have read nearly all of Kingsolver’s books - she needs to be on these lists. Many great books missing and a few authors whose best books weren’t the ones chosen. Gilead for instance.

Really no Mockingbird but No Mailer, No Capote, No Vidal. No Jack London, No Upton Sinclair Was Ralph Ellison Invisible Man there?

The way I haven't heard of most of the 70s & 80s authors! I'm going to have to look into them. I think On the Road is very much like you were saying Catcher in the Rye is: something you need to read at the right time in life although I still think Kerouac is a better writer than most people give him credit for. Infinite Jest is very postmodern, and I'd only recommend it if you're into that. But I Love Dick is great and I think you'd enjoy it.

I loved Another Country and The Intuitionist. The Garcia Girls is delightful. It's told in a very original way that is very touching at the end.

I love your video style so much. It’s liking having coffee with a close friend and talking about my favorite subject: books!! I was shocked to see Stephen King on here. He’s one of my favorites though I have yet to read The Stand. I tend to lean to dark fiction though you’ve expanded my tastes recently. I appreciate you going through this list with us. Very, very interesting!

Yes!…read The Secret Hustory. I’m surprised you DNF’d The Goldfinch. I read it right after Demon Copperhead (your recommendation) because I craved something similar.

Surprised no Lonesome Dove! Also, I know Alexie has fallen out of favor, and I agree he shoud because of SA but some of his early novels are some of my most beloved. My son is reading Son of Solomon in AP Lit this year and he is loving it. Great video and such a nice way to wake up this morning.

Oooh! My TBR just grew. Got three ordered already (Kang, Shteyngart, and Stein) and will be back for more. Already had "Log of the S.S. The Mrs Unguentine" pre-ordered from Dalkey Press (it involves magical realism used to tell the story of a marriage). "An American Tragedy" is one of my favorites of all time, more for its cumulative effect than for the sentence level reading experience (It's a realist grind). I liked their reference to pearls. I imagine Dreiser being determined to use every scrap of detail that he had uncovered in his research. It's the first book I think of when someone brings up "The Great American Novel". Their description of "The Mountain Lion" doesn't seem to do it justice. The advertising copy mentions: "Coming of age in pre-World War II California and Colorado... Torn between their mother's world of genteel respectability and their grandfather's and uncle's world of cowboy masculinity, neither Molly nor Ralph can find an acceptable adult role to aspire to." I was happy to to see "Couples" and "Biography of X" on the list. I'm surprised there isn't at least one Rabbit Angstrom book. "Couples" is a book I've been creeping through for a couple (Ba dum--) years now. Adultery is topic that really gets to me for some reason, so it hasn't been an easy read, but I shall conquer it! As you can tell I'm not into dnf-ing or canceling. The Will Eisner book (A Contract with God) is a graphic novel. "Amiable with Big Teeth" is a rediscovered Harlem Renaissance novel. I wonder if some of their recent choices are just there to start the conversation/arguments.

Thanks!

Argh, I didn't keep track of how many of these I read. But I did want to recommend Little, Big by John Crowley. It's a fantasy and after taking it off my shelves, I'm motivated to reread it. I was hoping to see The Master Butchers Singing Club by Louise Erdritch. And I agree with someone down below, American Gods by Neil Gaimon would've been a good inclusion. I could go on, but thanks for this video.

Herman Melville's 'Moby-Dick; or, The Whale' is the greatest great American novel, so DeForest was writing in ignorance, and 'The Atlantic' was myopic in limiting their parameters to its exclusion.

Hi, Greg, I just came across your channel and definitely enjoyed your reviews. I cannot say much about books on the list published since around 1980 when I more or less stopped reading contemporary novels American or European. But I am surprised that any list which omits either Uncle Tom's Cabin or Gone With the Wind can be taken seriously. I am also surprised by the omission of writers like Melville, Henry James, Gore Vidal, Louis Auchincloss , Norman Mailer, Thomas Wolfe (Look Homeward Angel) to mention just a few that come to mind immediately. Why is it I think they were omitted for political reasons ? Politics should not influence our views as to the quality or importance of a novel. I'm not objecting to the inclusion of any book on the list but of excluding many important and successful writers from it. The number of omissions is too great to be mere oversight. (Mailer and Vidal probably sold more books and influenced more people than half the writers that came after them, and they were very controversial.)

I love that Toni Morrison was on the list 3 times! Yay! I would not put The Secret History on the list. It was just ok. SO glad to see The Haunting Of Hill House. LOVE Shirley Jackson. I think The Lottery is more of a short story. You definitely should read it. ❤ Excellent Video!

Never really liked American Tragedy - if I must read Dreiser I go for Sister Carrie. I had a literature professor who read from a guide for young women written the same year as Sister Carrie - made the book fit nicely into the time and place. If I were in charge - Old Man and the Sea would be on the list. I will get a copy of the Atlantic and try to read through the list [yeah, another reading project 😒 ] Thank you for going over this list and commenting on the list.

I have read An American Tragedy and wouldn't have thought it should be on the list. I highly recommend Absalom, Absalom which structurally is more along the lines of 100 Years of Solitude than The Sound and The Fury is. While I haven't read Dos Passos, I have read a number of Frank Norris' novels and would have thought they more suitable. I am a fan of The Great Gatsby. I suppose by limiting their list to the last 100 years, they've omitted Herman Melville and to me Moby-Dick would definitely be a great American novel. Thanks so much for sharing not just the list but your own thoughts on the process. I'll watch the rest of the video as I am hoping they have Catch-22 included. I also agree that Updike shouldn't feature but I'm also not a fan of Roth, either. Also, I re-read Penn Warren as someone living now outside of the UK and frankly that book does not work outside the limited political context - I was taught that 'great' literature is about universals, and that is not universal. Little, Big - one of my all-time favourite fantasy novels, I re-read it every few years as its magic is phenomenal. Read Lincoln in the Bardo, interesting, but not necessarily for a great list. I had heard the concept 'Bardo' discussed by Bruce Cockburn for his song, so read the book to widen my understanding. I've only realised what I think is a fatal omission in their list - no Eudora Welty. Her writing makes me cry it is so crystal perfect.

Yeah you should read Shirley Jackson collected stories The Lottery….. so good

The three books I recommend reading from this list out of what you haven't read are The Sellout by Paul Beatty, Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli, and Sabrina by Nick Drrnaso

I had the exact same thoughts on the newer novels. Not sure they will stand the test of time.

“An American Tragedy” is one of my favorite novels. The American Dream becomes an American nightmare. It’s decades since I read it. I’m pretty sure for a 21st century reader it will seem Drieser delves too deeply into building back stories for each character. You are correct, it was inspired by a court case in the Finger Lake region of NY. The second half of the book involving the fateful outing and the subsequent court case flows at a faster pace.

Gone with the wind is a GREAT american novel.One of my favorite books of all time.

Not sure I'd advise you to listen to Nightwood on audio. It's not a long book, but it is very dense and it took me ages to get through, because things kept getting over my head (I did like it at the end though). Admittedly, I'm not a native English speaker, but I've read lots of books in English, including classics and a lot of literary fiction, and this is one if the hardest writing styles I've ever encountered.

'Pops: Fatherhood in Pieces' by Michael Chabon has a story about a dapper son and clueless dad at fashion week meeting the gay young designers. I love a good finding your tribe story, highly recommend.

I read The Revolt of the Cockroach People and So Far From God for my Mexican American Lit class in college, and I'm glad to see these little known books get some recognition here! I remember the former turned a lot of us off because of the misogyny coming from the protagonist, but oddly enough we all appreciated it for highlighting the machismo culture in Latino society and I'd still recommend reading it though I know it will be a divisive book. (Fun fact: Oscar Zeta Acosta is actually the basis for Hunter S. Thompson's sidekick in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas!) So Far From God, on the other hand, is a magical realism tale about a family of 4 sisters with a lot of feminist themes. A lot of us chose this book for our final analysis paper because it's so rich in symbolism.

I also love that graphic novels were included on the list, but also did not love the Watchmen. I’ve never ventured into graphic novels because I’ve always associated them with the superhero genre. I’ve recently read Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe and Ducks by Kate Beaton and enjoyed them very much. I would love to see what graphic novels you would recommend . I was shocked and disappointed that Barbara Kingsolver wasn’t included on a list of Great American Novels. Nothing to See Here makes the list but not Demon Copperhead, smh.

Contract with God is also a graphic novel. Will Eisner is THE giant of the north american comic book medium.

I wrote my masters thesis on House of Leaves! I hated my advisor and I wanted to make him read a haunted house book about a drxggy tattoo artist. No good deed goes unpunished, because he loved it lol. I’m always excited to hear Fifth Season slander lol. The Orogenes are walking human atomic bombs, and yet they are the oppressed ones? It’s a flawed premise from the jump (clearly meant to mirror racial impression, but the analogy doesn’t land) and then the obvious character twist resulted in weird roundabout writing that added 100 extra pages in cagey phrasing. I’m always surprised when The Great Glorious Goddxmn of It All is left off these lists. It’s a riff on the Great American Novel that knows what it’s doing, but it’s not a parody. Also, where’s Valley of the Dolls? North Woods better be on future lists.

Dawn Powell!! A Time to Be Born was so good, but My Home is Far Away was better.

I came here waiting for an epic rant over To Kill a Mockingbird's snub, and I get NOTHING! Shame on you, Greg lol. I kinda liked the list, though the recent titles do feel a bit wonky. I knew you'd hate Patricia Lockwood's inclusion, for example, and having her over Barbara Kingsolver is ... a choice that was made. Even if it's too soon for Demon, The Poisonwood Bible was right there, and how does that justify Biography of X being mentioned? You'd think that they would have left off books from the past decade or so to avoid recency bias complaints. Love the Toni Morrison love. I feel like there needed to be an epic western on this list. Where is Lonesome Dove? True Grit would have been a great choice too. Totally see why the list is divisive. Some choices seem really arbitrary, and the Atlantic is a shell of what it used to be. BTW, White Noise is amazing lol! Some of your biases are very mercurial. Also would have limited list to only top 100.

Every single list of "Best anything" is 100% subjective, and should be read as such. What I really liked about the list is the explanation of the books and that made it interesting. But yeah, no The Cider House Rules by John Irving? Outrageous!!!

At the moment, I'm reading James, the new novel by Percival Everett, and so far, I find it stunningly good. Recommend.

I was screaming where’s- A tree grows in Brooklyn ! Or Demon Copperhead. The new release titles did not seem like very good choices to me personally.

I'm particularly happy to see Philip K. Dick, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Maxine Hong Kingston, Nella Larsen, and Bret Easton Ellis on this list. Philip Roth and Vladimir Nabokov were a given, but still nice to see.

I think this list is too long by half. I agree that some of these need more time in order to qualify for such a lofty title as "great American novel". No Barbara Kingsolver seems like a glaring omission. Thanks for the video-really fun!

' Dancer from the Dance ' an excellent choice.

I'm puzzled Joyce Carol Oates had no entry for her Wonderland quartet! Them, in particular, is the very embodiment of a great American novel. I'm also shocked No One is Talkin About This was included. It read like a student's first draft.

!. I started to read Garcia Girls but coudn't get into it. 2. I started to read Bastard/CArolina. First chapter was great but the dark, dark tone of the book quickly turned me off. Never finished it. 3. Newer selections - Every list and every age has it's criteria. I'd be interested in seeing a list of important books that was complied, say, fifty years ago, especially one that focused on America. I'm sure that back in the 70s or 80s, a number of then important books appeared, and we wouldn't even know them, or we wouldn't consider them important. Diversity is the theme now, but decades ago, other ideas were prominent - recognizing America as a country, how America faces adversity, or simply questioning our values as compared to previous generations.

"Contract with God" by Will Eisner is a graphic novel, written and drawn by one the most important creators in the genre. He is best known for creating "The Spirit."

MIDDLESEX !!!! by Jeffrey Eugenides; HOMEGOING !!! by Yaa Gyasi. POISONWOOD BIBLE !!! by Barbara Kingsolver; DEMON COPPERHEAD by Barbara Kingsolver; KEEPERS of the HOUSE by Shirley Ann Grau; The Hard Blue Sky by Shirley Ann Grau. Jeesh. The Atlantic kinda blew it, imo.

I don't necessarily love Watchmen, but I agree with the idea that I don't look at superhero media the same having read it. It seems more relevant with how big the MCU is.

You don’t think Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn are equivalent do you? The former is a fun kids book, the latter is a literary masterpiece of international renown. Chandler isn’t “neo-noir”! 😂. He predates Film Noir and influenced it. Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery is a 6 page short story.

Surprised that Eudora Welty not included in many "lists".

Way too many recent books, agree with you these are not on a list 40-50 years from now

The problem with recent picks is they are biased by current ideology, which might be more faddish than enduring.

Rereading Catcher. People forget how fucking hilarious it is. Btw Contract With God is seen as the first graphic novel

Where's ' Revolutionary Road' ?

I would have added The Demon by Hubert Selby Jr., and the Nabokov masterwork, Laughter in the Dark.

Hanya Yanagihara' s ' A Little Life ' and James Baldwin's ' Another Country '

I cannot believe Philip Roth wrote The Great American Novel, and we're still debating this.

Lonesome Dove... East of Eden... I could go on, so will stop now..! 🙂

I agree Demon Copperhead I’d like to have seen on the list ; it’s American AF

The Lottery is a short story you should read today.

If Salter's misogyny turns you off I would NOT recommend A Sport and a Pastime.

I am surprised there are a lot of books that i really disliked on the list

I would nominate TomTrainor's "Rocker Heaven" for best first American novel by a living writer. I would also nominate "The Recognitions" by William Gaddis, "Darconville's Cat" by Alexander Theroux, and "Zen and the Art of Motorycle Maintenance" by Robert Persig, each for every different reasons. Tom Robbins should be in there too. He changed America, as did Tim. Slackjawed in disbelief that Tom Tim didn't even get an honorable demention.

Interesting that The Watchmen is on there given Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons are British. I guess because DC comics are American. Surprised that Alice Walker, Ann Patchett, Barbara Kingsolver and Elizabeth Strout didn't make the list

No Sinclair Lewis. Loved Main Street.

what no ' the lonesome dove' and 'a prayer for owen meany'?

Would you ever consider writing a novel?

The Lottery by Jackson is a short story.

Yeah some of the picks are...interesting