The Modern Library has listed the 100 best books of THE CENTURY.  There are two lists, one from “The Library” and one by popular vote.  At 18 I swore I would read them all by 30 but insert bullshit excuses.    Some of these books forever changed the way I think and profoundly influenced my life.  Others were a wretched waste of time.   You can see my progress below, discussion is welcomed.

As of 05/14/13 I have read 47/172

1. ULYSSES by James Joyce
2. THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald Nubs Down!
3. A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN by James Joyce
4. LOLITA by Vladimir Nabokov Nubs Up [review]
5. BRAVE NEW WORLD by Aldous Huxley Nubs Up
6. THE SOUND AND THE FURY by William Faulkner attempted
7. CATCH-22 Nubs Up (influential)
8. DARKNESS AT NOON by Arthur Koestler
9. SONS AND LOVERS by D.H. Lawrence
10. THE GRAPES OF WRATH by John Steinbeck
11. UNDER THE VOLCANO by Malcolm Lowry
12. THE WAY OF ALL FLESH by Samuel Butler
13. 1984 by George Orwell [nubs up]
14. I, CLAUDIUS by Robert Graves
15. TO THE LIGHTHOUSE by Virginia Woolf [meh] [review]
16. AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY by Theodore Dreiser
17. THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers
18. SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE by Kurt Vonnegut
19. INVISIBLE MAN by Ralph Ellison
20. NATIVE SON by Richard Wright
21. HENDERSON THE RAIN KING by Saul Bellow
22. APPOINTMENT IN SAMARRA by John O’Hara
23. U.S.A. (trilogy) by John Dos Passos
24. WINESBURG, OHIO by Sherwood Anderson
25. A PASSAGE TO INDIA by E.M. Forster
26. THE WINGS OF THE DOVE by Henry James
27. THE AMBASSADORS by Henry James
28. TENDER IS THE NIGHT by F. Scott Fitzgerald
29. THE STUDS LONIGAN TRILOGY by James T. Farrell
30. THE GOOD SOLDIER by Ford Madox Ford
31. ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell
32. THE GOLDEN BOWL by Henry James
33. SISTER CARRIE by Theodore Dreiser
34. A HANDFUL OF DUST by Evelyn Waugh
35. AS I LAY DYING by William Faulkner
36. ALL THE KING’S MEN by Robert Penn Warren
37. THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY by Thornton Wilder
38. HOWARDS END by E.M. Forster
39. GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN by James Baldwin
40. THE HEART OF THE MATTER by Graham Greene
41. LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding
42. DELIVERANCE by James Dickey
43. A DANCE TO THE MUSIC OF TIME (series) by Anthony Powell
44. POINT COUNTER POINT by Aldous Huxley
45. THE SUN ALSO RISES by Ernest Hemingway
46. THE SECRET AGENT by Joseph Conrad
47. NOSTROMO by Joseph Conrad
48. THE RAINBOW by D.H. Lawrence
49. WOMEN IN LOVE by D.H. Lawrence
50. TROPIC OF CANCER by Henry Miller
51. THE NAKED AND THE DEAD by Norman Mailer
52. PORTNOY’S COMPLAINT by Philip Roth
53. PALE FIRE by Vladimir Nabokov
54. LIGHT IN AUGUST by William Faulkner
55. ON THE ROAD by Jack Kerouac
56. THE MALTESE FALCON by Dashiell Hammett
57. PARADE’S END by Ford Madox Ford
58. THE AGE OF INNOCENCE by Edith Wharton
59. ZULEIKA DOBSON by Max Beerbohm
60. THE MOVIEGOER by Walker Percy
61. DEATH COMES FOR THE ARCHBISHOP by Willa Cather
62. FROM HERE TO ETERNITY by James Jones
63. THE WAPSHOT CHRONICLES by John Cheever
64. THE CATCHER IN THE RYE by J.D. Salinger nubs down
65. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE by Anthony Burgess nubs up
66. OF HUMAN BONDAGE by W. Somerset Maugham
67. HEART OF DARKNESS by Joseph Conrad
68. MAIN STREET by Sinclair Lewis
69. THE HOUSE OF MIRTH by Edith Wharton
70. THE ALEXANDRIA QUARTET by Lawrence Durell
71. A HIGH WIND IN JAMAICA by Richard Hughes Nubs Down, this book is fucking horrible
72. A HOUSE FOR MR BISWAS by V.S. Naipaul
73. THE DAY OF THE LOCUST by Nathanael West
74. A FAREWELL TO ARMS by Ernest Hemingway nubs down
75. SCOOP by Evelyn Waugh
76. THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE by Muriel Spark
77. FINNEGANS WAKE by James Joyce
78. KIM by Rudyard Kipling nubs up
79. A ROOM WITH A VIEW by E.M. Forster
80. BRIDESHEAD REVISITED by Evelyn Waugh meh [review]
81. THE ADVENTURES OF AUGIE MARCH by Saul Bellow
82. ANGLE OF REPOSE by Wallace Stegner
83. A BEND IN THE RIVER by V.S. Naipaul
84. THE DEATH OF THE HEART by Elizabeth Bowen
85. LORD JIM by Joseph Conrad Nubs Down, boooo
86. RAGTIME by E.L. Doctorow
87. THE OLD WIVES’ TALE by Arnold Bennett
88. THE CALL OF THE WILD by Jack London
89. LOVING by Henry Green
90. MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN by Salman Rushdie
91. TOBACCO ROAD by Erskine Caldwell
92. IRONWEED by William Kennedy
93. THE MAGUS by John Fowles
94. WIDE SARGASSO SEA by Jean Rhys Nubs Down, worst book on this list that I’ve read yet.
95. UNDER THE NET by Iris Murdoch
96. SOPHIE’S CHOICE by William Styron
97. THE SHELTERING SKY by Paul Bowles
98. THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE by James M. Cain
99. THE GINGER MAN by J.P. Donleavy
100. THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS by Booth Tarkington ATTEMPTED [details]

1. ATLAS SHRUGGED by Ayn Rand
2. THE FOUNTAINHEAD by Ayn Rand
3. BATTLEFIELD EARTH by L. Ron Hubbard Excellent! Surprisingly so given the author.
4. THE LORD OF THE RINGS by J.R.R. Tolkien
5. ANTHEM by Ayn Rand
6. WE THE LIVING by Ayn Rand
7. MISSION EARTH by L. Ron Hubbard
8. FEAR by L. Ron Hubbard
9. DUNE by Frank Herbert amazing
10. THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS by Robert Heinlein
11. STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND by Robert Heinlein
12. A TOWN LIKE ALICE by Nevil Shute attempted
13. GRAVITY’S RAINBOW by Thomas Pynchon attempted
14. GONE WITH THE WIND by Margaret Mitchell
15. SHANE by Jack Schaefer
16. TRUSTEE FROM THE TOOLROOM by Nevil Shute
17. A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY by John Irving
18. THE STAND by Stephen King
19. BELOVED by Toni Morrison [nubs down] [review]
20. THE WORM OUROBOROS by E.R. Eddison
21. MOONHEART by Charles de Lint
22. ABSALOM, ABSALOM! by William Faulkner
23. OF HUMAN BONDAGE by W. Somerset Maugham
24. WISE BLOOD by Flannery O’Connor
25. FIFTH BUSINESS by Robertson Davies
26. SOMEPLACE TO BE FLYING by Charles de Lint
27. YARROW by Charles de Lint
28. AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS by H.P. Lovecraft
29. ONE LONELY NIGHT by Mickey Spillane
30. MEMORY AND DREAM by Charles de Lint
31. THE MOVIEGOER by Walker Percy
32. TRADER by Charles de Lint
33. THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY by Douglas Adams
34. THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers
35. THE HANDMAID’S TALE by Margaret Atwood attempted
36. BLOOD MERIDIAN by Cormac McCarthy
37. ON THE BEACH by Nevil Shute
38. GREENMANTLE by Charles de Lint
39. ENDER’S GAME by Orson Scott Card
40. THE LITTLE COUNTRY by Charles de Lint
41. THE RECOGNITIONS by William Gaddis
42. STARSHIP TROOPERS by Robert Heinlein
43. THE SUN ALSO RISES by Ernest Hemingway
44. THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP by John Irving pretty decent
45. SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES by Ray Bradbury
46. THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE by Shirley Jackson
47. THE WOOD WIFE by Terri Windling
48. THE DOOR INTO SUMMER by Robert Heinlein
49. ZEN AND THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE by Robert Pirsig
50. I, CLAUDIUS by Robert Graves
51. THE CALL OF THE WILD by Jack London
52. AT SWIM-TWO-BIRDS by Flann O’Brien
53. ARROWSMITH by Sinclair Lewis
54. WATERSHIP DOWN by Richard Adams
55. NAKED LUNCH by William S. Burroughs
56. THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER by Tom Clancy
57. GUILTY PLEASURES by Laurell K. Hamilton
58. THE PUPPET MASTERS by Robert Heinlein
59. IT by Stephen King
60. V. by Thomas Pynchon
61. DOUBLE STAR by Robert Heinlein
62. CITIZEN OF THE GALAXY by Robert Heinlein Nubs Up, Loved it!
63.
64. ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST by Ken Kesey
65. THE SHELTERING SKY by Paul Bowles
66. SOMETIMES A GREAT NOTION by Ken Kesey
67. MY ANTONIA by Willa Cather LOVE THIS
68. MULENGRO by Charles de Lint
69. SUTTREE by Cormac McCarthy
70. MYTHAGO WOOD by Robert Holdstock
71. ILLUSIONS by Richard Bach Nubs Up
72. THE CUNNING MAN by Robertson Davies
73. THE SATANIC VERSES by Salman Rushdie