The 75 Best Books of the Past 75 Years

Parade Magazine, 88 Books

A list of voted on by 17 employees(book sellers) at Parnassus Books in Nashville, TN for Parade Magazine.

25 acclaimed international writers choose 25 of the best books from the last 25 years

Wasafiri Magazine, 23 Books

The 25 books were chosen by 25 respected names in international writing, many of whom have contributed over the years to Wasafiri magazine, including Indra Sinha, Blake Morrison and Fred D’Aguiar.

Note: I don't think the voters understood "the last 25 years" bit. There are many books that are much much older.

The Dream of the Great American Novel

Book, 16 Books

Writer Lawrence Buell discusses the primary contenders for the title of the "Great American Novel".

The Best Classics

The Times, 93 Books

The Times selection of the 100 best classic works of literature.

50 Books to Read Before You Die

Barnes and Noble, 55 Books

Barnes and Noble's selection of the 50 most essential books.

50 Books to Read Before You Die

Complex, 50 Books

Complex Magazine's selection of 50 must-read books.

Pour une Bibliothèque Idéale

Raymond Queneau, 111 Books

"In the early 1950s Raymond Queneau asked several dozen French authors and critics to list the hundred books they would choose if they had to limit themselves to that number. He reproduced all their responses in the book Pour une Bibliothèque Idéale (Gallimard, 1956), along with the overall top 100 list reproduced above."

Great Books

Anthony O'Hear, 22 Books

A short list of essential works of the Western Canon, as selected scholar Anthony O'Hear.

The Great Books Reader

Book, 29 Books

"In this volume you will be guided by esteemed professors and writers who have selected excerpts from the most important books in Western Civilization. A brief essay illuminates each excerpt and puts the work in context. Take your education to the next level by letting some of the best thinkers of today walk you through the most influential books in history."

100 Books to Read in a Lifetime

Amazon.com (UK), 100 Books

Amazon UK editors select 100 books that they deem "essential".

100 Best Novels Written in English

The Guardian, 100 Books

Respected literary critic Robert McCrum selects the definitive 100 novels written in English.

The 100 Best Books in the World

AbeBooks.de (in German), 101 Books

German bookseller website AbeBooks.de makes their selection for the "100 greatest books ever written".

The Bigger Read List

English PEN, 160 Books

The English PEN staff compiled a list of the best works not written in the English language. This list combines their list with the suggestions made by Fred Armentrout, President of Hong Kong (English-Speaking) PEN.

100 Best Books

Montana State University, 106 Books

Michael Sexson, English teacher at Montana State University, in 2000 had his class of 45 students compose a list of the 100 greatest works of literature ever written, in their collective opinions.

Select 100

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 100 Books

"This list was compiled by tabulating nominations by UWM faculty, staff and students for the Select 100. It includes changes which have resulted from nominations received since the original list was released. We asked you to recommend books which you have found to be so useful and important that no one could consider himself/herself an educated or enlightened person without having read them. This is your cumulative response."

100 Essential Books

Bravo! Magazine, 100 Books

The Brazilian cultural magazine Bravo! selects 100 essential books.

The 100 Greatest Books Ever Written

Easton Press, 102 Books

Easton Press's selection of the greatest books of the Western Canon.

48 Good Books

University of Buffalo, 49 Books

Recommended literature by the Undergraduate Academies and Libraries of the University of Buffalo.

description from their old website:
In cooperation with the UB Libraries, the UB Undergraduate Academies announce the Good Books project, a list of 48 good books which embody the mission and spirit of the five Undergraduate Academies: Civic Engagement, Entrepreneurship, Global Perspectives, Research Exploration and Sustainability The Academies Council members, an advisory board of faculty and staff, nominated books that have been personally important to them. You could read one book from this eclectic list, which ranges from biography to politics to poetry, each month over the course of your college career. Some of these books may be familiar, others quite unknown, but Council Members put their heads together to devise a list of “unrequired reading” that have inspired inquiry, pleasure, and a renewed engagement with civic life.

Recommended Books

Academy of Achievement, 72 Books

Here, in their own words, are the answers to the question, What book did you read when you were young that most influenced your life? The answers reflect the wonderfully varied power of books, and remind us of some neglected timeless classics and other works we may want to take into our own lives.

This seems to be recommendations from celebrities, authors, critics, and other famous people

The Ideal Library

Book, 121 Books

100 prominent cultural figures, mostly writers, were polled for their choice of an "ideal library". The following list is a tally of every book that received at least 2 votes.

The Celebrity Reading List

Gardiner Public Library, 72 Books

The Gardiner Public Library, from 1988 to 2007, polled various famous figures from all around the world (writers, artists, filmmakers, politicians, actors, etc.) to ask for their book recommendations. This list is based on the books that received at least two mentions.

The 16 Greatest Books of All Time

NYU Local, 46 Books

Two book editors for the nyulocal.com present their list of the 16 greatest books of all time, with a list of runner-ups as well.

The Greatest Novel of All Time

William Faulkner, 1 Books

Author William Faulkner named Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina" as the single greatest novel of all time.

Greatest Prose Works of the 20th Century

Vladimir Nabokov, 4 Books

Author Vladimir Nabokov's selection of the Top 4 greatest prose works of the 20th century.

How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Reading List

Thomas C. Foster, 125 Books

English professor Thomas C. Foster, at the end of his book, includes a recommended "reading list".

The Graphic Canon

Book, 172 Books

The classic canon of Western civilization meets the artists and illustrators who have remade reading in the last years of the twentieth century and the first decade of the twenty-first century in Russ Kick's magisterial, three-volume, full-color The Graphic Canon, volumes 1, 2, and 3. - Amazon

100 Life-Changing Books

National Book Award, 97 Books

National Book Award-winning authors got together to select what was, in their opinions, 100 life-changing books.

Best Books Ever

bookdepository.com, 100 Books

"Whatever it's called we love a list of what we think are the best books of all time so we've compiled an entirely arbitrary and personal selection of 100 titles below for you to disagree with."

Finest Works of Fiction

Martin Seymour-Smith and Editors, 55 Books

In Novels and Novelists, A Guide to the World of Fiction (1980) Seymour-Smith and the other contributors selected about 55 works of fiction as receiving full marks on the four criteria used for evaluation: Readability, Characterization, Plot, and Literary Merit. These represent, for the contributors, the finest works of fiction that have been written.

How to Read and Why

Harold Bloom, 42 Books

Information is endlessly available to us; where shall wisdom be found?" is the crucial question with which renowned literary critic Harold Bloom begins this impassioned book on the pleasures and benefits of reading well. For more than forty years, Bloom has transformed college students into lifelong readers with his unrivaled love for literature. Now, at a time when faster and easier electronic media threatens to eclipse the practice of reading, Bloom draws on his experience as critic, teacher, and prolific reader to plumb the great books for their sustaining wisdom. - Amazon

The 100 Greatest Novels

greatbooksguide.com, 104 Books

Critic Ted Gioia's selection of the 100 greatest novels ever written.

Great Books

The Learning Channel, 47 Books

"Great Books is an hour-long documentary and biography program that aired on The Learning Channel. The series was a project co-created by Walter Cronkite and former child actor Jonathan Ward under a deal they had with their company Cronkite-Ward, the The Discovery Channel, and The Learning Channel. Premiering on September 8, 1993, to coincide with International Literacy Day, the series took in-depth looks into some of literature's greatest fictional and nonfictional books and the authors who created them. The series is mostly narrated by Donald Sutherland." - Wikipedia

"Our Readable Century", The Best Books of the 20th Century

January Magazine, 17 Books

Literary publication January Magazine polled writers for their favorite works of 2oth century fiction. These were the most mentioned books.

In Which These Are the 100 Greatest Novels

ThisRecording.com, 100 Books

ThisRecording.com Editor Alex Carnevale selects his choices for the "100 Greatest Novels of All Time".

Books That Changed the World

Book, 59 Books

Scholar Robert B. Downs selects the "great works that revolutionized our ideas about the universe - and ourselves".

From Zero to Well-Read in 100 Books

Jeff O'Neal at Bookriot.com, 99 Books

100 books that, in the opinion of Bookriot.com editor-in-chief Jeff O'Neal, one should read before deeming themselves "well-read".

The Book of Great Books: A Guide to 100 World Classics

Book, 105 Books

Editor W. John Campbell provides explanations and summaries for 100 of the world's best books.

Masterpieces of World Literature

Frank N. Magill, 244 Books

Scholar Frank N. Magill’s famous literary studies reference book. A selection of over 200 of the greatest works of literature of all time

The New Lifetime Reading Plan

The New Lifetime Reading Plan, 202 Books

Clifton Paul "Kip" Fadiman (May 15, 1904 – June 20, 1999) was an American intellectual, author, editor, radio and television personality.

The New Lifetime Reading Plan provides readers with brief, informative and entertaining introductions to more than 130 classics of world literature. From Homer to Hawthorne, Plato to Pascal, and Shakespeare to Solzhenitsyn, the great writers of Western civilization can be found in its pages. In addition, this new edition offers a much broader representation of women authors, such as Charlotte Bront%, Emily Dickinson and Edith Wharton, as well as non-Western writers such as Confucius, Sun-Tzu, Chinua Achebe, Mishima Yukio and many others.
This fourth edition also features a simpler format that arranges the works chronologically in five sections (The Ancient World; 300-1600; 1600-1800; and The 20th Century), making them easier to look up than ever before. It deserves a place in the libraries of all lovers of literature.

100 Best Novels in English Since 1900

Counterpunch, 98 Books

Jeffrey St. Clair and Alexander Cockburn's favorite novels since 1900.

D. G. Myers’ 50 Greatest English Language Novels

D. G. Myers, 50 Books

D. G. Myers’, critic and literary historian’s 50 Greatest English Language Novels.

A critic and literary historian for nearly a quarter of a century at Texas A&M and Ohio State.

The Greatest 20th Century Novels

Waterstone, 23 Books

Waterstone’s 1999 poll of the greatest 20th century novels, according to British writers. This appeared to be the result of muddle in the way questions were put to and answered by the 47 authors, critics and media personalities who voted in the poll.

El Pais Favorite Books of 100 Spanish Authors

El Pais, 135 Books

El Pais ran A Poll of 100 Spanish Authors and Their Favorite Books. This is summary of all the books

Biblioteca

Argentina, 41 Books

38 Argentinean Authors were polled by the Argentinean government for their favorite books. This is a tally of all books with more than 1 vote.

Modern classics: 11 novels that belong in the classroom

Today.com, 11 Books

When we think of English lit classes, we usually think of Hawthorne, Melville, Austen, Tolstoy, Dickens. But the times, they are a-changin’ and so too are the books we read, both in and out of the classroom. Since the millennium, a lot of good—nay, great—books have been published by masterful authors, all of whom are deserving of a spot on a high school or college curriculum. And as evidenced by these 11 novels, whoever said there were no new ideas didn’t know what they were talking about.

For The Love of Books

For The Love of Books, 95 Books

Ronald Schwartz polled 115 major writers about their favorite books, and published each of their ballots in the book “For the Love of Books”.

Books That Changed the World: The 50 Most Influential Books in Human History

Book, 49 Books

A 208 page book written in 2009 by Journalist and Author Andrew Taylor.

Books from every field of human creativity and intellectual endeavor - from poetry to politics, from fiction to philosophy, from theology to anthropology, and from economics to physics – have been selected to create a rounded and satisfying picture of how 50 towering achievements of the human intellect have built our societies, shaped our values, enhanced our understanding of the nature of the world, enabled technological advancements, and reflected our concerns and dilemmas, strengths and failings. In a series of engaging and lively essays, Andrew Taylor sets each work and its author firmly in historical context, summarizes the content of the work in question, and explores its wider influence and legacy. A fascinating and richly informative read.

50 Books to (Re-)Read at 50

nextavenue, 51 Books

Your essential short list of novels, nonfiction and biographies

Got some time on your hands? This list of 50 great books is a good way to raise your literary IQ. It's by no means the "definitive" list, but each of these masterpieces is at least as relevant and powerful today as when it was written. And they're all still terrific reads.

Top 100 World Literature Titles

Perfection Learning, 100 Books

The top 100 titles for the world literature classroom, ranked in order of popularity, chosen by literature teachers from across the country.

The Telegraph’s 100 Novels Everyone Should Read

Telegraph, 104 Books

The best novels of all time from Tolkien to Proust and Middlemarch