As indicated previously, these are in no particular order. I just wrote them down as they came to me. I'm sure I left out some that should have been included.
67. At Swim-Two-Birds (1939) by Flann O'Brien
A very Irish novel with several interlocked stories, including one about a writer who is imprisoned by his characters because he treats them so badly. More than a bit quirky and marvelously funny.
68. Stranger in a Strange Land (1961) by Robert Heinlein
Heinlein was a hippie before being a hippie was cool. This novel about an Earthling raised by Martians celebrates free love and communal living and peace and love. I really grok this book.
69. An American Tragedy (1925) by Theodore Dreiser
Like The Great Gatsby, a story of trying to achieve the American Dream, except that this fellow is not a sympathetic hero. I usually don't appreciate books that are this depressing.
70. War With the Newts (1936) by Karel Capek
Satiric fantasy fiction about a race of intelligent newts who are exploited by the major nations, until they finally decide to fight back. Particularly insightful, as it was written before the beginning of World War II. (Translated from Czech.)
71. Plainsong (1999) by Kent Haruf
Interrelated stories about characters in a small Colorado town. Proof that ordinary people can be meaningful and fascinating. Lovely in its simplicity.
72. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) by Mark Twain
Maybe the best use ever of an unreliable narrator as Huck tells his story of his trip down the river.
73. All Quiet on the Western Front (1929) by Erich Maria Remarque
The story of a German soldier in the trenches of World War I. A powerful anti-war message. (Translated from German.)
74. The Age of Innocence (1920) by Edith Wharton
The conflict between society's expectations and passion in upper class society of the late 19th Century. Wharton's House of Mirth and Ethan Frome are also among my favorites.
75. The Monk (1796) by Matthew Gregory Lewis
No-holds-barred in a very early Gothic novel, with The Bleeding Nun, The Wandering Jew, rape, incest, and murder.
76. The World According to Garp (1978) by John Irving
Comedy which is sometimes very, very dark in the life story of one man.
77. Scoop (1938) by Evelyn Waugh
A humorous satire of sensationalist journalism. Waugh's The Loved One is also great fun. Brideshead Revisited is serious but also very good.
78. Bel Canto (2001) by Ann Patchett
Terrorists hold hostages for several months. Unexpectedly, this is primarily a love story.
79. Fifth Business (1970) by Robertson Davies (Book 1 of The Deptford Trilogy)
The complicated plot follows the life of one man and includes love, suicide (or maybe murder), and magic.
80. Little Big Man (1964) by Thomas Berger
Kind of a parody of the myth of the West, about a white man adopted by Indians. Hilarious, but includes some real history and much food for thought.
81. The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories (1920s) by H.P.Lovecraft
The ultimate in horror fiction, as far as I am concerned, using archaic language, highly evocative words, and many poetic devices to add to the terrifying situations. Lovecraft wrote short stories and one short novel, From the Mountains of Madness, which are now published in various collections. All will keep you awake at night.
82. Deliverance (1970) by James Dickey
Who would guess that the story of some city boys who meet up with some inbred white trash out in the Georgia backwoods could be so powerful?
83. Wide Sargasso Sea (1966) by Jean Rhys
Remember Mr. Rochester's mad wife in the attic in Jane Eyre? This is her story.
84. Lost Horizon (1933) by James Hilton
High in the mountains of Tibet lies the utopian community of Shangri-La. We could use their help right now.
85. John Dollar (1989) by Marianne Wiggins
Somewhat similar to Lord of the Flies, giving evidence to the fact that girls can become as savage as boys, perhaps even more so, under the right circumstances. A little-known book which deserves more attention.
86. Wise Blood (1952) by Flannery O'Connor
Southern Gothic story of a young man who has a crisis of faith. This one is really strange.
87. All the King's Men (1946) Robert Penn Warren
The rise and fall of a cynical politician. Particularly interesting in today's political climate.
88. Barren Ground (1925) by Ellen Glasgow
A young woman betrayed by her beloved takes charge of her own life.
89. High Wind in Jamaica (1929) by Richard Hughes
The supposedly innocent children taken captive by pirates prove to be more dangerous than their captors. Chilling.
90. The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934) by James M. Cain
A unique crime novel, told from the viewpoint of the criminal.
91. The Forsyte Saga (1922) by John Galsworthy
A portrait of upper-class England around the turn of the century through the story of a failed marriage and its far-reaching implications.
92. A Clockwork Orange (1962) by Anthony Burgess
A dystopian England where the youth are out of control. Written using a made-up slang that takes some getting used to. Pertinent because we have a good bit of the old ultra-violence going on today, and we don't seem to know what to do about it.
93. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (2012) by Ben Fountain
A soldier returned from Iraq experiences the surreal obliviousness and jingoistic patriotism of average American football fans.
94. The Left Hand of Darkness (1969) by Ursula Le Guin
From one of science fiction's most thoughtful and skilled writers, the story of an androgynous civilization facing peril.
95. Shadow Country (2008) by Peter Matthiessen
A fictional history of the life and death of a real person who carved an empire in Florida with a sugar plantation and perhaps some outlaw activity. Very Faulknerish.
96. Ender's Game (1985) by Orson Scott Card
I still find this science fiction novel about a war with an alien species interesting, both for its original concept and its larger implications.
97. Slaughterhouse Five (1969) by Kurt Vonnegut
A one-of-a-kind satiric novel about a prisoner of war who experiences the firebombing of Dresden by the Allies and who later comes unstuck in time. So it goes.
98. Little, Big (1981) by John Crowley
A fairy story, literally. The long history of the Drinkwater family, who live on the edge of, or maybe in the midst of, the land of fairy. A truly magical book.
99. The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1940) by Carson McCullers
A deaf-mute and the people he befriends. A sensitive portrayal of the lonely and misunderstood. Also wonderful: A Member of the Wedding.
100. I left this open in case I think of something really great or in case someone suggests something that I did not think of.
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