Skokie Public Library's Favorite Novels of the 20th Century
... compiled by Skokie readers

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In January and February of 1999, Skokie Public Library patrons were asked to vote for their Favorite Novels of the 20th Century written in the English language, as well as for the Greatest Novels of the 20th Century. "Favorites" do not necessarily have to be of great literary value but, rather, those novels that have provided much enjoyment or have have been personally influential.

The following titles earned a place on our patrons' list of Favorite Novels. All of these titles are located in the Adult Fiction section of the Library unless otherwise noted.

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Top Honors

1. Lee, Harper. To Kill A Mockingbird. 1960. Also available: Large Type, CD, Cassette
2. Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. 1989. Also available: Cassette, eBook
3. Uris, Leon. Exodus. 1957.

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Fourth Placeholders (all tied)

Allende, Isabel. The House of the Spirits. 1985.

Dinesen, Isak. Out of Africa. 1937. (Adult Nonfiction 916.762D). Also available: Large Type, Cassette 

Heller, Joseph. Catch 22. 1961. Also available: Cassette

Kingsolver, Barbara. The Bean Trees. 1988. Also available: Large Type, CD, Cassette, eBook

Kipling, Rudyard. Kim. 1901. Also available: Large Type, Cassette, eAudiobook

Puzo, Mario. The Godfather. 1969. Also available: Large Type, CD, Cassette, eAudiobook

Smith, Betty. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. 1947. Also available: Large Type, CD, Cassette, eBook

Toole, John Kennedy. A Confederacy of Dunces. 1980. Also available: CD, eAudiobook

Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. 1982.
 

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Fifth Placeholders (all tied)

Algren, Nelson. The Man With the Golden Arm. 1949. Also available: Cassette

Cather, Willa. Death Comes for the Archbishop. 1927. Also available: Large Type, eBook

Esquivel, Laura. Like Water for Chocolate. 1992. Also available: Large Type, CD, Cassette

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. 1925. Also available: CD, Cassette, eAudiobook

Frazier, Charles. Cold Mountain. 1997. Also available: Large Type, CD, Cassette

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. 1952. Also available: CD, Cassette

Herbert, Frank. Dune. 1965. (Science Fiction HER). Also available: CD, Cassette

Hesse, Herman. Siddhartha. 1951. Also available: CD, Cassette

Jones, James. From Here to Eternity. 1951.

Kundera, Milan. The Unbearable Lightness of Being. 1984. Also available: Cassette 

McMurtry , Larry. Lonesome Dove. 1985. (Western MCM).  Also available: Cassette

Mitchell, Margaret. Gone With the Wind. 1936. Also available: Large Type, Cassette

Proulx, Annie. The Shipping News. 1993. Also available: Large Type, CD

Rolvaag, O.E. Giants in the Earth. 1927.

Spark, Muriel. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. 1961. Also available: CD

Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit. 1937. Also available: Large Type, CD, Cassette, eAudiobook

Tolkien, J.R.R. The Lord of the Rings. 1955. Also available: CD, Cassette

1. The Fellowship of the Ring. 1954. Also available: CD, Cassette, eAudiobook
2. The Two Towers. 1954. Also available: CD, Cassette, eAudiobook
3. The Return of the King. 1955. Also available: CD, Cassette, eAudiobook

Vonnegut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse Five. 1969. Also available: CD, eBook

Wharton, Edith. The Age of Innocence. 1920. Also available: Large Type, CD, Cassette

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Honorable Mentions

Asimov, Isaac. Foundation. 1951. (Science Fiction ASI).

Binchy, Maeve. Firefly Summer. 1987. Also available: Large Type

Buck, Pearl S. The Good Earth. 1931. Also available: CD, Cassette

Burgess, Anthony. A Clockwork Orange. 1962.

Burns, Olive Ann. Cold Sassy Tree. 1984. Also available: Cassette, eAudiobook  

Cain, James M. The Postman Always Rings Twice. 1934.

Card, Orson Scott. Ender's Game. 1985. (Science Ficton CAR). Also available: CD, eAudiobook 

Cather, Willa. My Antonia. 1918. Also available: Large Type, CD, eBook, eAudiobook

Christie, Agatha. Murder on the Orient Express. 1934. (Mystery CHR).
Also available: Large Type, CD, eBook

Conroy, Pat. Beach Music. 1995. Also available: Large Type, CD, eBook 

Conroy, Pat. The Prince of Tides. 1986. Also available: Large Type, Cassette, eBook, eAudiobook

Clarke, Arthur C. 2001: A Space Odyssey. 1968. (Science Fiction CLA).  Also available: CD, Cassette, eAudiobook

Clavell, James. Shogun. 1975. Also available: Cassette

Drabble, Margaret. Realms of Gold. 1975.

DuMaurier, Daphne. Rebecca. 1938. Also available: Large Type, Cassette, eAudiobook

Durrell, Lawrence. Alexandria Quartet. 1962.

Epstein, Joseph. The Goldin Boys. 1991. Also available: Cassette

Flagg, Fannie. Fried Green Tomatoes At the Whistle-Stop Cafe. 1987.
Also available: Large Type

Forster, E.M. Howards End. 1910. Also available: Large Type, Cassette, eAudiobook

Forsyth, Frederick. The Day of the Jackal. 1971. Also available: Large Type

Galsworthy, John. The Forsyte Saga. 1922.

1. The Man of Property. 1906. Also available: Large Type, CD, Cassette
2. In Chancery. 1920. Also available: CD, Cassette
3. To Let. 1921. Also available: Large Type, CD, Cassette

Grafton, Sue. A Is For Alibi. 1982. Also available: Large Type, CD, Cassette

Grisham, John. The Firm. 1991. Also available: Large Type, CD, Cassette

Grisham, John. A Time to Kill. 1993. Also available: Large Type, CD, Cassette

Hammett , Dashiell. The Maltese Falcon. 1930. (Mystery HAM). Also available: Large Type, CD, Cassette

Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom the Bell Tolls. 1940. Also available: Large Type, CD, Cassette

Hemingway, Ernest. The Sun Also Rises. 1926. Also available: CD

Kellerman, Faye. The Ritual Bath. 1986. (Mystery KEL). Also available: Large Type

Kesey, Ken. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. 1962. Also available: Cassette, eAudiobook

King, Stephen. The Shining. 1977. Also available: CD, eAudiobook

King, Stephen. The Stand. 1990. Also available: Cassette

Kingsolver, Barbara. Pigs in Heaven. 1993. Also available: Large Type, CD, Cassette, eBook

Llewellyn, Richard. How Green Was My Valley. 1940. Also available: Cassette

L'Engle, Madeleine. A Wrinkle in Time. 1962. (Youth Fiction LEN). Also available: Large Type, CD, Cassette, eAudiobook, Digital Player

Lewis, C.S. The Chronicles of Narnia. 1956. (Youth Fiction LEW).

1. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. 1950. Also available: CD, eAudiobook, Digital Player
2. Prince Caspian. 1951. Also available: Large Type, CD, eAudiobook
3. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. 1952. Also available: CD, Cassette, eAudiobook
4. The Silver Chair. 1953. Also available: Large Type, CD, Cassette, eAudiobook
5. The Horse and His Boy. 1954. Also available: Large Type, CD, Cassette, eAudiobook
6. The Magician's Nephew. 1955. Also available: Large Type, CD, Cassette, eAudiobook 
7. The Last Battle. 1956. Also available: Large Type, CD, Cassette, eAudiobook   

Lightman, Alan P. Einstein's Dreams. 1994. Also available: Cassette

Ludlum, Robert. The Bourne Identity. 1980.

Malouf, David. Remembering Babylon. 1993.

Massman, Patti and Rosser, Susan. Just Desserts. 1991. (Romance MAS). 

McCullers, Carson. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. 1940. Also available: Large Type, CD

McCullough, Colleen. The Thorn Birds. 1977. Also available: Cassette, eBook

Michener, James. The Source. 1965.

Milne, A.A. Winnie the Pooh. 1926. (Youth Fiction MIL). Also available: Cassette

Morrison, Toni. Beloved. 1987. Also available: Large Type, CD, Cassette

Morrison, Toni. Sula. 1973. Also available: CD, Cassette

Murdoch, Iris. A Severed Head. 1961. Also available: Cassette

Orwell, George. Animal Farm. 1945. Also available: CD, Cassette

Orwell, George. 1984. 1949. Also available: CD, Cassette, eBook, eAudiobook

Parker, Robert B. God Save the Child. 1974. (Mystery PAR).

Pasternak, Boris. Doctor Zhivago. 1957. Also available: Cassette

Rand, Ayn. Atlas Shrugged. 1957. Also available: eAudiobook

Rice, Anne. Interview With the Vampire. 1976. Also available: CD

Saint-Exupery, Antoine de. The Little Prince. 1943. Also available: Large Type, CD, Cassette 

Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. 1951.

Sienkiewicz, Henryk. Quo Vadis. 1955.

Smiley, Jane. A Thousand Acres. 1991. Also available: Large Type, CD, Cassette

Smith, Lee. Fair and Tender Ladies. 1988. Also available: Large Type, eAudiobook

Steinbeck, John. East of Eden. 1952. Also available: Large Type, CD, Cassette

Stone, Irving. Love is Eternal. 1954. Also available: Cassette

Styron, William. Sophie's Choice. 1979. Also available: Large Type, CD, Cassette, eBook

Seuss, Dr. Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? 1973. (Youth Picture Book SEU).
Also available: Cassette

Undset, Sigrid. Kristin Lavransdatter. 1929.

Warren, Robert Penn. All the King's Men. 1946.

Waugh, Evelyn. Brideshead Revisited. 1945. Also available: Large Type, Cassette

White, T.H. The Once and Future King. 1939.

Wolfe, Tom. The Bonfire of the Vanities. 1987. Also available: Large Type

Woodiwiss, Kathleen. The Flame and the Flower. (Romance WOO). 1995.
Also available: eBook

Wouk, Herman. The Caine Mutiny. 1951.

Wouk, Herman. The Winds of War. 1971.