To celebrate our 10th anniversary, my book club, the aptly named Wine, Women & Words, recently held our first-ever retreat at a lovely inn about an hour east of Nashville. Eight of us gathered for an overnight stay and enjoyed the beautiful Tennessee scenery, a slippery hike to a nearby waterfall, delicious food, several bottles of wine and of course an illuminating book discussion. Here we are with a book-loving frog on the inn grounds:
For this special occasion, we chose to read and discuss a book celebrating an anniversary of its own: To Kill a Mockingbird. As you’ve probably heard, this summer marks the 50th anniversary of the novel’s original publication on July 11, 1960. To Kill a Mockingbird won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961, was made into an Oscar-winning film in 1962 and has since sold more than 30 million copies.
Harper Lee is now 84 and hasn’t granted an interview about the book in decades. But a recent article in Smithsonian magazine cited this quote from the author in a 1962 interview with the Birmingham Post-Herald: “My book had a universal theme,” Lee said. “It’s not a ‘racial’ novel. It portrays an aspect of civilization, not necessarily Southern civilization.”
Every member of my book club deeply enjoyed the experience of reading the novel again and felt that it stood the test of time, still connecting with readers and drawing us into its powerful story 50 years later. Though the book’s racial themes certainly heightened its relevance in the 1960s, in many ways this is a timeless story and one likely to be appreciated 100 or 200 years from now.
To mark the anniversary, HarperCollins is publishing several new editions of To Kill a Mockingbird, including a hardcover with a reproduction of the original jacket. Also just published is Scout, Atticus & Boo: A Celebration of Fifty Years of To Kill a Mockingbird, in which writer Mary McDonagh Murphy offers a brief history of the book and interviews many notable figures about its impact and significance. One of my favorite sections is an interview with Mary Badham, who played Scout in the film. “[Gregory Peck] was my Atticus. He will always be Atticus. He was so wonderful,” says Badham, who was only nine when the film was made, but kept in touch with Peck for the rest of his life.
Courtesy of HarperCollins, we have copies of Scout, Atticus & Boo and the beautiful 50th anniversary hardcover edition of To Kill a Mockingbird to give to two lucky readers. These are wonderful additions to any home library:
To be entered for a chance to win, leave a comment and tell us what book you would choose as a contemporary classic. What work that is highly regarded today will still be read and acclaimed 100 years from now? If you’re at all hesitant about sharing your thoughts, here’s a comforting reminder: none of us will be around a century hence to find out who’s right and who’s wrong.
THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. Thanks to all participants for your thoughtful and interesting comments.
I think “The Crying Tree” by Naseem Rakha will be read for a very long time. If not, it should be! Wonderful book about the power of forgiveness.
Jane Eyre is my all time favorite
I think “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak will be read by students (and their parents) for years to come. This was such a powerful book about just that: the power of books.
Gone with the wind…
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
I have to say The Kite Runner. It is so beautifully written and the themes of friendship, family relationships and coming to terms with things you have done and thier effect on your life will always be relatable.
I was going to say The Kite Runner, but I see someone beat me to it. I think I would also include The Secret Life of Bees. There is a theme of finding a family in unusual places.
Does Alice in Wonderland count?
Pride and Prejudice
The Reader by B Schink…It includes all the components of a classic already: love, horror, compassion. Above all, The Reader discloses a secret at the end that our society today would find appauling, but yet draws out a modern day problem. I found it to be a beautiful, philosophically elegant novel.
Though I haven’t yet read, Harry Potter will probably become a classic.
Life of Pi…. definitely
Water for Elephants. This book had everything, it made me laugh and cry. This is one of the few books I will read again and again.
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, a novel that will continue to be “discovered” for years to come.
“Confederacy of Dunces” by John Kennedy Toole
The collection of stories that make up Isaav Assminov’s “I, Robot”, since this book contained the Three Laws of Robotics, which almost all science fiction writers continue to use in their stories today.
The Help by Katheryn Stockett
The World According to Garp by John Irving
Shadow of the Wind, but I also loved Water for Elephants. Two greats books that I will read again, and again.
The Sojourner by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
This has been a favorite of mine for years. It is a saga of family, and the love one brother has for his brother who leaves to never return. Her probaly more famous book was made into a movie also starring Gregory Peck. Can anyone guess its title?
I would choose Gilead by Marilynne Robinson as a contemporary classic, along with its sequel, Home. I loved both of these books, and I know that I will return to them again and again throughout my life and will be further enriched every time I read them! That is why they have become classics to me.
I think the Harry Potter books will be contemporary classics.
There are so many I believe will be read over and over for years to come, it’s too hard to name just one. The Harry Potter series is destined to become classics and will be celebrated for many generations to come. Gone With the Wind, The Help, The Kiterunner,Snowflower and the Secret Fan, the list just continues. I have too many favorites to ever contain it to just one.
All 7 of the Harry Potter books!
The book that I think will become a classic in 100 years is “Sarah’s Key” by Tatiana de Rosnay.
What a lovely post which is delightful. Farewell Summer by Ray Bradbury is a timeless classic as well as Dandelion Wine.
Sandra Brown’s “Rainwater” will stand the test of time. It is a very different book from the rest of her titles, but is destined to become a classic and should be added to reading lists the world over!
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. Not the easiest novel to read, but highly enlightening!
Before I read the answers, I thought of at least
5 books and then read the comments and all 5 of
my picks were listed. There are so many to pick
from but I would have to say “Sarah’s Key” or
“The Help”.
I have to say I agree with all the suggestions so far! However, my pick would be A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, one of my all time favorites from childhood that still resonates with me today, 30 years later!
Kathryn Stockett’s “The Help”. Also “Sarah’s Key”.
Both classic themes.
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. The book shares about life, communication, and relationships.
I think BIRD BY BIRD, by Anne Lamott. As we move into a time where writing and publishing is changing at light speed, it reminds us of the need to communicate with each other on a very personal level, and the value of continuing to do that, no matter what’s going on. It’s modern but not new, and is still valid-I think it’s going to stay that way.
Each of Jodi Picoult’s novels involve a modern-day societal situation. I see these books providing insights for the generation 100 years hence as they investigate organ donation, school violence, our medical problems and family situations. I just read her latests, House Rules, a carefully-researched novel on Asperger’s Syndrome.
Two books read in my youth left lasting impressions; I have reread them yearly since then. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.
I don’t often read novels these days, preferring creative non-fiction and memoir. There are a few that I read often and believe they are timeless classics:
1. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
2. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
3. Grace (Eventually) by Anne Lamott
4. The Bible
5. Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Satterfield
A story within a story – the best.
I think the Outlander series by Diana Galbadon would be a nice choice.
The Help is another recommendation.
Sarah’s Key would me my pick
I loved Tristan Egolf’s “Lord of the Barnyard”. The parallels to John Kennedy Toole are tragic but deserving. I could see “Lord of the Barnyard” being lauded as “A Confederacy of Dunces” of the ’90′s, a century from now.
I think The Book Thief will become a contemporary classic.
I have read and re-read To Kill A Mockingbird many times since my own childhood and was happy to share it with my daughter just a few months ago when we read it together. She loved it!
To answer Peg Crutchfield’s question: I think it’s The Yearling, the book made into a movie starring Gregory Peck.
I think Beloved by Toni Morrison will stand the test of time.
Kathryn Stockett’s “The Help” – a timeless story about individuals standing up to injustice even at great risk to themselves.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, under the name of Ellis Bell. It was the first novel I ever read. I won it in 3rd grade as a prize for reading the most books. I think that was the moment I fell in love with reading. My dream has always been to travel to Europe and stand out in the moors and smell the heather.
. . . and Little Women Louisa M. Alcott
I believe anything by Toni Morrison. The first novel I read by her was “The Bluest Eye”. Thank you.
Yann Martel’s “Life of Pi”
“The Killer Angels” by Michael Shaara, it does amazing things for humanizing men on both sides during the Civil War, plus it is an absolutely gorgeous book.
Alice Sebold’s “The Lovely Bones”. Such beautiful prose, when I read it I hounded everyone who would listen (as well as some who wouldn’t) that they had to read it. It is full of universal themes and truths that make a story last forever.
As a Texan and lover of Western history, I must choose “Lonesome Dove” which captures the essence of that very narrow slice of American history: the cattle drive from Texas to the slaughter markets in the North. McMurtry provided us a timeless window to peek through at what was gone as soon as the railroad took over the West.
I have to echo numerous earlier commenters — I think the Harry Potter series will become classics in the vein of the Chronicles of Narcia or The Lord of the Ring.
I would pick Catch 22.
Harry Potter! I loved it as a young adult, my grandmother loves it at age 80. I think we’ll continue to feel the same way 100 years from now.
I think Billie Lett’s books will be around for a long time.
I also enjoyed THE CHRISTMAS JARS and think that it could become a Christmas classic.
Definitely To Kill A Mockingbird. It is such a great work. I think that even today, the lessons in this book are timely.
I love books so much, its hard to pick one. COMES A HORSEMAN OR DISMANTLED ARE GREAT BOOKS. BY I ALSO LOVE THE TWIGHT SERIES. ANYTHING BY JANE AUSTIN IS A GREAT READ.
I would choose My Sister’s Keeper because the internal and external conflicts among and between the family characters will always be present.
“The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” by C. S. Lewis.
My pick would have to be “Tuesdays with Morrie” by Mitch Albom. All of his books are great but Tuesdays is definitely one that will stand the test of time as it’s story is ageless.
Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” will stand the test of time. Adherence to her philosophy waxes & wanes with changing political & social circumstances, but the strength of her characters will endure forever.
It’s very interesting to read the responses listed and what people envision being around in another 100 years. I hesitate to say my favorite book will be around in 100 years as my preferences will certainly never be defining factors. I’d like to think I’m that important, but I’m definitely not.
And looking back at what HAS withstood the test of time and are today considered classics…many of them were popular culture, genre novels of their time.
Of course, I’m in complete agreement that TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD has withstood the test of time, to date anyway, much like THE GREAT GATSBY. They will continue to stand up, I think. But you’ve asked for contemporary. With that stipulation, I’d choose ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST (which might not be so contemporary anymore) and A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY. They are both reflections of their time and place – thus art imitates life. But they deal with themes that transcend time and place as well.
Oh, I have a couple – “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” by Betty Smith, “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini, “Life of Pi” by Yann Martel and “Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen! In addition to “To Kill a Mockingbird” of course!
The Master Butchers Singing Club by Louise Erdrich.
Twilight Series — books about vampires have been around and continue to be published…readers seem to be fascinated with them
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I think “Gone With the Wind” by Margaret Mitchell will be around in 100 years – maybe more.
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Jean Kwok’s A Girl in Translation. Wow.
Without a doubt I would pick the Help as my new classic. Skeeter Phelan is Scout Finch all grown up and she isn’t about to let anyone tell her what is right or wrong, she already knows it! I have been in the book business for 8+ years and have not found a book since “To Kill a Mockingbird” that I have fallen in love with this much, it will be a classic!
I think the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder will continue to be a favorite read that portrays that westward expansion time period. I read them when I was young and they are still read by young readers today. Also, I have a friend who just had a little girl this spring and named her ‘Scout’. I would love to win this book and give it to her for her little girl to have as she grows up.
Contemporary today as then–To Kill a Mockingbird
I agree with Millie. The Twilight Series.
I have several that I believe could stand the test of time- “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker, “The World
According to Garp” by John Irving, and “She’s Come Un-
done” by Wally Lamb.
I think The Help will still be read and perhaps Eat, Pray, Love, which seems to have had an effect on so many women today. (The latter is not fiction however.)
I’d nominate Life of Pi and Matterhorn, I think.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society certainly will stand the test of time.
My first thought was “Gone With the Wind”, but after reading the other entry’s I agree with “Tuesdays With Morrie” as a contemporary classic.
I think Harry Potter will be widely regarded as a fantasy classic in the vein of The Wizard of Oz and The Lord of the Rings. I would add The Poisonwood Bible to the list. That is one book I closed and thought “I’ve just read a new classic.”
I have read & loved all the books mentioned but I agree that ‘The Help’ might go down as a classic. There’s something so admirable about Skeeter fighting injustice just like Atticus did.
A classic “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series
Definitely “Catch 22!”
I would choose “Pillars of the Earth”.
A new classic in children’s literature: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo.
The Help by Kathryn Stockett.
To Kill a Mockingbird would get my vote.
Hannah’s List by Debbie Macomber 2010
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks 1996
I’m going out on a limb and saying Truman Capote’s
THE GRASS HARP because it teaches us to understand the strange world of reality. Capote’s characters are masterfully drawn and the writing precise and uncluttered
I loved this book and bypassed my subway stop while deeply engrossed reading it. If the motorman didn’t tap my should and say “last stop”, I’d still be on the subway car….
Pillars of the Earth, hands down!!
“A Christmas Memory” by Truman Capote
I totally agree with The Help, Pillars of the Earth, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and The Kite Runner, but I would also include People of the Book and The Shack
Everyone has some great recommendations as what novels would stand the test of time….To Kill a Mockingbird, My Sister’s Keeper, Little Women, Gone With the Wind, Tuesday’s With Morrie, Catch 22, but one I think no one has mentioned is The Confederacy of Dunces.
Pat Conroy’s books are classics in the making, especially his Beach Music.
I have to choose two books…one, The Help, and not because it’s the same topic as To Kill a Mockingbird. I haven’t heard a bad review from anyone I know who has read it. The second book is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society. These books are a true depiction of their particular time periods and I believe would interest people for years and years.
Besides To Kill a Mockingbird, The Help, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,Saving CeeCee Honeycutt and The Forgotten Garden.
To Kill a Mockingbird has been, since I first read it, my favorite book !Beach Music is another I feel will have lasting appeal.
I think that “Charlotte’s Web” will remain a classic story of life, growth, and death for all ages.I first read it at age 8 and cried when Charlotte died and still cry 42 years later. It is a story that offers the reader something no matter life stage he or she is in at the time of the reading.
“Charlotte’s Web” is a classic story of life, growth, and death fo readers of all ages.
I pick a newer book, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.
I think “Angela’s Ashes” by Frank McCourt will still be read and well regarded in a hundred years, and hopefully we will shake our heads over the events depicted in his memoir and wonder how a world, a place, a society like that ever existed.
I think A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a classic that will still be read 100 years from now.
My pick is The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien. It’s Epic with many themes of greed, heroism, longing and love all which are timeless in many different levels.
I would pick any of John Dunning’s Bookman novels: Booked To Die, The Bookman’s Wake (my personal fav, since it deals with Poe & private printing presses). The Bookman’s Promise, Sign of the Book, & The Bookwoman’s Last Fling. These are all great biblio-mysteries, & they also tell you a lot about antiquarian books & collectibles. Great reading for any bibliophile who also loves a good mystery.
Definitely Gone With The Wind. This book spans lifetimes in just a few years.
The Harry Potter series will still be popular 100 years from now.
I feel that Dick Francis mysteries will stand the test of time. they are all wonderful!
“To Kill a Mockingbird” is definitely a classic… I also love the movie. I am a total bibliophile, and I love too many books and authors to pick just one. J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy is another real classic, along with Umberto Eco’s “The Name of the Rose.”… I could go on and on.
“Marley and Me” – because people will always love their dogs.
So many books, such a long time, but I’m going with LIFE OF PI by Yann Martell and EXTREMELY LOUD & INCREDIBLY CLOSE by Jonathan Safron Foer, both genius and forever.
Best ending ever belongs to …MOCKINGBIRD; it’s to weep.
Ohhh, this is a lovely giveaway! I’m having a hard time answering this one, but Watership Down will definitely still be a classic in 100 years.
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verhese is one of the most interesting and moving novels I have red in a long time.
Another favorite of mine is Elizabeth Kostova’s Swan Thieves.
The Harry Potter series, I think.
Gone With the Wind. I’m on page 764 right now of my (at least) 27th reading!
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy will still be a classic one hundred years from now.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, censorship will always be subject for debate.
Harry Potter!
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, once you read it, it stays with you forever
The Help by Katherine Stockett–very contemporary book, but comments on an issue that is important for all of us to be aware of. Not slavery, but close to it!
Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl- wonderfully moving and great for history classes and young adults. The themes of family, war, oppression still resound in this wonderful book.
In Cold Blood – It’s stunning.
Definitely Harry Potter!
I would choose Dewey the Library Cat, a wonderful heart warming story of a cat who brought joy and hope to a librarian and to library patrons. It’s a feel-good book and shows how just one loving cat can make a difference in other’s lives.
I think Gone with the Wind is a classic and will always be.
Catch-22.
The Harry Potter series. Both children and adults read this, male and female. This will make it a classic and keep it one.
always will be “lord of the rings”!
Another vote for Harry Potter series!
I suggest Harry Potter and Gone With the Wind. Both use wonderful imagery to transport us to a different time and place.
I would suggest “East of Eden” by John Steinbeck. It has something for everyone. I have really enjoyed reading all the replies. I have already read many of the choices and will be picking up others soon! Thanks for a contest, then, where everybody wins!
“What work that is highly regarded today will still be read and acclaimed 100 years from now?”
DRACULA!!
For a contemporary classic I’d choose A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY by Libba Bray
The Pillars of the Earth.
I think I’m going to agree with the majority – Harry Potter series all the way!
For me, the choice would be two…… The Yearling and Anne Frank:Diary of a Young Girl. Both are beautiful coming-of-age works.
The most popular 100 years from now will continue to be The Bible, but if it were a literary work by one author, I would have to say The Lord of the Rings.
I am a huge fan of Ray Bradbury and I think anyone of his works could be considered classics. But my favorites are “Dandelion Wine” and it’s sequel, Farewell Summer. I love ‘coming of age’ stories. And Mr. Bradbury’s description and the strength he gives his characters are unmatched.
Helen Hooven Santmyer’s potrayal of post-Civil War Ohio in “And Ladies of the Club….”.
I would pick The Help. It is a real telling of the times and one we should remember.
The Historian
Hands down has to be Gone With The Wind what better way to see history come alive during a tramatic time in our nation. Daily life living would be the Bible.
At the risk of sounding repetitive, I have to say ,TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD.
I agree with Watership Down but would also suggest Animal Farm and 1984. All these books left me thinking about them long after reading them.
My 1st choice would be The Road. My teenage son suggested I read it and all I can say is- wow! It is surreal and sticks in your mind, oozing into all the crevices.
My 2nd choice would be The Lovely Bones. I read this book as a mother and was deeply affected on that level. My then teenage daughter read it and was moved completely differently. I will never forget this book!
There are so many! “Look Homeward, Angel” by Thomas Wolfe is one of my all-time favorites.
Perhaps the Harry Potter books will stand the test of time, just as the Lord of the Rings books have. I’d also like to mention The Summer Tree books by Guy Gavriel Kay, they are truly wonderful.
Definitely Harry Potter!
I think Cathch-22 will always be an odd glimpse into war and what it does to those involved.
100 years from now? To Kill a Mockingbird will still be around and people will be reading it while flying to Mars for vacation…. I dearly love this book and cannot think of another one that could ever replace it, even a 100 years from now……….
To Kill A Mockingbird is novel with warmth and humor while dealing with issues of rape and racial inequality.
The Grimms’ Fairy Tales. These stories are controversial and yet defy time and culture’s by the many variations.
Our book club recently read Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Zafon. I think it has all of the elements and the appeal for readers that make a book a classic.
I believe that the Harry Potter books will stand the test of time. They have such an appeal to younger and older readers and I see generations from now, parents and children still enjoying the stories. It is really rather timeless in it’s setting.
For me, any and ALL books by DR.SEUSS will be considered classics. DR.SEUSS, while mainly created for children, appeals to grown-ups as well. Inother words, DR. SEUSS is, and will ALWAYS be, for people of ALL ages…now and 100 years from now!
I have to also go with To Kill A Mockingbird. I first read it when I was around 12 years old, and have read it numerous times over the years (I’m 60 now!).
That is a hard thing to pick, but I did once write a paper describing how Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury had all the hallmarks of a classic that would stand the test of time, plus it has a great theme of books and meaning and knowledge and fighting censorship.
As someone working in a library, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen will always be one of my favorites and I can definitely see it being read over the next few centuries. Children’s books? Anything by Mo Willems, because they make both children and adults crack up, and I don’t think laughter will go out of style.
Such an interesting question! Our book club just finished reading (re-reading for most of us) and discussing Pearl Buck’s The Good Earth. It is my hope that books like this depicting aspects of our world history will still be read a century from now.
I think An American Wife might be a classic and will be enjoyed by readers 100 years from now. It will show people how our politicians and their families were formed and what was considered an average life in 2010.
The book I really love is Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. I think it would stand the test of time.
There are many books I consider classics, but since it’s summer, I always think of mysteries. My suggestion is “Rebecca” by Daphne du Maurier. Who can forget Mrs. Danvers? Also this book always reminds me never to assume I know what other people are thinking; it leads to all sorts of unintended consequences!
“A Tree Grow in Brooklyn” by Betty Smith, in my opinion, will express the hope of that generation, which might be enlightening to those in a millenium.
Even in 100 years, people might find some conditions difficult. but “That tree” speaks that there is a God who wants to make things better for his people.
I believe THE HELP will become a classic — to be read and studied in classes and in book clubs for generations to come. 100 years from now it will be interesting to see how much progress we have made when it comes to race relations. Hopefully, nobody will believe people treated other people this way!
I think The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón will become and remain a classic, as it is a love story TO books and reading them.
I think The Help by Kathryn Stockett is the type of book that will become a classic. It’s theme of racial tension is something that future generations will be interested in. And Stockett has captured the feel of the time so well.
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My choices would be A MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY and RED BADGE OF COURAGE along with TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD……all my favorites.
Lit by Mary Karr.
I would say Cutting for Stone would be favorite.
I read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand in 1968 and to this day it is still the best book I’ve ever read. And I understand it is STILL being read by today’s generation of readers.
I recently picked up A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN. I found this to be a fascinating novel told from the point of view of a young girl growing up during the Depression with an alcoholic, somewhat shiftless, yet endearing father and a hard-working mother. This book was made into a movie in the 50s. It’s a classic that I would read again.
Hello, I see where “The Help” has been picked several times already, but it was the first book that I thought of and I am still choosing it. I couldn’t put it down until finished and I believe it has that Lasting quality.
i also was going to choose The Help, but also think The Lovely Bones will become a classic. I read it in one sitting and was mesmerized by alice sebold’s writing.
“The Kite Runner” Beautiful, frightening and a link to a time today that will be remembered in the future.
Winter Garden by Kristen Hannah will have appeal years from now. Mother daughter relationships are complex at best.
I think one of my favorites, that would stand the test of time is the Kite Runner…My son just had to read To Kill a Mockingbird in school this year and I decided to re read it with him. We had some wonderful discussions…It is probably one of my favorites.
When people find the books by Robert B. Parker, they’ll wonder what kind of time we lived in. Spenser is wonderful – how we wished things could be.
Parker will be missed.
My vote is for The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. It’s contemporary because of its subject matter but the overall theme of it is timeless.
I hope I win!! I love To Kill a Mockingbird!
I think that Loving Frank may be a classic in 100 years. It is a rare glimpse into a man that will most certainly retain his icon status.
The book I’ve read which had the greatest influence on me was “The World According to Garp.” I can still remember being slack-jawed with fascinated horror at all the weird characters, but becoming so moved by their stories!
I still teach To Kill a Mockingbird every year to my freshmen students – and I still LOVE it! It never gets old; actually, it becomes new again with each new class and what they bring to it. It’s difficult to think of what might be a classic 50 years from now. I actually did a project with my sophomore honors class regarding Stephen King (using The Green Mile and Shawshank Redemption) – I asked them what makes a novel something of literary merit and/or a classic, and a lot of them thought that Stephen King fit the bill: universal themes, appealing story lines, larger than life characters. They were amazed that they could feel sympathy for a “bad” guy. It opened up a lot of new and different perspectives.
Narrowing down all the good books to ONE is a daunting task! Several respected titles have already been recommended. THE BOOK THIEF and LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE are my finalists though. I guess LWFC is my pick since it absolutely blew me away the first time I read it. I didn’t know a book could do so many things at the same time: romance, history, recipes…it was wonderful!
Anything by Shel Silverstein. His books were classics 20, 30 years ago – and they’re still classics for kids today. His silly poems had interesting deeper undertones that still stay true today. By the way – TKAM is one of my favorite books of all time and I’m so happy to see the publisher is giving it so much great recognition this year.
It seems that some of the books that evolved a popular genre might be discussed 100 years from now, perhaps a Stephen King or John Grisham novel
I think ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ and ‘Water for Elephants’ are two books I feel will be classics.
I’ve read Kill a Mockingbird several times and always found a new meaning each time. The picture version encouraged me to read the book the first time around.
Your request as to which book we consider a classic for the future my vote would be A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. It left a markable impression for me as a young teen-ager.
of course TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD will still be read 100 years from now; and also GONE WITH THE WIND.
My favorite book is The Five People You Meet in Heaven. However, I, also, love To Kill a Mockingbird, or TKAM which is the acronym we used where I taught for 37 years. I have read TKAM at least 10 times in preparing for class. I first read it in the 60′s and didn’t see what all the uproar was about, but with each new reading, I came to see it as a beautiful love story, encompassing all types of love. My feelings have changed like those of the little girl I heard about once who read TKAM in 6th grade, and thought it was boring. Then she read it again in 9th grade and thought the author had made many improvements, and finally, after reading it in 12th grade, asked her mother why she wasn’t allowed to read this “complete” better version back in 6th grade, though it was the same book each time.
The Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle is a very important book on illegal immigration issues and really simply a book about people. Very relevant now and, sadly, probably will be relevant years from now. Bonus: Boyle is amazing with words anyway. Read it for that alone.
I read “The Good Earth” by Pearl Buck when I was in high school, late 1950′s; recently listened to it on audio book. It is a fascinating story of a life so different from the one we know. Pearl Buck’s books will be classics forever.
My book discussion group recently read and discussed JD Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye. Most of us had read it in our teens or early 20s, and I was afraid that reading it in middle age would be disappointing. It wasn’t.
The Book Thief would be my choice of a book that will stand the test of time. Have not understood why it was marketed as just young adult fiction. It is a book for the ages.
In addition to “To Kill a Mockingbird” – interesting: “The Great Gatsby” may sound trite, or does it not fall under ‘contemporary’. As a, sometimes uncomfortable, but multilayered look at married life, I would say “Revolutionary Road” by Richard Yates.
I thought that the book The Help will become a classic read for both young adults and adult readers alike. The subject matter will always remain current and relevant. The story was thought-provoking and touching.
It seems like some people aren’t getting the point of the question, which is asking about which CONTEMPORARY book will be a classic in the future. A lot of people’s selections are great books, but were published many years ago and are already classics! My pick would definitely be Gilead by Marilynne Robinson, published in 2004. It offers a profound insight into American life, faith, and history.
There really are so many to choose from, but I think I am going have to say The Time Traveler’s Wife. The story sucked me in from the beginning and it quickly became one of my all time favorite books! The writing is heart wrenchingly beautiful and the characters stay with you long after you have finished reading.
I think Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 is a classic. You just have to be a little crazy to fully understand it.
I believe that a book that will be read and admired for at laest another century is “LONESOME DOVE” by L. Mc Murtry. This book won the Pulizter Prize for literature and paints a picture of the young American West that will be as vibrant in 2100 as it is today.
I teach “To Kill a Mockingbird” each year and am always amazed that I get more and more from it each year! But my favorite contemporary classic would have to be “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller. Again, although I teach it every year, I find new depths of character and truth in it every time!
I think Alan Furst’s spy novels of World War II are timeless. Though they are rooted in a particular time and place, the writing feels classic and atmospheric.
I have two choices. The first is The Secret Life of Bees. I teach the book with sophomores, and though the book is primarily about women, even the boys like the book because of the history and culture of the 1960′s and the science of bees. It is a good companion novel to To Kill a Mockingbird. My second choice is Extremely Loud and Incedibly Close. The book is set in post 9/11 New York, but it is not so much about that time as it is about love, loss, and redemption. The themes are universal, and its multiple narrators, unique format,and beautiful language will stand the test of time to become a classic.
If I have to pick only one, my favorite contemporary classic would be “A Passage To India” by E.M. Forster.
‘Midnight’s Children’ by Salman Rushdie (and everything else he’s ever written). It’s a gorgeous novel, and so complex every time I read it I find something new. But there are many others I could have chosen: everything by J.M. Coetzee, David Foster Wallace, John Banville, Kazuo Ishiguro, Margaret Atwood… The list goes on and on. Tough question!
I know I’m repeating what has already been said, but I have to go with The Help. It spoke well of the times and is a book that stays with you and makes you think.
Tough question, indeed. My most excellent reads of the last couple years include Mudbound by Hillary Jordan, Watermark by Vanitha Sankaran, and, of course, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I’d like to think all of these will still be around and considered classics 100 years from now.
My choice is “The Hundred Secret Senses” by Amy Tan. It is my dream the Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s “Night Flight” published way back in 1931 is never forgotten–it’s not well known but it’s my very favorite book and I reread my tattered copy about his heoric flights in the early days of flight often.
Although not a modern classic, Gone with the Wind, is one of my favorite books. Light years better than the movie and beautiful. Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card, is another book that is so captivating that I would love for it to still be relevant and read in 100 years.
East of the Mountains by David Guterson hit home for me. It is a very personal story of death and family. I also believe A Thousand Splendid Suns could become a classic about middle eastern culture.
I think Rosamunde Pilcher’s post WWII novel, “The Shell Seekers,” is timeless!
I definitely have always loved “To Kill A Mockingbird” since we were required to read it in my sophomore year of high school! I also love anything by Jane Austen! Anywho, a contemporary classic I still see being read in years to come is definitely Khaled Hosseini’s books “The Kite Runner” and “A Thousand Splendid Suns.” Kathryn Stockett’s “The Help” is also a great novel. As far as young adult literature, the Twilight Saga will be forever ingrained within the readers.
I agree that The Help is a “must read”. We who lived in the Northern part of the U.S. were not really aware of the injustices in the South during that period. A lesson in that book for all!
I have 2 that I would pick to be classics–Molokai’ by Alan Brennert and The Help by Kathryn Stockett.
I think The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini will continue to be a classic. Not only because it is an amazing and moving story but also because the social issues of today’s generation is the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. I think people tend to re-read and pass on books that they felt spoke to issues that effected their lives.
I love To Kill a Mockingbird! Such a great novel. I agree that Ender’s Game is one that should still be relevant in the future. I also hope Fahrenheit 451 will be as well read in the future.
My pick for contemporary classic would have to be “House Rules” by Jody Picoult. Being one of the many families with a child diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum, I really could relate to this story. And she was really dead on about how others in the family relate to the condition. More and more children are being diagnosed with this everyday, it is something that is not going to just go away. Therefore it would be my pick for a contemporary classic.
i also loved this book and my choice would be “damaged” about a child in foster care — an awesome read.
I might be 60 but “To Kill A Mockingbird” is still a favorite of mine – I still have my dog earred book.
I can still remember reading “To Kill a Mockingbird” when I was in my teens. I see the chair I was sitting in the basement (a John Beresford Tipton chair) while the rest of the family was playing in the basement because of severe weather. I was thrilled that my son was assigned the book in high school, but later dismayed when they never read it. I made sure we listened to it on a long road trip (marvelously narrated by Sissy Spacek). I had aspired to write The Great American Novel until I realized Ms. Lee had already done it.
“Tuesdays with Morrie” by Mitch Albom would be my choice for a book which will be read for ages.
Essentially, you are asking what book in recent years will withstand the test of time like To Kill a Mockingbird. Many have been listed such as The Kite Runner and The Help which I agree. Others that I haven’t seen which I believe will become literary classics include The Time Traveler’s Wife and The Secret Life of Bees.
“To Kill a Mockingbird” is a classic in every sense of the word.
“Bonfire of the Vanities” by Tom Wolfe, a major American work of fiction! annfesATyahooDOTcom
i like the soubds of it
I agree with those recommending “The Help”. That book was truly a classic to come.
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks. Very moving story involving alzheimers.
One of the books that I consider a classic, (to me,) is The Pillars of Earth by Ken Follet. There are scenes that I cannot forget, the many hardships and the ability of humans to survive. My classics consist of religious tomes along with biographies.
I love Rick Riordan’s “Percy Jackson And The Olympians” series.These are classic fantasies for all ages.They are well-written and suspenseful,with memorable characters.I think they are even better than the Harry Potter books,which got too long and complicated towards the end.
Somebody already mentioned The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. I agree with this. Also, “Ender’s Game” by Orson Scott Card. Those seem to be to books that always end up on the “classics” shelf in home libraries.
The autobiographical novel by Gordon Parks – ‘The Learning Tree’ – is set during the 1920′s and takes place in Ft Scott Kansas.
Set in the days before the civil rights movement a young Gordon Parks dreams of a better life in a better place.
I read this book every year – and it always brings me to tears. What a different time and place – yet not that long ago.
I think the book “The Hours” by Michael Cunningham will be read for years to come and will still be relevant. I loved the story and the prose is absolutely beautiful.
“The Last of the Just” by Andre Swarz-Bart.
“The Help” and “The Secret Life of Bees” are both classics in my book (no pun intended!) I think Barbara Kingsolver’s “The Poisonwood Bible” would also be a contender.
Probably one of my favorite recent reads that (IMHO) will stand the test of time would be THE HELP.
I’m going to read TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD again–and what better way than from my own copy that I win from this contest????
I think that 19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult is and will be a classic. It should be required reading for every high school student to give them an understanding about how all the little things we do can help or hurt someone so much.
‘A Peoples History of the United States’ by Howard Zinn. If you want to know the real story of this country, read it.
My vote would be for “Shepherd of the Hills”by Harold Bell Wright. It is a story of atonement, forgiveness, reconciliation, and redemption. Althought written in 1907, I loved it.
Good time to reread Mockingbird. What an amazing achievement, a masterpiece debut novel that affected our culture so greatly! As far as modern classics, I have to put in my vote for the Harry Potter books. He is our “Huck Finn” or “Oliver Twist”. I will also second the votes for The Book Thief, which I think should be required reading in schools too.
Other people may think I’m nuts, but I have always loved and reread several times “The Virginian” by Owen Wister. The underlaying motifs of moral vs immoral, and how someone can be a “bad” man (Shorty) out of sheer stupidity is still so relevant, plus the love story still makes me melt.
As much as I enjoyed “To Kill a Mockingbird”….I would put “Gone With The Wind” as a long-loved book, that will be enjoyed 100 years from now.
I think The Help will be a book that will be read for a long time to come.
I believe that Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy will continue to be read and studied many years into the future and will live as an enduring classic. It is an epic of the struggle between good and evil, both between men, and within the hearts of men. Tolkien writes, as Faulkner says, of “the universal truths lacking which any story is ephemeral and doomed–love and honor and pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice.” The Lord of the Rings will probably also stand as the first and best of the whole genre of fantasy worlds.
I think it’s ironic that my book discussion group just “did” To Kill a Mockingbird as our June pick. We all had read the book more than once in our lives (we are mostly baby boomers)& agreed that different characters & events in the book stood outto us each time we read it. As a former secondary English teacher, I had the priviledge of teaching the book in the past. Regardless of how many times I read it, I still hope those jurors will “get it right” this time! We talked about how even 50 years later, racism, sexism,& prejudices regarding social class & disabilities are (unfortunately)still alive & well. Ms Lee’s book is a classic that will be read for many years to come. She only wrote one book, but it’s truly a gem of a book!! I read about 2 novels a week & this one is still in my “top 10 list”of books to read in a life-time. This book will always have a place until the world is a better place!!
My first choice for a contemporary classic would be The Help, which has been mentioned many times already. I also feel that The Road, by Cormac McCarthy, will be read through the years, hopefully as a warning to stay vigilant. I’m glad you’re featuring To Kill a Mockingbird – still one of my very favorites, all the wonderful books I’ve read since not withstanding!
Gone with the Wind is my comfort book…
It’ll stand the test of time.
I loved To Kill A Mockingbird,but also loved Gone With The Wind,The Grapes of Wrath,and my favorite because it reminds me of the 50′s and 60′s is The Catcher in The Rye by J.D.Salinger.This is only a few of many.
The Chronicles of Narnia would get my vote for a longstanding classic. In fact, I sometimes wish I had not already read it so I could read it again for the first time.
I believe Carlo Ruiz Zafon’s The Shadow of the Wind has the earmarks of being a classic.
I have yet to read “The Help” [hanging my head in embarassment!] but from what I do know about it, I think I will feel as the women who commented here and chose Kathryn Stockett’s book as a contemporary classic. My choice is “Angle of Repose” by Wallace Stegner. It’s been a favorite of mine for quite a while and it’s a wonderful book as are many of his.
“To Kill a Mockingbird Bird” is a fantastic book. I’m thrilled you are having this giveaway! Thank you!
~ Amy
Cormac McCarthy’s _Blood Meridian_ as well as others in his oeuvre.
I can remember reading this wonderful classic book in school…seems so long ago… Thanks for having this giveaway -it’s truely great!!!
Kite Runner, The Help, Hunger Games Trilogy
My first thought was THE HELP by Kate Stockett. It has all the elements of a classic piece of literature. It is the best book I have read in years.
I love o Kill a Mockingbird, both book and the movie will be around for a very long time. The Help, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt and The Forgotten Garden will be read and reread for many years.
I think the Harry Potter series is timeless. I wish I hadn’t read them all, because I want to read another. This series is even better when you listen to it being read by Jim Dale on CD.
“To Kill a Mockingbird” is my favorite book of all time — it is the most perfect book ever written, as far as I’m concerned. (Just the 2 word sentence, “Hey, Boo,” has more resonance than most of the sentences I have ever ever read. And I’ve read a lot of sentences!) As far as a modern classic — it’s just so hard to choose, but believe it or not I’d have to go with “Fried Green Tomatoes At The Whistle Stop Cafe” by Fannie Flagg. Forget the movie (though it was good)and all the subsequent novels she wrote, and just remember that lovely, sweet writing,those beloved characters and the interwoven stories that have every theme from family to racial discord to feminism to that deep Southern magic. Fannie Flagg made Harper Lee proud.
House Rules is at the top of my list, but so is The Help and Poisonwood Bible. Also Ella Minnow Pea because it makes you think about the follower mentality when someone says the way things should be and people just go along with it and don’t protest!
The Known World, by Edward Jones
I’m a huge fan of Joyce Carol Oates and Margaret Atwood. I think that both of these authors will be read for hundreds of years because of their insitefulness and willingness to put their beliefs on the line. I think Oates’ “We Were the Mulvaney’s” and Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” will be read for years to come.
I think the following authors will be read for many years to come: Nicholas Sparks, Richard Paul Evans and Jan Karon. All of them write inspiring, thought-provoking literature.
dEFINITELY, I would pick TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. It depicts the feel of racial tension for the time. It is written with such depth and understanding and shows that we’re not just a colour of race, we are the human race!
Gloriana
I have to agree with you Gloriana! To Kill a Mockingbird was the perfect book and it was the best “book into movie” ever. Her characterizations were superb!
I think the book “Night” by Elie Wiesel will be a read for many, many years. It is a wonderful story of his life as a young boy and living during the Holocaust.
I heard him speak several months ago. He is in his late 80′s (I think) and was a marvelous speaker. One can’t help but admire him for what he had been through in his lifetime and educating the public first-hand regarding such a dark part of history.
My book club read this and it offered great discussion material. One can’t help but admire him for what he’s been through.
I think Water for Elephants is a great book that everyone should read and will be around for some time to come.
I’m in my fifties and I’ve never read To Kill a Mockingbird… perhaps I will this summer.
Toni Morrison’s Beloved will still be around 100 years from now. Her writing is epic and her themes timeless.
As far as a contemporary classic, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Another one I’ve yet to read but is all anyone seems to talk about. Also, The Help.
I think anything by Alexander McCall Smith would qualify but I especially love his Isabel Dalhousie series….they are so gentle and yet the message is always about acceptance of oneself, as well as others!
I don’t know about 100 years from now, but I would not be too surprised if 10 years from now a few of us in hiding are discussing Chris Hedges’ “American Fascists.” One can hope that 100 years from now, the few remaining people will look up to books such as James Hansen’s “Storms of My Grandchildren” and Joseph Romm’s “Hell and High Water.” For fiction, Paolo Bacigalupi’s “The Windup Girl.”
Good book and good movie
I definitely think THE HELP by Kathyrn Stockett will still be read 100 years from now. It’s part of our history and we need to remember how life was back in the 60s.
I agree that The Help will be read for many years. It gives a true glimpse into a period of history–the unspoken rules of society. The viewpoints of the various characters alert us to this universal theme.
The Secret Life of Bees
“The Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch will be passed around from family to family and friend to friend for many years to come…he was such an inspiring, courageous man.
I’d have to say it would be between Kurt Vonnegut’s Catch 22 or Thomas Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow,or how about Cormac McCarthy’s Suttree
My choice would be Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude. In addition to the fact that it creates its own magical world, you see the its influence and echoes in most the younger serious contemporary writers.
I think that “In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote will be a definite classic in yrs. to come, Also Cormac McCarthy’s “Blood Meridian”
I consider “Atonement” by Ian McEwan a timeless classic.
“Being There” by Jerzy Kosinski is an amazing book and an absolutely marvelous movie starring Peter Sellers. The best childrens book ever is “Harold and the Purple Crayon” by Crockett Johnson. It has already managed to celebrate the 50 year anniversary.
Any book by Jodi Picoult. Her book “My Sister’s Keeper” is one of her best.
“To Kill a Mockingbird ” is one of my favorite books.A contemporary favorite of mine is “Beach Music” by Pat Conroy.
I believe that several of the above mentioned novels have already achieved contemporary classic status (To Kill a Mockingbird, The Handmaid’s Tale, Catch-22, One Hundred Years of Solitude, Beloved, etc.)and will endure.
On the really recent front (last 25 years or so)I think that Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club, Laura Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate, and Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes all have staying power.
So many good comments about wonderful books. But my thoughts went to children’s books. Several of Dr. Seuss books hopefully will stand the test of time–The Cat in the Hat, Oh, the places you’ll go!, and Green eggs and Ham
My absolute favorite book.
Contemporary favorite. Mermaids in the Basement, Secret of Bees..
Such a tough question to answer–and my answer might change from time to time–but as of this moment, I think ‘The History of Love’ by Nicole Krauss is a keeper…to name just one.
~~
To Kill A Mockingbird will always be my first choice. But as the years pass,
I wonder how The Glass Castle, or All Over But the Shouting will hold up?
I agree with some many of the choices above too!
I would agree with To Kill a Mickingbird as a modern classic, but being a Children’s Librarian, I would have to nominate the Harry Potter series as books that will be read 100 years from now!
Many of the choices already voiced are ones I think could well be read 100 years from now. I think Tim O’Brien’s collection The Things They Carried also has lasting merit.
The Thirteenth Tale.
An emotional mystery that is timeless and is great storytelling…about family secrets and magic of books and hidden/compelling mysterical endings.
The Thirteenth Tale is a timeless family-secret oriented mystery that has a magical ending. It’s a page keep involved in the mystery and involve a booklover joy as well. The mystery and characters are original and fresh and will whole the test of time and interest.
I think the Louisa May Alcott books are classics. I read Little Women as a child and loved it. Both my mother and my children read it, and I plan to pass it on to my grandchildren.
“To Kill A Mockingbird” will outlast all of us! This was the perfect book and will be read far, far into the future. I have to re-read this book at least twice a year, and I have since I first read it in high school many years ago. I have yet to find a person who has read the book that did not agree that it was one of the best books they had read. The book seems to touch something within our souls…at least it did mine.
the help
i believe “The Help” will become a classic in years to come. wonderful book, wonderful reading!
I believe Conroy’s book, “South of Broad”, will still be read for a long time. He writes about Southern ways and people so descriptively; it is hard to put down.
I would choose the Catching Fire series by Suzanne Collins to become a classic. They were touching and I became quite attached to the charactors. The story line is also very scary to think that this could really happen.
Wow, what a tough decision. Here is the short list: The Kite Runner, Empire Falls and Snow Falling on Cedars.
I think that Marilynne Robinson’s luminous book Gilead will become a classic, as will its sequel, Home. They’re beautifully crafted stories about what’s gentlest and best in all of us.
“The World According to Garp” by John Irving
I think the Harry Potter series will be around for a long time. And Suzanne Collins Hunger Games trilogy.
I thought that “My Sister’s Keeper” by Jodi Picoult was wonderfully done! She is a master at weaving a realistic story while dealing with current human issues.
Would agee wiht The Kite Runner since it opened up mainstream readers in America to understanding a different culture and breaking through stereotype.
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
I think, although it is not a classical novel as “To Kill a Mockingbird”, “Gone With the Wind ” by Margaret Mitchell has been around for nearly 100 years and I think it will be around for 100 more. It actually tells the story of a strong, willful southern woman who really does have a heart through all the trials of her life.
I think The Help may turn into a classic it is a wonderful book that I believe could stand the test to time. I do think it would be interesting in 100 years what will be thought of all the vampire books out now twilight, sookie stackhouse etc. I love the twilight series but I still wonder.
Considering the number published, very few books reach the status of a classic. Two that are currently read as classics, To Kill a Mockingbird and Night, I think, will endure past the one hundred year mark. The Harry Potter series, as fantasy, could also be timeless.
Besides TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, ATLAS SHRUGGED and THE FOUNTAINHEAD by Ayn Rand.
I am from Virginia, To Kill a Mockingbird is truly insightful of that time. Enjoyed reading comments and glenned names of books I’ll look forward to reading. My contribution would be “Grapes of Wrath”, my father gave me that book to read when I was 8 yrs. old. It helped me to understand what formed their lives.
All of the required reading from high school and college literature classes will still be around. The only modern book from the last twenty-five years that I can think of would be The Color Purple.
At least five choices for “100 Years From Now” >
CHARLOTTE’S WEB, FERDINAND, jco’s THE FALLS, OUTLANDER, and To Kill a Mockingbird.
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Peter Pan, Catcher in the Rye, The Naked and the Dead,
The Great Gatsby and A Confederacy of Dunces
The Great Gatsby because of it inherent themes of reinventing oneself and the consequences of trying to reclaim the past.
Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear. Time frame is before/during/after WWI. That will be ancient history a century from now.
My choices are:
Sidhartha
Gone With The Wind
The Godfather Series, and
Charlottes Web (always a favorite of mine).
Thanks and enjoy your summer.
The Geisha Girl, The Lovely Bones, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
77 years young and I still remember reading this wonderful book as a young person. I would love to win this book and after rerteading it, pass it along to my teen-age grandson.
Pillars of the Earth…is fabulous and yes, I think it will be around for at least a 100 years or more
Definitely The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. Unfortunately, everyone will die eventually but in the meantime, there are so many life lessons to be learned from this book.
I would hope that Mary Doria Russell’s books “The Sparrow” and “Children of God” become classics. I am not usually a sci-fi fan, but she wrote exquisitely and the books are intriguing and thought provoking with surprises that can change your opinion of characters.
Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga would be my choice.
George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. So much more than fantasy.
George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. So much more than fantasy.