[MtnClimber]

I would have added:

The Sea Wolf

[poinq]

Seawolf is one of my all time favorites. I loved it. I would add lots of novels to this list. East of Eden is great. There are a few Hemingway novels. And of course old man and the sea. To kill a mockingbird is a huge favorite. Not sure modern writers have to fight for every word as they did before word processors. So they are not as great. Its the difference between hand made and machine made. After 1980 novels are machine made. Soon they will be AI.

[detective]

I would have included:

To Kill a Mockingbird

A Tree Grew in Brooklyn

Red Badge of Courage

The Great Gatsby

[Bon of Babble]

I would have added something by Hemingway - "The Sun Also Rises," "Farewell to Arms" or "For Whom the Bell Tolls" - also prefer "All the Pretty Horses" as a choice for McCarthy - and the great SciFi writer, Ray Bradbury should be included.

Yes on Moby Dick, although many of us hated it b/c we were forced to read it.

Glad to see Tom Wolfe included on the list, one of my personal favorites.

Also these favorites:

[captnemo1]

really? You neglect modern titles, such as “Snow crash” by Neil stevenson. Also you neglect either others that
have a real deal such as the leaders such as Orwell, Ray Bradbury, Orson Wells.....
I could go on....
But I wont, check your phone...

[wardaddy]

It’s good to see freepers who don’t read past headlines actually are familiar with books

All sound suggestions here

I think I’ve read or perused all these

Roth is to me overrated and kind of pop lit

Nat Turner was a psycho butcher elevated by guilty stupid white people to Christ Floyd status
I’ll pass but decent black achievers never get elevated as such sadly

Instead fakirs and liars get sainthood

I lived four years in Faulkner land and knew two of his nephews well

He’s hard reading but his work stays in your head

Which u prefer is just taste

Absalom is gritty

Hemingway deserves something

I also like the early historical romantic writers some mentioned here