Reading literary classics, together.
Rankings
After each session, we add the book and its average group score. Each person submits their rating of "greatness" anonymously, and then we aggregate them to form our own list of greatest books.
#1
by Mary Shelley
GreatestBooks Rank: 39th
A young scientist discovers that creating life is easier than managing the consequences, and unleashes one of literature's greatest monsters: someone obsessed with John Milton. Frankenstein is thrilling, funny in places, tragic, and surprisingly human — a Gothic rollercoaster powered by bad decisions and a whirlwind tour across Europe.
Session date: 2026-08-04
#2
by Homer
GreatestBooks Rank: 24th
After the fall of Troy, Greek hero Odysseus sets out for home — but it takes him ten long years to reach it, and this epic poem is the story of that journey. Romance, revenge, huge one-eyed monstrosities and the wrath of gods who use mortals for their sport: the Odyssey has it all and so much more. Read the original before the Christopher Nolan film adaptation comes out in July!
Session date: 2026-06-09
“Went on a bit”
“Very translation dependent”
“Undeniably iconic and a great adventure story that inspired so much — but can we ever truly enjoy it as intended?”
#3
by Emily Brontë
GreatestBooks Rank: 15th
It's a tale of romance and betrayal told across two generations (as well as a lot of stormy Yorkshire moorland). Frequently adapted, celebrated in song, it's a quintessential great book.
Session date: 2026-04-07
“The greatest book!!!”
“No characters who are not contemptible or vile or deranged.”
#4
by Jorge Luis Borges
GreatestBooks Rank: 45th
Enter the labyrinth of Fictions: infinite libraries, imaginary worlds, detective puzzles, and philosophical games packed into dazzlingly short stories. Borges makes big ideas feel playful, strange, and addictive—you’ll leave every story wanting to argue about what it meant.
Session date: 2026-07-07
“Bitesize genre/form bending. Inspired a lot of modernity.”
“Greatly boring. Very repetitive and predictable. Sometimes an interesting conceit.”
“Honestly, I don't know why he bothered.”
#5
by Henry David Thoreau
GreatestBooks Rank: 113th
For two years, Thoreau retreated to a cabin near Walden Pond in Massachusetts to escape from and critique the complexities of the modern age (in 1854). His experiment in simple living, in self-reliance, has proven to be one of the most arresting pieces of transcendentalist American literature, and always relevant to how we think about our relationship to the natural world.
Session date: 2026-05-05
“Interesting ideas, not fully formed.”
“Interestingly accurate depictions and observations on modern society as well as its era.”
“He needed a strong editor to cut him.”
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