The Diary of a Nobody
1892 · 176 pages
Charles Pooter, a London clerk of vast unearned dignity, records every slight from tradesmen and every dinner-party triumph. He paints his bath red with enamel and mistakes the dissolving water for blood.
★ 4.8
The Books canon
Sourced and shelved.
Every book chosen by hand and annotated for why it matters.
Browse all 1,178 books or filter by subject, era, place, and author.
Browse all 1,178 books or filter by subject, era, place, and author.
Main Street
1920 · 898 pages
Carol Milford marries a doctor and moves to Gopher Prairie, Minnesota, determined to civilize it. The town wins, and Lewis made Main Street a byword for everything narrow and self-satisfied in American life.
★ 6.1
Rabbit, Run
1960 · 325 pages
Harry Angstrom peaked at eighteen on a basketball court and now demonstrates kitchen gadgets. He leaves his pregnant wife and drives south. Updike gave the American suburb prose nobody thought it deserved.
★ 6.8
Babbitt
1922 · 368 pages
George Babbitt sells real estate in a booming midwestern city, loves his car, and believes whatever his club believes. When he finally tries to break out, Lewis is merciless and then unexpectedly kind.
★ 7.1