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.

The Birth of Tragedy

Out of the Spirit of Music
1872 · 120 pages

Greek tragedy came from a collision of two forces, Nietzsche argues: Apollo's clear forms against Dionysus's music and intoxication. Socrates killed it by insisting the world could be explained rather than endured.

★ 7.0

The Nibelungenlied

Author unknown
1200 · 403 pages

Siegfried, invulnerable but for one spot the dragon's blood missed, is speared there by Hagen. Kriemhild's revenge for her husband runs through the rest of Germany's national epic and empties two courts.

★ 6.6