Ooh, this is a tough question. 50-100 years is a long time. Lots of books are still discussed from 50 years ago, but there’s much fewer from 100 years ago or more that are still discussed today. Here are some guesses, mostly sci fi because that’s what I am most familiar with, both in terms of modern writing and 100+ year old writing:
* The books by Alastair Reynolds. His debut novel, Revelation Space, was published in 2000. His writing has a timeless sort of classic sci fi vibe. I haven’t read most of what he has written so I’m not sure which is most likely to withstand the test of time if I had to pick just one.
* Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. This is a very commonly recommended and talked about book. I read it for school, and it has a good movie adaptation. It’s one of those books that’s in between literary fiction and sci fi so it appeals to people across genres.
* The Books of Earthsea, published 2018. This one is probably cheating, because it’s a collected edition of a bunch of much older books and stories that were published over the course of decades and have already proven they can withstand the test of time.
* Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller. I think this COULD withstand the test of time, but to be honest, I don’t think it’s well-known enough to do so. Similar to Alastair Reynolds’ books, this one has a timeless sort of quality where it isn’t immediately obvious when it was written, and I think a lot of books that are still discussed and read long after publication have that quality.
* Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie. This is her debut novel, and the first book to win the Hugo, Nebula, and Arthur C. Clarke award all at once. That alone will probably ensure it keeps popping up in sci fi discourse now and then, though many people feel the other two books in the trilogy are a step down in quality.
* The Hunger Games. I wouldn’t have guessed this back when they were new, but these have such staying power I imagine they’ll still be read and loved for generations. It’s still bestselling so many years after publication.
Ikunou on
the bible, that’s a staple!
smalltownlargefry on
The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy. The Coorections by Jonathan Franzen.
annieontherainbow on
Shuggie Bain
PEN-15-CLUB on
Cliche to say but – the Harry Potter series. Just an absolute cultural phenomenon.
5 Comments
Ooh, this is a tough question. 50-100 years is a long time. Lots of books are still discussed from 50 years ago, but there’s much fewer from 100 years ago or more that are still discussed today. Here are some guesses, mostly sci fi because that’s what I am most familiar with, both in terms of modern writing and 100+ year old writing:
* The books by Alastair Reynolds. His debut novel, Revelation Space, was published in 2000. His writing has a timeless sort of classic sci fi vibe. I haven’t read most of what he has written so I’m not sure which is most likely to withstand the test of time if I had to pick just one.
* Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. This is a very commonly recommended and talked about book. I read it for school, and it has a good movie adaptation. It’s one of those books that’s in between literary fiction and sci fi so it appeals to people across genres.
* The Books of Earthsea, published 2018. This one is probably cheating, because it’s a collected edition of a bunch of much older books and stories that were published over the course of decades and have already proven they can withstand the test of time.
* Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller. I think this COULD withstand the test of time, but to be honest, I don’t think it’s well-known enough to do so. Similar to Alastair Reynolds’ books, this one has a timeless sort of quality where it isn’t immediately obvious when it was written, and I think a lot of books that are still discussed and read long after publication have that quality.
* Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie. This is her debut novel, and the first book to win the Hugo, Nebula, and Arthur C. Clarke award all at once. That alone will probably ensure it keeps popping up in sci fi discourse now and then, though many people feel the other two books in the trilogy are a step down in quality.
* The Hunger Games. I wouldn’t have guessed this back when they were new, but these have such staying power I imagine they’ll still be read and loved for generations. It’s still bestselling so many years after publication.
the bible, that’s a staple!
The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy. The Coorections by Jonathan Franzen.
Shuggie Bain
Cliche to say but – the Harry Potter series. Just an absolute cultural phenomenon.