21. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series
21. 银河系漫游指南系列

By Douglas Adams. The best comedy books ever, you’ll laugh out loud at every book. Adams is simply brilliant. 作者道格拉斯·亚当斯。这是有史以来最好的喜剧小说,每本书都能让你捧腹大笑,亚当斯简直是天才。

22. The Discworld Series
22. 碟形世界系列

By Terry Pratchett. Starts with The Color of Magic, but there are well over 30 in the series now. You can just jump in and read any of them, and they’re all pretty much incredible. Second-funniest writer, after Adams.
作者特里·普拉切特,该系列以《魔法颜色》为开端,至今已出版30多部。你可以随意选择一部阅读,它们都是令人难以置信的佳作。特里·普拉切特是继亚当斯之后的又一幽默作家。

23. The Stand
23. 末日逼近

By Stephen King. Anything by Stephen King will be a good read, but if you’re going to just read one book by him, read this one. A master storyteller.
作者斯蒂芬·金,他的任何作品都是佳作,但你如果只打算读一本,那就读着一本吧。斯蒂芬·金是讲故事的大师。

24. Harry Potter series
24. 哈利·波特系列

By J.K. Rowling. A classic series, from book one. Sure, it’s supposedly a kid’s series, but so is LOTR (next entry, below) and host of other wonderful works. Harry Potter made reading come alive for my children, and maybe you cried numerous times while reading these books with them.
作者J.K.罗琳,从第一本开始就是经典系列。的确,它被视作儿童文学作品,但《指环王》等其他文学作品也是。哈利·波特让孩子们再次爱上阅读,而且也许你看这些书的时候哭过好几次。

25. The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings series
25. 霍比特人及指环王系列

By J.R.R. Tolkein. Absolute classics. The Hobbit by itself is a great little book, but the LOTR series adds epic drama to the world of the Hobbits.
作者J.R.R.托尔金,这些绝对是经典之作。《霍比特人》本身就是一部伟大著作,而由此延续的指环王系列则是史诗般的巨作。

26. High Fidelity
26. 失恋排行榜

By Nick Hornby. Made into an excellent movie by John Cusack, High Fidelity is as much about music as it is about relationships. Just a cool book.
作者尼克·霍恩比,该书由John Cusack改编为一部优秀电影。《失恋排行榜》既是谈论恋爱,也是谈论音乐,这真的是一部很棒的书。

27. About a Boy
27. 关于一个男孩

By Nick Hornby. Better than the movie, which was pretty decent. The main characters — a do-nothing rich shallow bachelor and a son of a depressed and suicidal mom — are transformed by each other. Also see Hornby’s excellent How to Be Good.
作者尼克·霍恩比,该书相当不错,比电影更值得一看。该书的主要角色——一个无所事事且肤浅的有钱单身汉、一个沮丧的小男孩和他妄图自杀的妈妈,他们在相处中改变着彼此。霍恩比的另一部优秀小说是《如何是好》。

28. Water for Elephants
28. 大象的眼泪

By Sara Gruen. It’s a historical book about circuses. It’s a compelling story, and the well-researched facts really bring the story and characters alive.
作者莎拉·格鲁恩,这是一部关于马戏团的历史小说。故事十分吸引人,而取材真实生活的风格使得整个故事和里面的人物活灵活现。

29. The Unbearable Lightness of Being
29. 不能承受的生命之轻

By Milan Kundera. A classic, and a great read. Set in Czechoslovakia in the late 60s, it explores the insignificance of our actions and existence, in beautiful language.
作者米兰·昆德拉,一部经典著作。故事背景是20世纪60年代的捷克斯洛伐克,它以优美的语言探讨了我们行为和存在的意义。

30. Anna Karenina
30. 安娜·卡列尼娜

By Leo Tolstoy. One of the greatest novels of all time, Anna is a tragic heroine brought down by her desire to live and be loved, while Levin is a wonderful character looking for a satisfactory answer to the only important question to Tolstoy: that of death. Incredibly interwoven stories presided over by a roving omniscient narrator.
作者列夫·托尔斯泰,一部置于任何时代都毫不逊色的伟大著作,安娜因生活和爱情的失败沦为悲剧女主人公,而列文则是回答托尔斯泰提出的关于死亡这一问题的最佳角色。这两人的故事都被托尔斯泰这位博识的叙述者巧妙地穿插起来。