,

Best Reading for the Contemporary Writer

Non-genre literature that emphasizes craft and character development over escapism. This is a contemporary literature list and I would offer these to any contemporary writer who wants a firm grasp on what is excellent on a sentence-for-sentence level right now. This is also an excellent list for those looking for the most literary works in contemporary fiction who have not previously been familiarized with much of it.
1

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3.89 avg rating — 275,964 ratings
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2

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4.13 avg rating — 39,486 ratings
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3

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4.18 avg rating — 203,872 ratings
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4

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4.14 avg rating — 339,142 ratings
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5

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4.01 avg rating — 37,045 ratings
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6

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3.85 avg rating — 823,714 ratings
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7

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4.09 avg rating — 16,471 ratings
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8

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4.14 avg rating — 347,860 ratings
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9

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3.97 avg rating — 480,106 ratings
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10

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3.76 avg rating — 1,283 ratings
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11

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4.16 avg rating — 48,887 ratings
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12

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4.14 avg rating — 95,892 ratings
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13

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4.01 avg rating — 75,506 ratings
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14

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3.85 avg rating — 121,879 ratings
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15

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4.04 avg rating — 2,926 ratings
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16

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3.97 avg rating — 27,504 ratings
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17

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4.01 avg rating — 263,925 ratings
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18

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3.96 avg rating — 147,384 ratings
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19

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3.93 avg rating — 1,725 ratings
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20

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4.25 avg rating — 7,279 ratings
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21

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4.18 avg rating — 210,531 ratings
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22

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4.06 avg rating — 5,709 ratings
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23

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4.31 avg rating — 1,920,784 ratings
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24

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4.18 avg rating — 540 ratings
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25

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3.95 avg rating — 6,572 ratings
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26

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3.94 avg rating — 89 ratings
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27

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3.86 avg rating — 193,181 ratings
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28

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3.98 avg rating — 3,659 ratings
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28

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4.28 avg rating — 1,330 ratings
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30

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4.08 avg rating — 208,297 ratings
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31

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4.10 avg rating — 1,219 ratings
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32

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4.34 avg rating — 312,029 ratings
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33

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3.96 avg rating — 318,874 ratings
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34

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3.81 avg rating — 209,152 ratings
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35

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4.26 avg rating — 7,195 ratings
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35

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3.73 avg rating — 26,176 ratings
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37

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3.80 avg rating — 11,834 ratings
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37

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3.83 avg rating — 6,314 ratings
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39

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4.05 avg rating — 3,066 ratings
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39

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4.41 avg rating — 22 ratings
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41

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3.84 avg rating — 31,299 ratings
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42

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3.77 avg rating — 2,658 ratings
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42

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3.71 avg rating — 72,640 ratings
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42

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3.65 avg rating — 16,337 ratings
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45

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4.08 avg rating — 29,220 ratings
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46

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3.90 avg rating — 1,358,639 ratings
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47

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3.80 avg rating — 18,392 ratings
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48

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3.87 avg rating — 14,507 ratings
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49

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3.84 avg rating — 195,279 ratings
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50

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4.46 avg rating — 224 ratings
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51

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3.76 avg rating — 32,123 ratings
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52

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3.69 avg rating — 20,013 ratings
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53

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3.86 avg rating — 1,585 ratings
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53

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3.86 avg rating — 8,030 ratings
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55

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4.11 avg rating — 15,557 ratings
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56

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3.99 avg rating — 1,078 ratings
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57

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4.28 avg rating — 1,456 ratings
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58

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3.89 avg rating — 12,047 ratings
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59

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4.35 avg rating — 20 ratings
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59

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3.85 avg rating — 3,446 ratings
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59

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4.46 avg rating — 13 ratings
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62

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4.43 avg rating — 2,347 ratings
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62

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3.62 avg rating — 334 ratings
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64

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3.85 avg rating — 79 ratings
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64

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3.81 avg rating — 3,262 ratings
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64

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3.97 avg rating — 1,011 ratings
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67

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4.24 avg rating — 333,511 ratings
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67

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4.09 avg rating — 2,125 ratings
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69

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3.82 avg rating — 2,345 ratings
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69

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3.43 avg rating — 49,672 ratings
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69

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3.97 avg rating — 221,490 ratings
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69

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3.93 avg rating — 498,232 ratings
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73

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4.11 avg rating — 454 ratings
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73

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4.04 avg rating — 474,862 ratings
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75

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4.12 avg rating — 8,639 ratings
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76

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4.05 avg rating — 6,726 ratings
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77

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3.86 avg rating — 16,666 ratings
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78

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3.87 avg rating — 925,334 ratings
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79

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3.86 avg rating — 28,658 ratings
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80

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3.95 avg rating — 59,338 ratings
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81

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4.11 avg rating — 2,321 ratings
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82

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 33 ratings
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82

by
3.23 avg rating — 44 ratings
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82

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3.69 avg rating — 131 ratings
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82

by
3.43 avg rating — 14,179 ratings
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82

by
3.53 avg rating — 213 ratings
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82

by
3.56 avg rating — 407 ratings
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82

by
4.13 avg rating — 90 ratings
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82

by
3.57 avg rating — 46,813 ratings
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82

by
3.58 avg rating — 24 ratings
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82

by
3.68 avg rating — 19 ratings
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82

by
3.54 avg rating — 194 ratings
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82

by
3.92 avg rating — 28,904 ratings
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82

by
3.48 avg rating — 223 ratings
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82

by
3.09 avg rating — 460 ratings
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82

by
3.76 avg rating — 50 ratings
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82

by
4.58 avg rating — 106 ratings
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82

by
4.10 avg rating — 73 ratings
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82

by
3.85 avg rating — 71 ratings
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82

by
4.17 avg rating — 36 ratings
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125 books · 223 voters · list created August 4th, 2008 by Olivia (votes) .
118 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Olivia 148 books
312 friends
Maria Elena 117 books
70 friends
Kyle 331 books
836 friends
Randomhero 69 books
1 friend
Michael 823 books
5000 friends
Cari 1737 books
109 friends
Lizz 254 books
7 friends
John 235 books
6 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-2 of 2 (2 new)

dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by Sal (new)

Sal Annie Dillard would be on a par with Beethoven if she wrote music instead of books. She is lyrical, sharp and clear. A golden note to enjoy and ponder. If you have not read her, you have sorely cheated yourself of a marvelous experience.


message 2: by Emma (new)

Emma It would seem that The first Five Pages, and MFA in a box do not belong to this list of literature, as they are not literature, but how-to manuals about writing.
Agree?
If yes, I'll remove them.


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