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The Best Books Of All Time

5ft Shelf is a site for recording your favorite books, albums & movies and discovering new ones. Right now you're looking at the most popular books on our site which we calculate by adding together all our site members favourite books and pulling out the most popular ones. If you're after a new must read book then this list is the place to look. Just click the item to find out more (where there's even links straight through to the correct page on Merchants such as Amazon and iTunes if you wish to purchase the item).

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The Best Books Of All Time as voted by our users

1
To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird

'Shoot all the Bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a Mockingbird.' A lawyer's advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee's classic novel - a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with exuberant humour the irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in ... » read More

2
Nineteen Eighty-Four

Nineteen Eighty-Four

Thought Police. Big Brother. Orwellian. These words have entered our vocabulary because of George Orwell's classic dystopian novel, 1984. The story of one man's nightmare odyssey as he pursues a forbidden love affair through a world ruled by warring states and a power structure that controls not only information but also individual thought and memory, 1984 is a prophetic, haunting tale. More... » read More

3
The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings

For over fifty years, J.R.R. Tolkien's peerless fantasy has accumulated worldwide acclaim as the greatest adventure tale ever written. No other writer has created a world as distinct as Middle-earth, complete with its own geography, history, languages, and legends. And no one has created characters as endearing as Tolkien's large-hearted, hairy-footed hobbits. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings... » read More

4
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

Eeek - it looks like there's no description for this item at the moment. Sometimes we're unable to use the description we normally would due to copyright reasons. We're aware of the issue with this film though and are working on finding a description for you.... » read More

5
Harry Potter Paperback Boxed Set

Harry Potter Paperback Boxed Set

This is a fabulous opportunity to finally own all seven Harry Potter titles - "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban", "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" - in a fantastic boxed... » read More

6
The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye

Ever since it was first published in 1951, this novel has been the coming-of-age story against which all others are judged. Read and cherished by generations, the story of Holden Caulfield is truly one of America's literary treasures.... » read More

7
Catch-22

Catch-22

Catch-22 is like no other novel. It is one of the funniest books ever written, a keystone work in American literature, and even added a new term to the dictionary. At the heart of Catch-22 resides the incomparable, malingering bombardier, Yossarian, a hero endlessly inventive in his schemes to save his skin from the horrible chances of war. His efforts are perfectly understandable because as he... » read More

8
The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby

Noted Fitzgerald biographer Matthew J. Bruccoli draws upon years of research to present the Fitzgerald's Jazz Age romance exactly as he intended according to the original manuscript, revisions, and corrections--with explanatory notes. Reprint.... » read More

9
Twilight

Twilight

Isabella Swan's move to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made. But once she meets the mysterious and alluring Edward Cullen, Isabella's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he lives in, but now nobody is safe, especially Isabella,... » read More

10
Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice

When Elizabeth Bennet first meets eligible bachelor, Fitzwilliam Darcy, she thinks him arrogant and conceited; he is indifferent to her good looks and lively mind. When she later discovers that Darcy has involved himself in the troubled relationship between his friend Bingley and her beloved sister Jane, she is determined to dislike him more than ever. In the sparkling comedy of manners that... » read More