Le Mondes 100 Books of the Century is a list of books thought to be the 100 best of the 20th century . The list was made in 1999 by the French retailer Fnac and the Paris newspaper Le Monde . The 100 Books of the Century is a grading of the books considered as the hundred best of the 20th century , drawn up in the spring of 1999 through a poll conducted by the French retailer Fnac and the Paris newspaper Le Monde .