Amazon released its newly curated list of 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime on Tuesday . Books on the list include Jane Austen 's `` Pride and Prejudice '' ( 1813 ) , F. Scott Fitzgerald 's `` The Great Gatsby '' ( 1925 ) and Kate Atkinson 's `` Life After Life '' ( 2013 ) . The list spans 200 years of literature , along with a wide range of genres and intended audiences ; authors include David Sedaris , Salman Rushdie , J.D . Salinger , Michael Pollan and Shel Silverstein . Sara Nelson , editorial director of print and Kindle books at Amazon.com , said the list was created through taxing months of deliberation among her team , though no mathematical algorithms were used . `` One of our tasks was to have books that do n't feel like homework : 'eat your vegetables ' books , '' Nelson said . `` There was nothing in there except ' I loved this book when I was 12 for this reason . ' We lobbied each other . '' The books are not ranked but rather are listed alphabetically to represent that `` no book is more important than another , '' she added . Some books that unanimously made the cut are children 's books like `` Charlotte 's Web '' by E.B . White and `` Unbroken , '' a nonfiction book about World War II by `` Seabiscuit '' author Laura Hillenbrand . Fan favorites like the first installments of the `` Harry Potter , '' `` Hunger Games '' and `` Lord of the Rings '' series made the cut . The list also features just one of the No . 1 Amazon Best Books of the Year , Rebecca Skloot 's `` The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks . '' `` We tried to make sure that we had a pretty good balance of fiction and nonfiction , '' Nelson said . `` In terms of the demographic of the writers , we never sat down and said 'we need more women ' or 'we need more books from different cultural groups or countries . ' But overall , when I eyeball that list , it seems to have a lot of variation . '' The book most hotly debated by the editorial team was George Orwell 's dystopian novel `` 1984. `` `` It was n't so much 'Is `` 1984 '' a great book ? ' but 'Should we put `` 1984 '' or `` Brave New World '' ? Should we put `` Lord of the Rings '' or `` The Hobbit '' ? ' On a 100 book list , you probably ca n't put both , '' Nelson said . `` We tried to find books that were iconic and that would lead to other books . '' The list leaves off classics like `` Les Misérables '' and `` Moby Dick , '' though some editors argued for their inclusion . You can vote for which selections you like and suggest new ones at Goodreads . Amazon will compile a list of reader picks in the coming weeks . All the books on the list are included in the gallery above -- let us know which ones you agree with and which you think were unfairly omitted in the comments section below .
Amazon.com compiled a list of 100 books everyone should read . The literature spans 200 years , from Jane Austen to Kate Atkinson . Comment: Readers can vote on which picks are good and which are missing .