I love a list & this is the ultimate list for lovers of middlebrow fiction. Scott has compiled his list of the Top 100 middlebrow novels at his blog, Furrowed Middlebrow. He’s been unveiling the list gradually over the past few weeks but has now given list nerds everywhere the entire list here, organised by ranking & by publication year. What more could we want? Of course, the first thing I did was count how many of the 100 I’d read. I’ve read 55 of the 100 & 19 of the Top 20. You can see my Top 20 collection above (with multiple copies of particular favourites). I don’t own a copy of Elizabeth Bowen’s The Heat of the Day. The book I haven’t read is Miss Mole by E H Young but it’s ready & waiting on my Kindle.
I have 21 books on the tbr. Here are the physical books & the rest are on the Kindle. So, that leaves me 29 books to track down… Hopefully some of them will eventually become part of the Furrowed Middlebrow list that Scott is publishing with Dean Street Press. Isn’t it wonderful that so many of these books are back in print thanks to Scott & the champions of the middlebrow novel, Persephone Books & Virago Modern Classics.
I Prefer Reading 
I’ve only read seven on the list; on the one hand, so much to look forward to and on the other, so little time left at my age…
Inspiring and interesting info, tho…
LikeLike
There are always more books to read which can be exciting & exhausting all at once!
LikeLike
I’ve read 39, 13 from the top 20. Another 9 on the TBR shelves plus one more on order — this list pretty much ruined Project 24 for me! And I’m also excited about the Furrowed Middlebrow imprint. Hooray for middlebrow reading!
LikeLike
Hooray indeed! It’s nice to know we’ll never run out of books to read, isn’t it?
LikeLike
I do not think this list is comprehensive and its more fun to compile one’s own list.
LikeLike
Scott doesn’t claim that it’s comprehensive but it’s certainly representative of the genre.
LikeLike
It is fun and easy to make a book list.I would say google VIRAGO MODERN CLASSICS and Persephone Books and you are half way there.
LikeLike
Thank you for sharing the list, Lyn. It’s great fun to see your copies of the books, and I’m impressed (but not surprised) that you’ve already read more than half of the books!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reading the entire list will be a goal for the next few years. Hopefully we’ll see a few more of them as part of the FM imprint.
LikeLike
I do like a list! I have read 12 of the top twenty and 29 of the hundred. Basically all the crime fiction and a fair sprinkling of the others.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Why am I not surprised that you’ve read all the crime novels?? A list like this gives me a goal to aim for & I’m more likely to read these books than the books on many of the Top 100 or “Best” book lists I often see around the internet.
LikeLike
I try to ignore lists, but this one looks like a lot of books I’d enjoy. I’ve only read about ten on the list. Lots of happy hours of reading ahead!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s a very good list, isn’t it? I think the Top 10 would be a great place to start if you wanted to recommend books to a new middlebrow reader.
LikeLike