I read a lot. Hundreds of books each year, ten thousand or more over the past few decades, mostly fantasy and science fiction, with a fair number of thrillers, mysteries, and other works thrown in.
The vast majority of these books are not works for the ages. Instead, they'll be largely forgotten within a year of publication, and difficult to find - perhaps even online - within a decade or so. But others persist, being popular or insightful enough to be at least findable decades after their publication. These stories appear to have withstood the test of time. My initial, incomplete list (restricted to fantasy)
- Lord of the Rings, Tolkien
- EarthSea trilogy, LeGuin
- House on the Borderland, Hodges
- Narnia series, Lewis
- Cthulhu mythos, Lovecraft
Possibly (verdict is still out)...
- Magician series (first few books, anyhow), by Feist
- Green Angel Tower, Williams
- Shanara series, Brooks
Ones younger folks believe might stand times test...
- Harry Potter
- Game of Thrones
The vast majority of these books are not works for the ages. Instead, they'll be largely forgotten within a year of publication, and difficult to find - perhaps even online - within a decade or so. But others persist, being popular or insightful enough to be at least findable decades after their publication. These stories appear to have withstood the test of time. My initial, incomplete list (restricted to fantasy)
- Lord of the Rings, Tolkien
- EarthSea trilogy, LeGuin
- House on the Borderland, Hodges
- Narnia series, Lewis
- Cthulhu mythos, Lovecraft
Possibly (verdict is still out)...
- Magician series (first few books, anyhow), by Feist
- Green Angel Tower, Williams
- Shanara series, Brooks
Ones younger folks believe might stand times test...
- Harry Potter
- Game of Thrones