#1 - High Fidelity It's no surprise that this novel shows up on a site dedicated to ranking things. I have so much in common with High Fidelity's protagonist (a fervent list-maker himself) that reading it sometimes makes me feel as if I've happened upon a journal I forgot I'd written. But more than the book's familiarity lands it in the top spot -- Hornby's easy-going eloquence and warm wit make this work a classic.
#2 - White Teeth That an author could come up with a work this funny, wise and confident her first time out of the gate -- and in her mid-twenties, no less -- is nothing short of astonishing. Zadie Smith explores the collisions of race, religion and culture that come with our increasingly diverse society. She is in love with language, and I fell in love with this book and its wonderful cast of characters from the very first page.
#3 - Lonesome Dove This epic Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, considered by many the best Western ever written, succeeds for me despite its genre. I'm not a big fan of Westerns in any medium, but this book is so rich in its details and its characters are so perfectly drawn that the setting is superfluous. McMurtry is a master of heartbreaking realism, never afraid to take the narrative in unexpected directions.
#4 - One Hundred Years of Solitude I don't know if I'll ever be able to fully appreciate what this book has to offer -- entire courses have been taught on its meanings. But if I get nothing from it but its breathtaking imagery, its extended family tree of bizarre characters and Marquez's astonishing narrative gift, I'll still consider myself enriched.
#5 - Underworld The fascinating prologue, set during the ballgame that featured the "shot heard round the world" and eventually released as a stand-alone short story, is just the launching pad into an extraordinary tour of American culture from the middle of the century through present day. Delillo writes in a dizzying number of voices and captures each with perfect pitch.