Are you searching for another great book to enjoy? Instead of fruitlessly asking around, check out Amazon.com’s new compilation of 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime, a list of 100 books that were decided as the top books, both classic and modern, to read in your lifetime.

To put together the list, Amazon left the “Best Books of the Year” lists alone and ignored mathematical algorithms and other formulaic indicators. 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. According to Nelson, Amazon.com’s editors listed the books in alphabetical order in order to express that “no book is more important than another.”

However, in response, Goodreads.com has posted the list, 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime: Readers’ Picks, and opened it for readers to vote on the books they believe are the best of Amazon’s list. So far, the top-10 books are To Kill a Mockingbird, Pride and Prejudice, The Diary of a Young Girl, 1984, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, The Lord of the Rings, The Great Gatsby, Charlotte’s Web, The Hobbit and Little Women.

With a list of so many classics mixed with some very unconventional choices, like the children’s book Good Night Moon and the contemporary hit Gone Girl, many bookworms are left asking: Are these really books you need to read in a LIFETIME?

Hawthorne High School Media Specialist Theresa DiGeronimo commented on the books on the list, saying “This is a wonderful list of great literature; however, because it is built on popular poll, it also includes books that have not proved themselves to be true classics and may not be worth reading in one’s lifetime.”

English teacher Mrs. Murphy’s remark held the same sentiment. “I think it’s a pretty good collection of classics, with a few bizarre choices.”

When asked her opinion on the list, senior and avid reader, Haley Cimillo, said, “They’re classics everyone should read. I think it’s a good list.”

In my overall opinion, as an ardent bookworm, this list is a collection of many books that should be read in your lifetime, as I am checking off books from the list, myself. And there are a few odd books on the list for people whose tastes fall into the more modern category.

If curiosity has taken ahold of you, check out Amazon’s list of 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime by clicking here (or picking up the list in our library). If you find you have a strong opinion on the list, make sure to vote on the books you think should be read in a lifetime by signing into GoodReads.com with Facebook or a Good Reads account here: 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime: Reader’s Picks.