The 25 Most "Influential" Books of the Last 25 Years

Yesterday, my favorite magazine came in the mail...Mental Floss whose tag line is "Where Knowledge Junkies Get Their Fix." The current issue's cover story is about the 25 most influential books of the last 25 years.

As stated in the magazine: "This list isn't about story arcs or beautiful prose; it's about books with spine. Whether they've saved lives or gotten people killed, predicted America's future or uncovered its past, these 25 books have all had real-world impact. Be prepared to wear your library card ragged! "

Kudos to Mental Floss for reminding people that all of these books are available at your local library. I can tell you from personal experience, just about every one of these books is worth a read.

Unfortunately, they do not have a link to the list on their site. They want you to buy the magazine; a position which I support both here, and with my wallet. The Mental Floss site does have excellent digital content which supplements their 6x a year print magazine.

But to satisfy your curiosity, most of the titles are represented by their covers in the graphic on the website at this link. Here are a few with their ranking too: And the Band Played On (1), Maus (2), Into Thin Air (6), The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (14, incidentally a favorite of both my husband and Kathy at Berwyn), Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (16), and The Tipping Point (25)

You will have to go to the magazine to see why they were picked. It will be worth the effort.