The Guardian readers: The Lord of the Rings is the best novel

Readers rose to the top of the voted list by JRR Tolkien The Lord of the Rings. Placed second George Eliotin Middlemarch and thirdly Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

The listing is a continuation of the Guardian to the one published in May to the corresponding list of writers, researchers and critics.

The book industry the professionals’ choices sparked a debate about the works missing from the list and who can influence the literary canon.

For example, author and literary editor of the Chicago Tribune John Warner wrote In its Substack publicationthat such listings are “absurd”, even though they serve as conversation starters. Warner also admits he hasn’t read the winner of the pro list Middlemarchia.

George Eliot’s novel is a description of life in a fictional English village published in 1871–1872. In Finnish, the work has been published under the same name Aune Tuomikoski translated and published by WSOY in 1966.

Previously the published list of professionals has also been included in the chat service On redditwhere especially the lack of fantasy literature has been criticized. Many commentators believe that the neglect of fantasy shows the prejudices of academic and critical circles against genre literature.

Criticism was also raised by other well-known works, such as David Foster Wallacen Infinite Jestin (Fin. Endless joy) missing from the list compiled by professionals. The list was also considered too “serious”.

Tolkien’s in addition, fantasy is represented on the readers’ list as well Susanna Clarke Piranesi ranked 70th and by Stephen King The Stand (Fin. Base) ranked 80. Also made it to the list by Douglas Adams sci-fi satire The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Fin. The Milky Way Handbook for Hitchhikers).

Middlemarchin besides, many other same works ended up on the lists of both professionals and readers, among others by Virginia Woolf Mrs Dalloway, Cormac McCarthyn Blood Meridian (Fin. To the end of the blood) as well as Mihail Bulgakovin The Master and Margarita (Fin. Satan arrives in Moscow).

The like several lists of the best works have been compiled in recent years. The New York Times your list “100 best books published in the 21st century” in the summer of 2024, and Helsingin Sanomat made a similar list from domestic books in December of the same year.

The “best films of the 21st century” were also listed in 2025 as well The New York Timesissa that in Helsingin Sanomat. The readers of Helsingin Sanomat also told own point of view of what should have been on the list.

“Best book lists are interesting precisely because they are inevitably incomplete,” The Guardian’s literary editor Alex Clark writes in the June issue in his column.

“Their purpose is not to decide which is the best book, but to remind us how much excellent literature exists.”