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Pompous Books to Read in Public

Want to increase your literary hipster cred at the local coffeehouse?
Here is a list to get you started.

Conversely, do you suspect a close friend is an insufferable book snob?
Catch them reading the following in public and your suspicions are confirmed!

If you've read most of the books on this list, you may be a book snob... but don't panic! Wear the title with pride, you deserve it.
1

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3.77 avg rating — 137,137 ratings
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2

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4.25 avg rating — 97,510 ratings
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3

by
4.17 avg rating — 352,906 ratings
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4

by
4.15 avg rating — 65,150 ratings
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5

by
4.28 avg rating — 1,002,522 ratings
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6

by
4.38 avg rating — 362,273 ratings
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7

by
4.05 avg rating — 26,674 ratings
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8

by
4.01 avg rating — 46,424 ratings
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9

by
3.68 avg rating — 13,352 ratings
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10

by
4.10 avg rating — 894,721 ratings
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11

by
4.19 avg rating — 7,106 ratings
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12

by
4.08 avg rating — 164,776 ratings
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13

by
3.96 avg rating — 40,117 ratings
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14

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3.80 avg rating — 3,756,909 ratings
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15

by
3.96 avg rating — 217,415 ratings
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16

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4.29 avg rating — 4,551,294 ratings
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17

by
4.15 avg rating — 2,231,399 ratings
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18

by
3.90 avg rating — 293,274 ratings
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19

by
3.84 avg rating — 214,741 ratings
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20

by
4.07 avg rating — 166,496 ratings
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21

by
3.95 avg rating — 368,496 ratings
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22

by
4.21 avg rating — 826,613 ratings
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23

by
3.56 avg rating — 596,231 ratings
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24

by
3.71 avg rating — 357,763 ratings
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25

by
4.02 avg rating — 111,826 ratings
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26

by
3.69 avg rating — 400,823 ratings
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27

by
3.94 avg rating — 9,519 ratings
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28

by
3.86 avg rating — 190,302 ratings
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29

by
3.64 avg rating — 159,441 ratings
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30

by
3.82 avg rating — 1,143,055 ratings
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31

by
3.97 avg rating — 452 ratings
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32

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 747,218 ratings
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33

by
3.79 avg rating — 333,217 ratings
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34

by
4.03 avg rating — 173,039 ratings
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35

by
4.51 avg rating — 7,864 ratings
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36

by
4.09 avg rating — 22,873 ratings
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37

by
3.91 avg rating — 73,139 ratings
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38

by
3.90 avg rating — 277,457 ratings
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39

by
3.95 avg rating — 540,949 ratings
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40

by
3.69 avg rating — 146,093 ratings
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41

by
4.19 avg rating — 45,546 ratings
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42

by
4.03 avg rating — 106,992 ratings
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43

by
4.29 avg rating — 51,224 ratings
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44

by
3.96 avg rating — 19,729 ratings
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45

by
3.92 avg rating — 38,785 ratings
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46

by
4.06 avg rating — 2,129 ratings
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47

by
4.09 avg rating — 30,716 ratings
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48

by
4.19 avg rating — 77,779 ratings
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49

by
4.02 avg rating — 294,321 ratings
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50

by
4.10 avg rating — 40,836 ratings
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51

by
4.27 avg rating — 11,194 ratings
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52

by
3.52 avg rating — 233,184 ratings
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53

by
3.78 avg rating — 198,898 ratings
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54

by
4.17 avg rating — 3,363 ratings
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55

by
4.06 avg rating — 10,883 ratings
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56

by
3.89 avg rating — 288,995 ratings
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57

by
3.98 avg rating — 42,955 ratings
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58

by
4.17 avg rating — 327,708 ratings
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59

by
3.89 avg rating — 29,742 ratings
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60

by
4.32 avg rating — 9,293 ratings
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61

by
4.39 avg rating — 16,729 ratings
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62

by
4.09 avg rating — 187,825 ratings
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63

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 983,661 ratings
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64

by
4.11 avg rating — 19,826 ratings
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65

by
3.89 avg rating — 332,037 ratings
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66

by
3.96 avg rating — 110,195 ratings
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67

by
3.94 avg rating — 39,670 ratings
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68

by
3.97 avg rating — 5,267 ratings
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69

by
3.85 avg rating — 175,860 ratings
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70

by
3.76 avg rating — 15,814 ratings
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71

by
4.15 avg rating — 2,236 ratings
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72

by
4.03 avg rating — 58,370 ratings
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73

by
4.15 avg rating — 9,444 ratings
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74

by
3.76 avg rating — 97,434 ratings
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74

by
4.03 avg rating — 22,296 ratings
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76

by
3.88 avg rating — 34,122 ratings
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77

by
3.94 avg rating — 131,671 ratings
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78

by
4.19 avg rating — 12,667 ratings
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79

by
3.86 avg rating — 3,529 ratings
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80

by
4.38 avg rating — 3,270 ratings
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81

by
3.77 avg rating — 15,840 ratings
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82

by
3.84 avg rating — 192,455 ratings
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83

by
4.19 avg rating — 31,559 ratings
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84

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 49,097 ratings
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85

by
4.48 avg rating — 57,418 ratings
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86

by
3.87 avg rating — 1,759 ratings
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87

by
3.92 avg rating — 31,696 ratings
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87

by
3.59 avg rating — 9,091 ratings
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89

by
4.12 avg rating — 44,338 ratings
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90

by
3.50 avg rating — 29,263 ratings
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91

by
3.92 avg rating — 486,535 ratings
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92

by
3.84 avg rating — 365,682 ratings
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93

by
4.33 avg rating — 9,435 ratings
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94

by
4.02 avg rating — 24,650 ratings
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95

by
3.55 avg rating — 79,840 ratings
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96

by
4.24 avg rating — 1,198 ratings
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97

by
3.81 avg rating — 8,606 ratings
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98

by
4.11 avg rating — 3,618 ratings
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99

by
3.81 avg rating — 203,304 ratings
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100

by
3.50 avg rating — 12 ratings
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307 books · 153 voters · list created March 15th, 2012 by Holly Lindquist (votes) .
197 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Holly 1716 books
61 friends
Karen 1868 books
69 friends
Adrianne 1802 books
1 friend
Matthew 1260 books
25 friends
Read Between The Lines 5564 books
60 friends
buppyspek 358 books
13 friends
Samuel 1127 books
74 friends
Susanna - Censored by GoodReads 3382 books
854 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-20 of 20 (20 new)

dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by Limey (new)

Limey Here's a top tip: get hold of a hardback edition of one of these pompous books, cut out the middle couple of hundred or more pages of it, and then you can just put your usual, normal, real people's, non-hipster, pompless, friendly-neighborhood, genuinely readable, unpretentious, happybrow, fun, top-entertainment books inside it, so that people think you're ultra-hip and highbrow and can actually make sense of that wacko shit.


message 2: by Garrett (new)

Garrett Cash Read Ulysses today at the Social Security office (it's just what I happened to be reading!), so where do I pick up my pompous card?


message 3: by Cris (new)

Cris Pavon Only two women in this list! A little bit unbalanced...


Susanna - Censored by GoodReads I count 5 female authors in the top hundred, but that's still a very masculine list.


message 5: by Holly (new)

Holly Lindquist I'm personally thankful that so few female authors have to resort to being overbearingly pompous in order to write quality literature. If they don't make the list, I think that's a success, not a failure...because face it, this list is obnoxious! Pew!

PS: Although.. after some reflection I realize Sexual Personae by Camille Paglia belongs on the list. Very much so.


message 6: by Holly (new)

Holly Lindquist Perhaps a list for Genuinely Thought-Provoking Books or Deeply Intelligent Reading would have better diversity. I know several female authors that could wipe the floor with the competition in that case.


message 7: by Damon (last edited Jul 06, 2014 11:19AM) (new)

Damon Um. Why is the "The Road" on this list? Its an easy-to-read page turner that was turned into a blockbuster movie, and by far Cormac McCarthy's most accessible mass audience genre novel...


message 8: by Parf (new)

Parf ah yes, glenn beck, the most pompous of them all. riiiight...


message 9: by Chelsea (new)

Chelsea Hill This list is hilarious. *Bookmarked*


message 10: by Grant (new)

Grant must we be ironic and postmodern about good literature? perhaps you just want to read a good book when you read Ulysses.


message 11: by ☆~ܳٳܳ (new)

☆~ܳٳܳ so funny!


message 12: by Kirsten (new)

Kirsten Grant wrote: "must we be ironic and postmodern about good literature? perhaps you just want to read a good book when you read Ulysses."

Well, we are still in the "postmodern" era, so... yes.


message 13: by L (new)

L This list gave me ass cancer


message 14: by Ben (new)

Ben Mark wrote: "Here's a top tip: get hold of a hardback edition of one of these pompous books, cut out the middle couple of hundred or more pages of it, and then you can just put your usual, normal, real people's..."

this has to be satire


message 15: by The Final (new)

The Final Song ❀ Once i had fun.
It was horrifying


message 16: by Greg (new)

Greg But 'Ulysses' is flat out brilliant. It's one of a handful of books that make me laugh out loud, and yes several times in coffee shops. "Atlas Shrugged" is brilliant entertainment, but basically a pretentious soap opera! Proust is a magnificent writer!


message 17: by Greg (new)

Greg Mark wrote: "Here's a top tip: get hold of a hardback edition of one of these pompous books, cut out the middle couple of hundred or more pages of it, and then you can just put your usual, normal, real people's..."
Mark, well, in the 1st grade I had Agatha Christie books hidden within those silly readers like "See Jane Run." I had no other choice but to hide what I really wanted to read.


message 18: by Pasang (new)

Pasang smoothbrain cope list


message 19: by Nullifidian (new)

Nullifidian I'm glad to see Jacques Barzun on a list of pompous people. My only qualm is that he doesn't deserve to be on a list with writers of real ability and insight.


message 20: by Addy (new)

Addy Evenson Whoever you are: I love you.


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