Jabber talking recently about reading Pride and Prejudice got me to thinking about what are the greatest fictional books ever written.

I took several literature classes in college, and I love to read, so I've read a lot of books over the years. I expect most of our BWS audience is the same...

Which means we all have favorite books. And yet perhaps there are still well-known books that have been written over the years which we've never quite gotten around to reading...

As an example, my Dad gave me a copy of Melville's "Moby D ick" as a Christmas gift this year. (Actually, it's a beautiful version of the book with gold leaf on the page edges, and I think it is probably part of one of those "Great Books" types of collections, as he has an entire bookcase filled with these classics.)

But the thing is, even though I'm over 60, I'm not sure I have actually ever read "Moby D ick." Oh sure, I've heard of Captain Ahab, and I think I know the general gist of the story. Who among us doesn't know the book opens with the famous, oft-riffed phrase, "Call me Ishmael."

That line is probably one of the most recognizable opening lines in Western literature.

Bottom line, I have read many of the great and classic books written, including "To Kill a Mockingbird," "War and Peace," "Gone with the Wind," "Anna Karenina," "Jane Eyre," "Wuthering Heights," "The Great Gatsby," and "many others.

And yet, I have likely missed as many great books as I have read. Witness my "Moby D ick" admission.

(NOTE: I know, of course, that I am breaking up the second word of that title. But I have to, or else the forum software censors me...)

ANYWAY: I started wondering: What books would we -- as a group -- select if we were to create a list of wonderful reading that we'd want to pass down to a person of 18 today? You know, a list titled something like "50 Must Read, Mind-Altering NOVELS You Should Try to Read in Your Lifetime."

I'll begin by saying that per my rules, here, the original work does not have to have been written in English, as long as good English translations are available.

So what would you suggest we put into our BWS list?

I'll start by throwing out a few personal favorites, and hopefully everyone here will want to comment as to whether or not these books qualify, and/or add a few selections of their own, with a sentence or two as to why you are voting for it.

1. "War and Peace" by Count Leo Tolstoy. A huge volume, this epic historical novel offers readers a panoramic study of early 19th-century Russian society via a look at five aristocratic families. Set against the background of Russian social life during the war against Napoleon (1805-14), many people consider that it is one of the world's greatest novels.

2. "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier. A story about psychological obsession and immortality, by one of the best writers of the 20th century, IMHO, this book opens with the famous phrase, “Last night, I dreamed I went to Manderley again.”

3. "Gone with the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell. Set during the US's Civil War, it's a fantastic story of of one woman’s doomed love and one civilization’s doomed quest.

4. "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. While overtly a story of life in the U.S. during the Jazz Age, it is really a story about the haves and how they think of the have-nots.

5. "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee This is a wonderful book about justice and deeply held beliefs, right and wrong, and the agony of growing up.

6. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy Another memorable Tolstoy novel of prewar Russia, this one features - in short -- a foolish and beautiful woman named Anna who cheats on her husband. And yet, in his classic story of doomed love, Tolstoy will have you enthralled by his magnificent heroine, the unhappily married Anna Karenina, and her tragic affair with the dashing Count Vronsky.

OK, I don't want to hog the discussion. Let's hear what y'all want to add to our delightful list...