This is not a greatest books list.

Metacanon is a database that offers an alternative to the genre of the greatest books list. Unlike lists compiled by individuals or small committees of experts, metacanon builds custom book lists by culling data from tens of thousands of scholarly texts. This data-driven approach results in a more comprehensive, flexible, and inclusive gateway into the canon(s).

Metacanon 0.9 is limited primarily to American fiction after 1800, but future updates will expand to include other areas, genres, and periods.

Use the menu below to generate your own version of the canon.

Custom

Max entries: Enter the total number of books you'd like to have in your canon.

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Entries per page:

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Order by:

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Include only one work per author. Restrict the canon to only the highest scoring book by each author.

Include only books written by women.

Use average citations per year. Use average number of citations per year rather than total citations. This tends to boost the score of more recent works.

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Include only works published between and .

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Algorithm Modifications

Change the weight of these data points in order to change the shape of your canon.

New York Times Archive:-2.0-1.5-1.0-0.5-0.250.00.250.51.01.52.0
JSTOR:-2.0-1.5-1.0-0.5-0.250.00.250.51.01.52.0
JSTOR Language and Literature:-2.0-1.5-1.0-0.5-0.250.00.250.51.01.52.0
Google Scholar:-2.0-1.5-1.0-0.5-0.250.00.250.51.01.52.0
ALH:-2.0-1.5-1.0-0.5-0.250.00.250.51.01.52.0
American Literature:-2.0-1.5-1.0-0.5-0.250.00.250.51.01.52.0
National Book Award:-2.0-1.5-1.0-0.5-0.250.00.250.51.01.52.0
Pulitzer Prize:-2.0-1.5-1.0-0.5-0.250.00.250.51.01.52.0

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Filters

Genres:

Novel

Novella

Collection of Short Stories

Other

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