104 Years Later, This Classic Novel Is Still the Greatest Book of All Time

We live in a world that often feels in constant flux, and that sense of rapid change extends even to entertainment, including books. In an era shaped by communities like BookTok and Bookstagram, where new tropes and viral reads seem to appear every week and the “next big book” is always just around the corner, the definition of literary greatness feels more unstable than ever.

Yet amid that fast-moving landscape, some stories prove they are far more than a passing fad. A select few novels continue to resonate with readers generation after generation, including one literary classic that, remarkably, still stands as the greatest novel of all time more than a century after its publication.

When it comes to determining the greatest book of all time, Screen Rant has turned to one of the most useful and user-friendly references on the internet for book rankings and popularity: thegreatestbooks.org. The site is a book-ranking and discovery platform that aggregates hundreds of “greatest books” lists into a single master ranking of literature.

The site builds its data-driven ranking of the greatest books ever written by combining hundreds of existing “best books” lists from critics, newspapers, literary organizations, readers, and other credible sources. It then determines each entry’s position on its cumulative list by applying a weighted system that accounts for both frequency and influence.

Thegreatestbooks.org explains its weighting process as starting each book out “with an ideal 'weight' of 150 for a perfect list.” This weight is then “reduced based on factors like the list's credibility and its alignment with other reputable lists.” Books that appear across multiple lists receive additional points for their consensus value, while credit is also given to works that appear on a single high-quality list, helping ensure a balanced ranking system.

Those interested in learning more about the primary criteria thegreatestbooks.org uses can explore the site directly. However, for those wondering what the algorithm has determined to be the greatest book of all time, they need look no further, as the number one-ranked book is Ulysses by James Joyce.

James Joyce’s Ulysses Ranks #1 Among the Greatest Books of All Time (But Is It Deserved?)

Ulysses' Ranking on Goodreads Tells a Different Story

The Greatest Books of All Time list brings together 733 “best of” book lists to form a broad, data-driven guide to the world’s most acclaimed literature, with Irish novelist and poet James Joyce’s Ulysses taking the top spot. First published on February 2, 1922, the novel has clearly stood the test of time, widely regarded as one of the most important works of modernist literature and a frequent fixture at the top of major literary rankings.

Set in early 20th-century Dublin, the novel follows a single day in the life of Leopold Bloom, an advertising salesman who wanders through the city. Heavily influenced by The Odyssey, the narrative explores themes of identity, sexuality, religion, Irish politics, and the complexities of ordinary life. It is best known for its stream-of-consciousness style and intricate structure, though these same qualities also make it a notoriously challenging read for many.

While thegreatestbooks.org places Ulysses at the top of its Greatest Books of All Time list, it is important to remember that any claim to a “greatest book ever” remains highly subjective, even when supported by data. For instance, looking at reader-driven platforms like Goodreads can offer a very different perspective on how the novel is received by modern audiences.

Goodreads: Ulysses is one of the most influential novels of the twentieth century. It was not easy to find a publisher in America willing to take it on, and when Jane Jeap and Margaret Anderson started printing extracts from the book in their literary magazine The Little Review in 1918, they were arrested and charged with publishing obscenity. They were fined $100, and even The New York Times expressed satisfaction with their conviction.

Ulysses was not published in book form until 1922, when another American woman, Sylvia Beach, published it in Paris her Shakespeare & Company. Ulysses was not available legally in any English-speaking country until 1934, when Random House successfully defended Joyce against obscenity charges and published it in the Modern Library.

Despite an impressive 139,760 ratings and 11,440 reviews, Ulysses holds an average rating of 3.76 stars on Goodreads. While still a strong score, it is noticeably lower than what one might expect for a so-called “greatest book of all time,” highlighting how perceptions shift across different readerships and platforms.

Ultimately, this contrast underscores how literary greatness is often shaped by both critical consensus and personal taste. If you have read Ulysses, do you think it deserves its ranking as the greatest book of all time, or is there another title that better earns that distinction?