News

Starting Saturday, Globe Books has begun a new series, the 50 Greatest Books.

"I know, it's an entirely presumptuous label, and no doubt we'll leave off dozens that readers feel belong," Globe Books Editor Martin Levin wrote in his introduction to the series They're the Greatest

"So why not simply 50 Great Books?" Mr. Levin asked.

"In part, because we want readers to engage in the discussion — we plan to provide a forum for outraged advocates or critics, clever ripostes and tut-tutting over obvious oversights — and in part because in making distinctions, we implicitly reject the postmodern view that won't allow privileging (in the fashionable term) Anna Karenina over the James Bond books — though I confess I look forward to the next one, by the highly literary Sebastian Faulks . . .

"A great book is adjudged a great book over time by virtue of offering things — astonishing ideas, unforgettable characters, imaginative sublimity, glorious prose — that cannot be got elsewhere, and that tell us something new about the human (or other) condition.

"The 50 will not be ranked in order. We figure just choosing them is adventurous enough."

Mr. Levin noted that the entries will be derived from discussions among members of our panel of experts.

But we are also interested in the thoughts of our readers on the series and the individual books.

There are two ways our readers can participate in this process.

First, to submit your thoughts on the overall question of what should be on the list of the 50 greatest, click here to use the comment function on this article.

Second, to debate the merits of each individual book in the series, click on the link on the left side of this page to read the panel's argument, then submit your comments on that argument in the usual way on those individual articles.