This may not be an occasion that warrants formal maternity dresses, but it is cool.

Several years ago, the Norwegian Book Clubs gathered 100 authors together and asked them to list the 10 best works of fiction. Here is a portion of the list they created. The titles are arranged alphabetically — no other ranking.

Here are the top ten:

1. 1984 by George Orwell, England, (1903-1950)
2. A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, Norway (1828-1906)
3. A Sentimental Education by Gustave Flaubert, France, (1821-1880)
4. Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner, United States, (1897-1962)
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, United States, (1835-1910)
6. The Aeneid by Virgil, Italy, (70-19 BC)
7. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, Russia, (1828-1910)
8. Beloved by Toni Morrison, United States, (b. 1931)
9. Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Doblin, Germany, (1878-1957)
10. Blindness by Jose Saramago, Portugal, (1922-2010)

What do you think? Have you read them all? If not, what are you waiting for?