» New York Times 50 Most Challenging Words (defined and used) - Currently Obsessed. The New York Times recently published a list of 50 fancy words that most frequently stump their readership.
They are able to measure this data thanks to a nifty in-page lookup mechanism, which you can try here. Try double-clicking the word “epicenter”. 50 Most Influential Books of the Last 50 (or so) Years. In compiling the books on this list, the editors at SuperScholar have tried to provide a window into the culture of the last 50 years.
Ideally, if you read every book on this list, you will know how we got to where we are today. Not all the books on this list are “great.” The criterion for inclusion was not greatness but INFLUENCE. All the books on this list have been enormously influential. The books we chose required some hard choices. The 50 Best Short Stories of All Time. The 10 Types of Writers' Block (and How to Overcome Them)