A somewhat useless list -- who cares about the 100 Best? I care about which book I'll learn the most from right now. I forced myself through a bunch of classics in high school without learning much from them. Eventually I realized that I can judge what I'm getting out of something by my level of interest. If I can't get interested in a book, despite working hard to find something of interest in it, then I'm wasting my time.

The best books to read aren't necessarily the best books. For example, I just happened to pick up Creation by Gore Vidal while halfway through Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind which I happened to pick up after a painful breakup caused by incompatible cultural assumptions. It was a happy coincidence, reading exactly the books I needed at the time and getting the most out of each as a result.

What's the point of lists like this if reading is so personal and context-dependent?

Also, number 24 is The Mismeasure of Man, which isn't a particularly good book -- just a popular book on an important subject. How many other books on the list are mediocre books that address noble topics? By the number of noble topics addressed, I would guess quite a few.