Mental-floss magazine has taken on the task of naming the 25 most influential books of the past 25 years. But its criteria are not exactly based solely on plot.

Paula Coelho’s The Alchemist made the list because of the way Coelho marketed his book. He offered it for free online back when Blackberries weren’t even born yet. In 1999, 10 years after he published The Alchemist, Coelho’s publisher dropped him for lack of sales. So the author turned to the web and sales immediately jumped. In the first year 10,000 copies were sold. Less than 10 years later, 10 million books were sold. Maybe musicians should take the hint.

Other titles that made the list include:

Thinking in Pictures – a picture of autism
And the Band Played On – a focus on AIDS
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle – a complex translation about Japan
Middlesex – from the author of The Virgin Suicides

Personally, I think The Giving Tree should be up there, but that’s just me. What book do you think belongs on this list?

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