There is value in 'ranking' things like books and authors: It may serve to emphasize a point someone is making about their relative importance or impact. It's

There is value in 'ranking' things like books and authors: It may serve to emphasize a point someone is making about their relative importance or impact. It's helpful to have some sort of comparison, even if they're imperfect or highly subjective (as historical observations often are). With a more cynical take, we can perhaps call it analytical clickbait.