The big Read - Top 100, how many have you read?

[StephenKingman]

A lot of books on that list are very questionable, for example The Princess Diaries?? Hardly a memorable read, and also the Harry Potter series is too modern to be even considered.

[piratepenguin]

I've read 28.
1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
40. Emma, Jane Austen
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho

[Cylan]

I've read these, am looking forward to reading more from this list.

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot

[Alexa12345]

I was just browsing and came across the big read list the BBC did a few years ago and decided to see how many I had actually read.

They asked people to nominate their favourite books and got 3 quarters of a million responses which they then counted up to come out with the nations favourite books.

Looking down the list Ive only read 15 of them, anyway here they are


1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie

Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
Emma, Jane Austen
Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho

[lukebodell]

I've read the sum total of 12, although I'm only 20.

I think my list is better anyways

[qinglavigne]

s..o..m..e..

just a quick look or fliping through.

[Kell Bell]

[color=darkblue][/color]What a great list to keep everyone on their toes I's too embarrassed to admit the number of these I have read, but I do recommend that EVERYONE should read Watership Down... It is truely amazing!

[oloroso36]

41 for me. Thanks for the post, most of these I haven't thought of for a long time.

And awelker thanks for posting about the list of bests website. Totally addictive!

[Lost_InPlace]

Im on 25. Have to say I'm ashamed that Harry Potter is on that list, uninventive, poorly written (even for kids books) and definately not deserving of an all time top 100 (although tihout them I've only read 5 on this list...haha) I think the dominance of harry potter in pop culture is a major factor. I wonder if it was re-done would Twilight make an appearance on similar grounds?

[eumenides]

I've read 42 of these books, and another 14 are on my TBR list. Actually several of them are sitting on my sheves right now waiting to be read. And I have to agree that Harry Potter has no business on ANY list regarding literature.

[Mxlilly]

19 for me. Although some of them were for school and some were when I was very young. Fun list!

[pontalba]

2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis TBR stack
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller TBR stack
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë TBR stack
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks TBR stack
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy TBR stack
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy TBR stack
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot TRB stack
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving TBR stack
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens TBR stack
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas TBR stack
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh TBR stack
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
53. The Stand, Stephen King read only the original version
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy TBR stack
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth TBR stack
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky TBR stack
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
67. The Magus, John Fowles
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind -- started, but after 9 chapters was rather creeped out, may someday continue.
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens TBR stack
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez TBR stack
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie started, in TBR stack

I've only read the last Harry Potter, didn't see that much to it, and not caring for fantasy, i.e. The Lord of the Rings, keeps a bunch off of my list, plus I can't stand John Steinbeck's writing, so that cut out a few as well. I've tried 3 or 4 of his books, and just don't like his writing.

It is a popularity contest list, not criteria for "excellent literature", and should be taken as such. We all have our own tastes, non-coinciding. That's the fun of it.

[bobjuck]

only 16 of them. Many books sound so familiar that i once thought they were out of date and boring, maybe i was wrong on that.

[Alexa12345]

Hmmm...i read couple of these books, but there aren't too books alike, as style. For example Hary Potter i think it's for children and teenagers and if these Alice in Wonderland..i like the movie, but it's also for teenagers. So i don't know if these can be subscribed in the best books list.

[Kandacetoner]

I have only 21 books off the list but plan on reading a lot more of them. although im not really a classic's person