[Sammie]

My vote's with Winnie the Pooh.

I've never come across a single other book that entertains people of every age - that spans generations, that has humour at so many levels, that leaves everyone feeling warm and happy inside.

Oh no...wait.....there is one other. It's called 'The House at Pooh Corner'. :D

[AuntiePam]

I wish someone in the US would do something like this. There's only one program I know of on TV that discusses books, and they seem to be limiting their choices to nonfiction, mostly political stuff.

Oprah doesn't count because she only does one book every three or four months.

NPR has nice book shows, but that's about it.

I'd love to watch people compare Potter and Pullman. (You can't, really, but it'd be fun to watch them try.)

My favorite from that list is His Dark Materials. Wish I could vote.

[caladanbrood]

@AuntiePam
heh, you probably could if you go to the online voting bit (www.bbc.co.uk/bigread (http://www.bbc.co.uk/bigread) ) and pretend to be british...:D;)

from them, my vote has gone to Hitchhikers, but its gonna be a slog between Pride and Prejudice and Lord of the Rings... shame really:(

[fluffy bunny]

Well the bookies stopped taking bets on the voting a few weeks ago- LOTR seems to be that far ahead of everything else here (whether that's because of the recent films is a matter of debate).

Had read a few of the top 21 when the big read started, and have read a few more since then. Here's what I'm thinking so far:

Disappointed that treasure island only came in 36th- I really liked
that one.

Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres I'm not convinced. Personally I think this seems to be a book aimed at the fairer sex. The romance seems a tad contrived to me, and I'm not really convinced by de Bernieres' writing style. The ending is particularly weak, seeming like a race to finish once the author had run out of ideas

The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger It's been sometime since I read this. Quite liked this one- an author with a rebellious streak. Great character who I can see as someone easy to empathise with for many people.

Great Expectations, Charles Dickens Love the prose. The mysterious benefactor I guessed fairly early on (trying to show off here :p ), but gripping story nonetheless.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling Ah harry potter. Candyfloss reading. Been a year since I read this, but I can't really remember any of it, although I do remember being gripped by it at the time. Paced like a film, and pleasant to read, but nothing truly memorable for me.

His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman I've only read all the way through book 1- got a bit bored in the subtle knife with all the stuff about the particles. Loved book 1, but part of the wonder of it was the way Pullman managed to dripfeed the novel to you when you wanted so desperately to see the next piece of the puzzle. Seems missing from the half of subtle knife that I read. After such an impressive beginning and middle of Northern Lights (aka Golden Comapass) I'm not impressed with the end.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis Loved this as a child, but reading it again, it seems a bit preachy to me.

Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien Wanders in places. I reckon Tolkein needed an editor, especially in two towers. I think I gave up on LOTR because of Two towers (third time lucky I guess). But the editing thing's already been discussed in other threads here. It's one of those books that when you put down you can't help but go 'wow that was epic,' but it can be daunting getting through it initially.

To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee This can be read on so many levels- loss of innocence, injustice, predudice etc. It's a thought provoking read, and one I'd recommend to quite a few people.

Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier I'm only a third of the way into this, but the writer's style so far does create a tangible atmosphere, and a sense of foreboding, whilst weaving in a romantic angle. I've already seen the Hitchcock film so I know what happens, but I still reckon the book's better.

The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame Love this book from when I was younger. One can't help but smiling at Toad's antics.

Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne Recent read for me about a child's imagination about the antics his toys get up to. It has a charm and wit of its own, and if you think about it the characters do resemble a few of the people you do know in their actions.

Sadly, I've not read catch 22 or hitchikers guide yet, but the list so far seems enjoyable enough. Have pride and predudice borrowed out for the next book

[Hobbit]

LOTR seems to be that far ahead of everything else here (whether that's because of the recent films is a matter of debate). To be fair, in the UK the LotR won award for 'Best Novel of the 20th Century' in 1997 (before the movies!) from three sources - think it was Channel 4 / Waterstone's, the Folio Society, and SFX, the UK's leading science fiction media magazine; I'm fairly sure the (London) Times did one too (1999?).

Hobbit

[Iskaral Pust]

I voted for His Dark Materials. I'm quite surprised Lord of the Flies didn't get into the top 21. Just hope Harry Potter doesn't win, but it's quite likely it will

[Hobbit]

The latest order, as of last night:

1. LotR (by quite a long way....)
2. Pride and Prejudice
3. Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy
4. To Kill A Mockingbird
5. His Dark Materials
6. Harry Potter
7. Pooh
8. 1984
9. Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
10. Birdsong

(Wasn't quick enough to catch the rest....)

Evidently, library lendouts are up by 20% because of this event, and some books loaned out by as much as 1600% more from last year (think that was Birdsong). There has also been a similar pickup in book sales from the bookshops.

There's about 4 more weeks to go I think.

Hobbit

[Hobbit]

And the winner is.....

Lord of the Rings, by some margin.

The rest were:

2. Pride And Prejudice
3. His Dark Materials
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
5. Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire

I could recommend 3 out of the 5 myself, and one of them is in the 'pile to read', so I will do at some point. (It is highly recommended by others in my family. :)) Would you like to guess which? ;)

The only thing that saddened me a little was the booing that some books got, and the idea that 'if you like book X, you wouldn't like Books A, B or C'. For example, I am a big fan of Douglas Adams but was saddened when the Hitchikers Advocates claimed that it was a book for those who didn't like Hobbits and Elves.... I like both, and more besides!

Nevertheless, 4 out of the 5 are speculative fiction. How's that?

Hobbit

[ChrisW]

was His Dark Materials originally published as one book? If not why the heck do all three books get listed under the series names while all the others are individual books?

[fluffy bunny]

Originally posted by Caldazar
was His Dark Materials originally published as one book? If not why the heck do all three books get listed under the series names while all the others are individual books?

It's stated near the beginning of Northern Lights (golden compass) that the 3 were written together and ideally meant to be read together. Harry Potter doesn't fall into this category, but it'd been easier if you could have voted for series/trilogies instead.


I can say I've read all 5 of these .) , but personally I wouldn't put Harry up so high. I do hope the BBC does another reading event in 5 years time or so- it'll be interesting to see which books stand the test of time (some polls exclude books published in the last 10 years).