Back in 2003, the BBC published a list of 100 of England's best-loved novels. I've looked for a similar list generated by Americans, but couldn't find anything. The New York Times publishes a Top 10 each year. The American Library Association has published a list of "banned or challenged books," and not surprisingly, there is lots of overlap with the best-loved books on the list below.
I was surprised to learn that I haven't heard of many of the novels. (Who is Terry Pratchett anyway?) Perhaps it's a cultural thing...or perhaps I live in more of a cave than I thought.
Also, this list seems different than the one circulating on Facebook right now. Not sure why. Anyway, here it goes...
KEY:
Novels I've...
Read (27)
TRIED to read (3)
NEVER HEARD OF (31)
** Novels that also appear on the "banned or challenged" book 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 - READ MY BLOG REVIEW
**6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee - THIS IS MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE. I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT I HAVEN'T WRITTEN ABOUT IT ON THIS BLOG YET.
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 - ONE OF MY FAVORITES!
**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 - ALSO ONE OF MY FAVORITES!
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling - READ MY BLOG REVIEW
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling - READ MY BLOG REVIEW
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling - READ MY BLOG REVIEW
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 - I WANT TO TRY THIS ONE AGAIN. IT'S BEEN AWHILE.
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 - I KNOW MOST OF THE WORDS TO ALL THE SONGS IN THE MOVIE (THE ORIGINAL, OF COURSE!)...BUT THAT'S FOR A DIFFERENT BLOG :)
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 (WELL, MOST OF IT...)
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery (TRIED TO WRITE MY OWN NOVEL BASED ON THIS NOVEL WHEN I WAS ABOUT 11 or 12)
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
**43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
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 - READ MY BLOG REVIEW
**6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee - THIS IS MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE. I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT I HAVEN'T WRITTEN ABOUT IT ON THIS BLOG YET.
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 - ONE OF MY FAVORITES!
**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 - ALSO ONE OF MY FAVORITES!
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling - READ MY BLOG REVIEW
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling - READ MY BLOG REVIEW
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling - READ MY BLOG REVIEW
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 - I WANT TO TRY THIS ONE AGAIN. IT'S BEEN AWHILE.
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 - I KNOW MOST OF THE WORDS TO ALL THE SONGS IN THE MOVIE (THE ORIGINAL, OF COURSE!)...BUT THAT'S FOR A DIFFERENT BLOG :)
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 (WELL, MOST OF IT...)
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery (TRIED TO WRITE MY OWN NOVEL BASED ON THIS NOVEL WHEN I WAS ABOUT 11 or 12)
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 THANKS TO MY PARENTS, I'VE ALSO SEEN NEARLY ALL THE MOVIE VERSIONS OF THIS BOOK.
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens THANKS TO MY PARENTS, I'VE ALSO SEEN NEARLY ALL THE MOVIE VERSIONS OF THIS BOOK.
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
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
No comments:
Post a Comment