100 Best Books in the WorldThe Whitcoulls 100 List is now out again. Every two years, the New Zealand bookseller organises the list, and asks the public to vote.
So, below is a list of the top 100 best books in the world as voted by New Zealanders. (I voted!)
Here's the list - the ones in bold are the ones I've read. It's my aim to read everybook on the list (yes, I am a dork).
1. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
2. The Lord of the Rings - J R R Tolkien
3. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
4. The Power of One - Bryce Courtenay
5. Angels and Demons - Dan Brown
6. Cross Stitch - Diana Gabaldon
7. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
8. The Bronze Horseman - Paullina Simons
9. My Sisters Keeper - Jodi Picoult
10. To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee
11. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
12. The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffeneger
13. The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory
14. The Bible
15. The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett
16. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J K Rowling
17. Sushi for Beginners - Marian Keyes
18. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - C S Lewis
19. Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt
20. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
21. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
22. The Hobbit - C S Lewis
23. Rachel's Holiday - Marian Keyes
24. Magician - Raymond E Feist
25. Jessica - Bryce Courtenay
26. The Bone People - Keri Hulme
27. The Clan of the Cave Bear - Jean M Auel
28. Wild Swans - Jung Chang
29. River God - Wilbur Smith
30. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J K Rowling
31. Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
32. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
33. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
34. The Penguin History of New Zealand - Michael King
35. I Know This Much is True - Wally Lamb
36. Watermelon - Marian Keyes
37. Tully - Paullina Simons
38. The Other Side of the Story - Marian Keyes
39. Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis de Bernieres
40. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
41. April Fool's Day - Bryce Courtenay
42. Anybody Out There? - Marian Keyes
43. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
44. The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy
45. Chocolat - Joanne Harris
46. The Alchemist - Paul Coelho
47. Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
48. Tomorrow, When the War Began - John Marsden
49. The Kite Runner - Khalid Hosseini
50. The Catcher in the Rye - J D Salinger
51. It's Not About the Bike - Lance Armstrong
52. The Killing Floor - Lee Child
53. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - J K Rowling
54. Kane and Abel - Jeffrey Archer
55. 1984 - George Orwell
56. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
57. The Hard Way - Lee Child
58. The Edmonds Cookery Book
59. The Girl in Times Square - Paullina Simons
60. The Potato Factory - Bryce Courtenay
61. Dune - Frank Herbert (I've seen the movie though!)
62. Into the Wildnerness - Sara Donati
63. The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith
64. The Shipping News - E Annie Proulx (Saw the movie instead LOL)
65. The Summer Garden - Paullina Simons
66. The Tenth Circle - Jodi Picoult
67. Four Fires - Bryce Courtenay
68. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
69. A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson
70. Last Chance Saloon - Marian Keyes
71. The Pilot's Wife - Anita Shreve
72. Perfume - Patrick Suskind
73. Northern Lights - Philip Pullman
74. One Shot - Lee Child
75. Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married - Marian Keyes
76. A Breath of Snow and Ashes - Diana Gabaldon
77. The Whale Rider - Witi Ihimaera
78. The Vintner's Luck - Barbara Knox
79. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J K Rowling
80. The Bridge to Holy Cross - Paullina Simons
81. Whitethorn - Bryce Courtenay
82. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
83. The Horse Whisperer - Nicholas Evans
84. Deception Point - Dan Brown
85. Rich Dad Poor Dad - Robert Kiyosaki (oh, can I have the rich one?)
86. Long Walk to Freedom - Nelson Mandela
87. London - Edward Rutherfurd
88. Holes - Louis Sachar
89. The Last Juror - John Grisham
90. White Gardenia - Belinda Alexendra
91. Shantaram- Gregory Roberts
92. Angels - Marian Keyes
93. The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood
94. Brother Fish - Bryce Courtenay
95. Vanishing Act - Jodi Picoult
96. The Queen's Fool - Philippa Gregory
97. The Denniston Rose - Jenny Patrick
98. The Tea Rose - Jennifer Donnelly
99. Eragon - Christopher Paolini
100. The Red Tent - Anita Diamant
Well, I haven't done too badly - 62 out of 100. And yes, I haven't read the Bible. Well I read the Children's Picture Bible when I was 7, but with me being a total heathen and not really believing in a God or Gods, I don't really want to read it - though if I think of the Bible as a "great piece of fiction" like my uncle says, maybe I should?... Nah. And don't bother trying to persuade me to read the Harry Potter books either, I have zero interest in them LOL.
But boy, don't New Zealanders love Marian Keyes and Bryce Courtenay? It appears that every book they published made the list! I can't really believe the Da Vinci Code is number 1. Sure, it's entertaining and fluff, but the Best Book in the World? Not even! LOL
If you've made it this far down my post, congratulations! You've not died from boredom LOL.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Tart at 12:47 PM |
7 Comments:
At 4:12 PM, 
said........
said........
I think the list reflects that perhaps more women vote than men? Therefore, MK, Jodi Picoult, Diana Galbadon and Paullina Simons books appear on the list. It's also a "popular" fiction list isn't it? There's not a lot of literary stuff on their, or classics!
And I really enjoyed The Blind Assassin - definitely worth reading.
And I really enjoyed The Blind Assassin - definitely worth reading.
At 9:22 AM, said........
said........
Another question (I promise not to ask about all the books you've read lol).
Is Summer Garden worth reading? I read TBH and T&A but I just feel like the story ended in T&A and there's nothing more to tell and if I read SG I will be very annoyed (from spoilers I've heard). Just wondering what your thoughts were...
Is Summer Garden worth reading? I read TBH and T&A but I just feel like the story ended in T&A and there's nothing more to tell and if I read SG I will be very annoyed (from spoilers I've heard). Just wondering what your thoughts were...
At 9:28 AM, said........
said........
Serendipity - I haven't read a romance in months! I've read a few chick lit books and historical fiction with romantic elements, but not a real romance. I just can't seem to find any decent ones at the moment, plus I'm on a tight budget and the library doesn't stock a lot of romance books.
Ann - The Summer Garden is good - but waayyy too long! That woman so needs a freaking editor. It was about 300 pages too long. Honestly. Tatiana and Alexander's relationship goes through some highs and lows, its very emotional and I ended up not liking Alexander very much at all LOL.
Ann - The Summer Garden is good - but waayyy too long! That woman so needs a freaking editor. It was about 300 pages too long. Honestly. Tatiana and Alexander's relationship goes through some highs and lows, its very emotional and I ended up not liking Alexander very much at all LOL.
I'm a little surprised that some of these would make a top 100 list. I mean I LOVE Marian Keyes but "Angels"? I really didn't like that book, I skimmed it. Very annoyed. Okay, and "Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married", I didn't like that either. but other than that I adore MK books.
BTW, how was "The Blind Assassin"? My SIL gave it to me as a gift and I haven't read it yet. Worth reading?