well read
There an internet meme thingy going round that says "According to the BBC, most people have only read 6 of the 100 books on this list" I started writing a little one line review of the ones I had read (41 if you care)
Then I looked for the original list to link to. Search the bbc, I don’t where they say this, or where the list comes from.
So this is the ones I have read from the BBC's Big Read (the hunt for the UK's fave book in 2003.)
The lists are quite similar.
1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
To my shame, I didn’t read it till after I saw the first film
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
Good but not as good as Sense and Sensibility. I fail to understand the fuss about Darcy as the idealised romantic hero. He is a boring twit with a stick up his bum. Poor Edward has such integrity, and he and Eleanor know each other, and I believe in their love for each other. I suffer for Eleanor. And the end is great. I love the films, I love the way she loses it at the end.
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
loved them, found the death of God profoundly moving
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
really enjoyed all the HP books, I know they aren’t art but they are good
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
know that’s what I call classic
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
Manages to be both horrific and boring
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
Don’t tell anyone, CS Lewis bores me.
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
love this, read it many times. Brilliant. Love it, love it. "My bride is here because my equal is here, and my image"
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
hated this, stupid book about stupid people, written by someone whose sister could write
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
book about an irritating stupid toad and some other poor animals who have to put up with him
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
recently read March by Geraldline Brooks which made me want to read Little Women again
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
First book I read for pleasure after the last exam my of degree, curled up on my bed in halls on a rainy day. I only stopped to eat. awful ending
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
I didn’t like Bilbo, he isn't the greatest hobbit of them all. Sam rules!
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
Depressing
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
What can you say?
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
I will never get back the time I spent reading this. One hundred years of everyone wanting to sleep with their aunt
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
I really liked this. I don’t think it's a classic but I enjoyed spending time in the world. I enjoyed the sequel.
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
one of the less admired Austen's but I really like it. People who've grown up and come to know their own minds. A touching love story
40. Emma, Jane Austen
A book about a boring silly girl and her even stupider father.
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
my fave book of all time, read all the sequels many times. Never fails to comfort me in distress
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
Some animals are more equal than others
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
Brilliant. Love it as faithfully rendered by the muppets
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
I've always wanted to find a secret garden since
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
Had to read it at school
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
"tis a far far better thing" Such love. Me, I always prefer the scruffy guy
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
I prefer the witches
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
Ah mr moonface. Lemonade.
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
[whispers] I got bored halfway through
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
Ah the guards are good
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
Had to read it at school. I wanted to kill piggy, and the others, horrible kids, horrible book
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett isn’t that good to be in this list three times
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
I laughed a lot at the book. She was a lot more likable in the book than in the film
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
I love this. I regret I never read it as a teenager because I would have so empathised. I still do. It's a great book.
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
beautiful prose
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
It was on my pre reading list for Uni, I read it that summer, curled up in my parent's armchair. I really wanted to talk about it with someone and when I got to Uni no one had bothered to do the pre reading.
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
More TP. I don’t want to waste my time reading about a man whose suitcase is clever than he is.
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
Over hyped. I was underwhelmed
Of the internet list , I've read
Les Miserables - Victor Hugo (114 on the list)
Read it the summer when I could only afford to take one book with me and picked one I thought would last
Possession - AS Byatt (129)
Would have been a lovely book but I couldn’t get way from the fact it was about adultery and betrayal, and that bothered me.
The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood (131)
Scared the shit out of me
Life of Pi - Yann Martel (not in the top 200)
truly bizarre. I didn’t care about him tho.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon (not in the top 200)
Read it last month while I was sick, hadn’t read it before cos of all the hype but it was good
Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson (not in the top 200)
"What do you mean you haven’t been to Durham, go at once, take my car"
Then I looked for the original list to link to. Search the bbc, I don’t where they say this, or where the list comes from.
So this is the ones I have read from the BBC's Big Read (the hunt for the UK's fave book in 2003.)
The lists are quite similar.
1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
To my shame, I didn’t read it till after I saw the first film
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
Good but not as good as Sense and Sensibility. I fail to understand the fuss about Darcy as the idealised romantic hero. He is a boring twit with a stick up his bum. Poor Edward has such integrity, and he and Eleanor know each other, and I believe in their love for each other. I suffer for Eleanor. And the end is great. I love the films, I love the way she loses it at the end.
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
loved them, found the death of God profoundly moving
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
really enjoyed all the HP books, I know they aren’t art but they are good
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
know that’s what I call classic
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
Manages to be both horrific and boring
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
Don’t tell anyone, CS Lewis bores me.
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
love this, read it many times. Brilliant. Love it, love it. "My bride is here because my equal is here, and my image"
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
hated this, stupid book about stupid people, written by someone whose sister could write
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
book about an irritating stupid toad and some other poor animals who have to put up with him
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
recently read March by Geraldline Brooks which made me want to read Little Women again
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
First book I read for pleasure after the last exam my of degree, curled up on my bed in halls on a rainy day. I only stopped to eat. awful ending
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
I didn’t like Bilbo, he isn't the greatest hobbit of them all. Sam rules!
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
Depressing
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
What can you say?
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
I will never get back the time I spent reading this. One hundred years of everyone wanting to sleep with their aunt
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
I really liked this. I don’t think it's a classic but I enjoyed spending time in the world. I enjoyed the sequel.
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
one of the less admired Austen's but I really like it. People who've grown up and come to know their own minds. A touching love story
40. Emma, Jane Austen
A book about a boring silly girl and her even stupider father.
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
my fave book of all time, read all the sequels many times. Never fails to comfort me in distress
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
Some animals are more equal than others
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
Brilliant. Love it as faithfully rendered by the muppets
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
I've always wanted to find a secret garden since
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
Had to read it at school
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
"tis a far far better thing" Such love. Me, I always prefer the scruffy guy
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
I prefer the witches
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
Ah mr moonface. Lemonade.
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
[whispers] I got bored halfway through
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
Ah the guards are good
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
Had to read it at school. I wanted to kill piggy, and the others, horrible kids, horrible book
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett isn’t that good to be in this list three times
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
I laughed a lot at the book. She was a lot more likable in the book than in the film
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
I love this. I regret I never read it as a teenager because I would have so empathised. I still do. It's a great book.
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
beautiful prose
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
It was on my pre reading list for Uni, I read it that summer, curled up in my parent's armchair. I really wanted to talk about it with someone and when I got to Uni no one had bothered to do the pre reading.
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
More TP. I don’t want to waste my time reading about a man whose suitcase is clever than he is.
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
Over hyped. I was underwhelmed
Of the internet list , I've read
Les Miserables - Victor Hugo (114 on the list)
Read it the summer when I could only afford to take one book with me and picked one I thought would last
Possession - AS Byatt (129)
Would have been a lovely book but I couldn’t get way from the fact it was about adultery and betrayal, and that bothered me.
The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood (131)
Scared the shit out of me
Life of Pi - Yann Martel (not in the top 200)
truly bizarre. I didn’t care about him tho.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon (not in the top 200)
Read it last month while I was sick, hadn’t read it before cos of all the hype but it was good
Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson (not in the top 200)
"What do you mean you haven’t been to Durham, go at once, take my car"