100 Best Reads of all time - How Many Have You Read?

[Kimberly]

There's a list circulating the web of the top 100 reads of all time posted by the The Big Read, claiming that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books on this list.

After Tera's recommendation on my blog, I wanted to transfer that list here to see how many everyone has read and to leave a comment with which ones! Sadly, I haven't read many of these myself :-(

1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien (uh-hum! Didn't exactly finish this one for SOME reason)
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40. Winnie-the-Pooh - AA Milne
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan
51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52. Dune - Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69. Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70. Moby-Dick - Herman Melville
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses - James Joyce
76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal - Emile Zola
79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80. Possession - A. S. Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87. Charlotte's Web - EB White
88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94. Watership Down - Richard Adams
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Yup, 6 on the nose for me.
- Pride & Prejudice
- The Bible
- The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
- The DaVinci Code
- The Lovely Bones

Too bad we can't count the ones we've watched as movies!!

Now I feel a little pathetic. Oh well. I'd love to hear from everyone!

[Mandy]

I've read 15 of them although I have quite a few of the ones I haven't read on my shelves to be read so eventually will get around to them. This list seems to be a list that fits these times a lot better than other lists I've seen.

[Mandy]

PS - I copied this thread title and list to another club, I hope that's okay :)

[Emily]

I've read 19--woohoo! Although I have a ton on my TBR pile. Memoirs of a Geisha was one of my favorites---you should read it, Kim!

1. The Bible (yep--the whole thing, in a year)
2. Harry Potter series (this should count as 7!)
3. Little Women
4. The Little Prince
5. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (and a few others, but haven't finished the series)
6. Catcher in the Rye
7. The Hobbit (my dad and I read it together)
8. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
9. Hamlet
10. A Tale of Two Cities
11. Memoirs of a Geisha
12. The DaVinci Code
13. Charlotte's Web
14. The Time Traveler's Wife
15. Lord of the Flies
16. Of Mice and Men
17. The Secret Garden
18. A Christmas Carol
19. The Kite Runner

[[deleted user]]

28... on my to read list! Read all the rest. A couple I will not ever read..
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling -not read

9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman -not read

13. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare -read lots but not all
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy - not finished
25. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams not read
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis - can't remember
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins -not read
52. Dune - Frank Herbert -not read
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth - not read
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon -not read
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon -not read
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov - not read on my list
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt - not read
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac -not read
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy -not read
69. Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie -not read
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker-not read
75. Ulysses - James Joyce-not read
76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath -not read on my list
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome -not read
78. Germinal - Emile Zola -not read
80. Possession - A. S. Byatt -not read
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell -not read
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry not read
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad not read
93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks not read
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole not read
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute -not read

[Robyn]

19 here too. Well, actually 18 since "complete works of Shakespear" and "Hamlet" were listed seperately but should be put together. Right? or is CWS something totally different?
Anyway, here's my list.

1. Harry Potter
2.Little Women
3.Complete Works of Shakespeare - well actually, Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, McBeth, Much Ado About Nothing
4.Catcher in the Rye
5.Great Gatsby
6.Anna Karenina (DNF - did not finish)
7.Captain Corelli's Mandolin (DNF - apparently I need to add this one to the "What did you hate that everyone loved" thread)
8.Animal Farm - another for the Hated a Loved Book thread
9.Da Vinci Code
10.Anne of Green Gables
11.Lord of the Flies
12.Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - seriously?
13.Lolita (DNF)
14.On the Road (DNF - uggg...I have to visit that other thread now)
15.Bridget Jone's Diary - again, seriously?
16.Secret Garden
17.Ulysses
18.Charlotte's Web
19.Hamlet

Where did this list come from anyway? Some of the stuff on it I find a little odd.

[Amanda]

No you're right. The complete works of Shakespeare is just that--his complete works! So Hamlet is already included. (Edit: the complete works would include his sonnets, too. Not just his plays. It's A LOT, and even theatre people haven't read his complete works.)

Same with the Chronicles of Narnia. They already include Lion, Witch, Wardrobe, so why list them separately?

[Amanda]

Hey, does anyone know how The Big Read came up with this list?

[Brittany]

I have read 9 of those. But really now, those are the 100 best? According to who?

[Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie]

Yes, I'd like to know as well, who actually came up with the list! (I was very surprised to see The DaVinci Code on the list! Not one I'd expect to see on the 100 Best of All Time!)

I've read:
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
Dracula - Bram Stoker
The Bible
A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

And I'm currently reading Little Women - Louisa M Alcott

[Tera, First Chick]

I found this The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. The NEA presents The Big Read in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with Arts Midwest. Big Read began the search for the nation's best-loved novel, and we asked you to nominate your favourite books.
This list are the top 100 picks. I actually like this list better than some I have seen. Some lists feel like someone is trying to pick the most obscure work rather than just a really good or fun read.

[Amanda]

Ah-ha! Well, that makes sense, Tera. It's the best-loved novel. I gotcha now. Thanks for doing that legwork!

I agree with you--I like the list, as I've read several and wold like to read several more. I do wish there weren't duplicates, though. Makes me think we got gypped out of a couple of others that could have been added to the list! haha

[Robyn]

I thought Chronicles of Narnia and L,W & W were part of s series. Though I have to admit I wasn't sure. I'd heard of LW&W growing up but never knew it was a series and never heard of Chronicles of Narnia. All this became news to me when the movies came out.

[Jessica]

I've read 19...

1)Jane Eyre
2)Harry Potter series
3)1984
4)Little Women
5)Catcher in the Rye
6)The Great Gatsby
7)Crime and Punishment
8)The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe
9)Animal Farm
10)The DaVinci Code
11)Lord of the Flies
12)Brave New World
13)The Lovely Bones
14)The Count of Monte Cristo
15)A Christmas Carol
16)Charlotte's Web
17)The Little Prince
18)Hamlet
19)Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

[Spencer]

I've only read 5 :(
I'm a bit disappointed because I've read heaps of books during my lifetime, but I guess none of them were top-100 worthy. I guess I'll have to expand my collection and begin working on getting through the 100.
Wish me luck!

[Holli]

I've read 21 of 'em

The Bible
Wuthering Heights
Great Expectations
Little Women
MOST of Shakespeare
Time Traveler's Wife
Gone With The Wind
The great Gatsby
Grapes of Wrath
Adventures in WOnderland
Winnie The pooh
Animal farm
Anne of Green Gables
Lord of the Flies
Cold Comfort Farm
Of Mice and Men
The lovely Bones
Bridget Jones' Diary
Secret Garden
Charlotte's Web
5 People You Meet in Heaven

[Kimberly]

Phew Tera~! Thanks for looking that info up for us! I didn't mean to start a debate on the best reads, I was just playing the messenger ;-)

[Robyn]

Go Holli!!!

[Emily]

I've read 23...need to get crackin'!

[Cyn]

hehehe I know the answer already, but...does watching the movie count? ;)

I have read 25..not such a high count for my age, but....I am interested in the variety of books on there!

[Meg]

I have read 57!!!! Woo hoo

I can't believe our September book is on the list. More reason to join in on our book club read


1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40. Winnie-the-Pooh - AA Milne
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan
51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
87. Charlotte's Web - EB White
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

[Robyn]

Did everyone see the GR Listopia announcement upon log in this morning? Here is the link to GRs Best (100) Books of the 20th Century....and you can still vote. There are both similarities and differences.

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/6....

[Holli]

Wow Meg....you are an inspiration to readers everywhere!!!

[Meg]

Ha ha! I need to get off my butt and do some exercise............

[Tish]

I have read 23.....

1. Pride and Prejudice
3. Jane Eyre
5. To Kill a Mockingbird
6. The Bible
7. Wuthering Heights
11. Little Women
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare
18. Catcher in the Rye
20. Middle March
28. Grapes of Wrath
37. The Kite Runner
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude ( started this last week)
49. Lord of the Flies
54. Sense and Sensibility
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
63. The Secret History
75. Ulysses
76. The Bell Jar
85. Madame Bovary
87. Charlotte's Web
98. Hamlet
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

[Leslie]

Well I must be a HUGE GEEK!! I have read 22 of them and actually own another 15, 20 or so but have not finished reading the complete thing or its been on my TBR pile that I forgot about but own the book. Gosh some of them were ones I "skipped" in my bookclub this past spring too! Oops!


1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
29. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
40. Winnie-the-Pooh - AA Milne
46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
68. Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
87. Charlotte's Web - EB White
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare

[Someone]

Ok, I have 41 including 1 I will probably be working on until I die.


1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling( all but 2)
3. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
4. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
5. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
6. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
7. Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
8. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
9. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
10. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
11. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
12. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
13. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
14. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
15. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
16. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
17. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
18. Emma - Jane Austen
19. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
20. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
21. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
22. Winnie-the-Pooh - AA Milne
23. Animal Farm - George Orwell
24. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
25. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
26. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
27. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
28. Dune - Frank Herbert
29. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
30. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
31. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
32. Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
33. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
34. Ulysses - James Joyce( Have been reading for a year.)
35. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
36. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
37. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
38. Charlotte's Web - EB White
39. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
40. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
41. Hamlet - William Shakespeare

[Kim]

I've read 48 of them, but I don't think that I'd consider these the best books ever. Personally, a few of them are least favorites of mine:

Possession- I couldn't stand it! My god.. what dribble.

Life of Pi--eh... kind of dull

The Da Vinci Code? Pretty bland, same with Atonement

It seems like a haphazard list, especially with the duplicates... and I'm sorry, but they're missing a whole bunch of YA that is amazing...

[Amanda]

I'm astounded that so many of you have read The Complete Works of Shakespeare. That is A LOT of stuff!!!!!! I mean A LOT!!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_...

I don't even know what his Apocrypha is. How embarrassing!

[Amanda]

http://shakespeare.mit.edu/

this link is easier to read...

[Meg]

Kim, I am sorry you didn't like Life of Pi it was one of my favorites.

I do agree that this is a weird list, a lot of the books are not literary greats.

[Sarah]

I HAVE READ 36 OF THEM:(some of them I read in french. Madame Bovary, Les Miserables, Little Prince and three musketeers)


1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
19. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
29. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
48. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
68. Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert 87. Charlotte's Web - EB White
88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

[Llama]

Read all of these
1.Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (all of hers actually)
2.The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien (& the whole trio)
3.Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4.Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5.To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (Really Loved the movie but who doesn’t Love Gregory Peck?!)
6.The Bible (Several times beginning to end)
7.Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8.Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
9.Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
10.Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
11.Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier (loved the movie too – the original movie)
12.The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
13.The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams (and all that follow)
14.David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
15.Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis (and the rest)
16.Emma - Jane Austen
17.Persuasion - Jane Austen
18.The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
19.Winnie-the-Pooh - AA Milne
20.The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
21.Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery (and all but about 2-3 of her other books)
22.Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
23.A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
24.Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
25.Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
26.The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
27.Ulysses - James Joyce
28.A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
29.The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
30.The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
31.Hamlet - William Shakespeare

Have but haven’t read all of these yet -
Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
Dune - Frank Herbert
Moby-Dick - Herman Melville
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
Bleak House - Charles Dickens
War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
Complete Works of Shakespeare

[Andrea]

Not too bad. If I counted correctly, I've read 35 from the list. Many were read back in high school though, so I don't remember them all that well.

We had a pretty good Honors and AP English program for a small town high school, which explains why I've read Grapes of Wrath,Gatsby, Tess, and Crime and Punishment, but not To Kill a Mockingbird or Catcher in the Rye. Most of the Dickens was read on my own as was War and Peace.

1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
40. Winnie-the-Pooh - AA Milne
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
80. Possession - A. S. Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
87. Charlotte's Web - EB White
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
94. Watership Down - Richard Adams
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Read some but not all of the following:
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
6. The Bible
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare

On my TBR shelves:
19. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
68. Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
70. Moby-Dick - Herman Melville (maybe, someday)
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
75. Ulysses - James Joyce
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

A couple of others, I've been meaning to read - Cold Comfort Farm, Remains of the Day, Brideshead Revisited, but I haven't yet acquired them.

I thought the duplication of Hamlet and the Complete works of Shakespeare and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Chronicles of Narnia was a bit strange.

[Sydney]

Okay... I've read roughly 30... though I find it odd that "The Complete Works of Shakespeare" is one entry. I don't know why, it's just odd to me.

[Therese]

I have read the following:

-Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
-Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
- Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
- To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
- The Bible (at least some of it!)
- Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
- Complete Works of Shakespeare (parts of it)
- The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
- Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
- The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
- The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
- Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
- Moby-Dick - Herman Melville
- Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
- Charlotte's Web - EB White
- The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
- The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
- Hamlet - William Shakespeare

[Cyn]

Sydney~ I agree about Shakespeare...they also list "'The Chronicles of Narnia" ( a 9 book series???) then one of those books on its own.

[Melissa]

I have read twenty of the books listed.

1. Bible
2. Jane Eyre
3. To Kill a Mockingbird
4. Great Expectations
5. Little Women
6. The Hobbit
7. Gone with the Wind
8. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
9. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
10. Chronicles of Narnia
11. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
12. The Kite Runner
13. Memoirs of a Geisha
14. Anne of Green Gables
15. Of Mice and Men
16. Moby Dick
17. The Secret Garden
18. Charlotte's Web
19. The Five People you Meet in Heaven
20. The Little Prince

Most of these I read of my own accord and highly recommend them. My favorites are Jane Eyre, Little Women, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Hitchhiker's Guide, Memoirs of a Geisha, Anne of Green Gables, Narnia books, and The Secret Garden. Moby Dick was required reading in school. I found it quite boring and will not read it again.

[Tabatha]

Don't wanna read the bible. Never heard of Jane Eyre. To kill a Mockingbird was one of the worst books I ever read. Never read Great expectation, or little women. The hobbit was the best book of all time. Never read gone with the wind, The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy, or alice's adventures in wonderland, and I don't remember what the chronicles of narnia was like I just remember liking it. never read kite runner, memoirs of a geisha is on my to reads list, anne of green gables isn't my thing, neither is of mice and men, I dont remember if I read moby dick or not but it's not really that good anyhow. Am gunna read the secret garden again since i don't remember it. I loved Charlotte's web. Never heard of the five people you meet in heaven, and never read the little prince.

[Laura]

I've read 20, which makes me feel better than yesterday, when I discovered I'd only read 2% of the "1001 Books to Read Before You Die". It's a great list, I think (for the most part). War and Peace? I don't think THAT'll ever happen. I used to really like the book Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier until I read My Cousin Rachel by her - a lesser known book, but a terrific read! Definitely my favorite from the list (that is, if the list HAD My Cousin Rachel on it) ! Ahem - my favorite that is actually ON the list would prob be the Hobbit, or Great Expectations. ;)

[Cyndi]

I've read 14 of them....I surprised myself with this one!

[Paige]

I have read 24 of them with my favorites being
A Fine Balance- one of my all time favorites

The Time Travelers wife

The Life of Pi- I just got done reading a week ago and I am still thinking about that book.

And I did just pick up 1984-- can't wait to get to it.

[Lynlee4]

Amazingly, I've read 15 of them and have 6 on Mt TBR. There are a handfull of these I have no desire to read. I like this list MUCH better than the 1001!

[Laura]

Me too, Lynlee4 - it just seems to have more books I actually want to read (or should read) and less obscure whack-o books.

[Silvia]

No WAY! I've read 30! I thought I would have had less than that!

2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
29. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins Hardy
48. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
87. Charlotte's Web - EB White
88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare

[Inky]

I'm not sure I agree with all the choices on the list, but my checkered past includes an English degree that helped me tick off about 84 titles. These are the ones I haven't read:

17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan
51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
74. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute

It may be a while before I get to them. I haven't been big on obligation reading the last few years. Anyway, some of the items -- Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter -- are multiples, so I'm guilt-free:)


By the way Maureen, what book is it that you can't get through? I have a few of those myself. Those make me feel guilty...

[Emily]

I've read 48 myself, but like Inky mostly due to my English major in college. And, agreed, I absolutely have not read Shakespeare's complete works, despite taking a number of classes focusing on him. So much stuff there! However, one semester in college I did have to read Hamlet for approximately 4 of my 5 classes. :) Ah the pain of being a double English/Theatre major (at that time, anyway).

[Peanut]

Not as many as I should have read already. It was 36. I have seen some (a movie). Does that count? ;)

[April]

I've read 39 of them but many are on my to-read list:
Read:
1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
13. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
48. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
68. Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
87. Charlotte's Web - EB White
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
94. Watership Down - Richard Adams
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Ones I own but not read yet:
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell 9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan
51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole