The BBC published this list of books that they say, most people have only read 6. How many have you read? 1 Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen 2 The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien 3 Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte 4 Harry Potter series – 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 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 Hitch Hiker’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 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 44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney – John Irving 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 bleep – 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 – AS Byatt 81 A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens 82 Cloud Atlas – David Mitchel 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 I've got nine!
I believe I had 37 or so but I can't remember when I checked, so I'll have to look again Ah yes, up to 38. Added His Dark Materials to the list since then
I've read 17 of them. Of those my favourites were Harry Potter, LOTR and The Hobbit. Loved the Narnia books. Actually read the entire Old and New testament of the Bible. Anne of Green Gables was a lovely story. Liked Dune but was hard going. Hitchhikers - an old favourite. Lord of the flies and Of Mice and Men were school English lit. reads.
1 Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen 2 The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien (A favorite) 3 Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte 4 Harry Potter series (Another favorite) 5 To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee (Yet another favorite) 6 The Bible (Went through 12 years of Catholic schooling, definitely read most of it) 8 Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell (Another favorite) 10 Great Expectations – Charles Dickens (Hate to say that this one bored me) 11 Little Women – Louisa M Alcott 14 Complete Works of Shakespeare (read a lot of Shakespeare, not EVERY one, though) 21 Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell 22 The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald 25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams (favorite ) 28 Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck (read in highschool English class) 39 Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden 41 Animal Farm – George Orwell 42 The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown (Another fave) 49 Lord of the Flies – William Golding (read in English class) 61 Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck (read in English class) 66 On The Road – Jack Kerouac (Actually JUST started reading this one) 70 Moby Dick – Herman Melville (Another English class one) 72 Dracula – Bram Stoker (Read it in highschool English, but turned out to be another fave) 75 Ulysses – James Joyce (Another Literature class) 98 Hamlet – William Shakespeare 24 for me
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 13 Catch 22 – Joseph Heller 14 Complete Works of Shakespeare 15 Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier 18 Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger 20 Middlemarch – George Eliot i never finished 21 Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell 22 The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald 28 Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck 29 Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll 31 Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy 32 David Copperfield – Charles Dickens 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 Orwel 44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney – John Irving 49 Lord of the Flies – William Golding 50 Atonement – Ian McEwan 57 A Tale Of Two Cities – Charles Dickens 58 Brave New World – Aldous Huxley 61 Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck 62 bleep – Vladimir Nabokov 64 The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold 65 Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas 66 On The Road – Jack Kerouac 70 Moby Dick – Herman Melville 71 Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens 72 Dracula – Bram Stoker 75 Ulysses – James Joyce 76 The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath 81 A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens 83 The Color Purple – Alice Walker 84 The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro 85 Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert 87 Charlotte’s Web – EB White 95 A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole 97 The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas 98 Hamlet – William Shakespeare\ 100 Les Miserables – Victor Hugo I did not count
32, but there are a few doubles (like both Hamlet and the complete works of Shakespeare, and the Chronicles of Narnia and The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe).
34 for me. EDIT: 33 now that aaron pointed that out. Oops. (but if they're going to count The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe as one by itself, why can't I count the Chronicles as 7, lol. J/k)
oh come on, who the hell has read all of Shakespeare's works? It's bad enough that they ram it down your throat in school! I will read some more of that list thought. I have been trying to find a definitive-ish list of classics. You never know, I could end up reading most of that and then finally be able to refer to myself and 'well read'.
Apparently enough of us that it stays on lists like this? Admittedly the majority of them were required reading at some point at high school or university, but it still counts...
2 The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien 5 To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee 6 The Bible -- part of it? Probably doesn't count, as I haven't read nearly the whole thing. 14 Complete Works of Shakespeare -- some 16 The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien 18 Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger 22 The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald 33 Chronicles of Narnia – CS Lewis 36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – CS Lewis 41 Animal Farm – George Orwell 49 Lord of the Flies – William Golding 61 Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck 81 A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens 89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle And I plan on reading: 1 Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen 3 Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte 4 Harry Potter series – I have the first four 8 Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell 13 Catch 22 – Joseph Heller 14 Complete Works of Shakespeare 24 War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy 25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams 27 Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky 28 Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck 30 The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame 32 David Copperfield – Charles Dickens 37 The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini 39 Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden 45 The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins 52 Dune – Frank Herbert 56 The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon 57 A Tale Of Two Cities – Charles Dickens 59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon 65 Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas 70 Moby Dick – Herman Melville 71 Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens 91 Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad 97 The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas 98 Hamlet – William Shakespeare 100 Les Miserables – Victor Hugo And I already have the ones that are italicised. I may read some of the others sometime, but who knows [and who knows if I'll ever read all the ones above, either =P].
... 10. I was forced to read Little Women. Gah! I plan on reading some more of those, but hey, 10 is pretty good for a twelve year old, and I'll leave it at that.
1 Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen 2 The Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkien 4 Harry Potter series – 5 To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee 8 Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell 13 Catch 22 – Joseph Heller 16 The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien 18 Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger 22 The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald 24 War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy 26 Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh 27 Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky 28 Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck 31 Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy 33 Chronicles of Narnia – CS Lewis 36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – CS Lewis 37 The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini 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 48 The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood 49 Lord of the Flies – William Golding 51 Life of Pi – Yann Martel 58 Brave New World – Aldous Huxley 61 Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck 64 The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold 66 On The Road – Jack Kerouac 68 Bridget Jones’s Diary – Helen Fielding 69 Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie 70 Moby Dick – Herman Melville 72 Dracula – Bram Stoker 73 The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett 76 The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath 79 Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray 80 Possession – AS Byatt 85 Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert 87 Charlotte’s Web – EB White 92 The Little Prince – Antoine De Saint-Exupery 98 Hamlet – William Shakespeare 40 something...
I've read 19 of them. Some of them so long ago I barely remember them. I had to read A Tale of Two Cities in one night for high school. I passed the content test and promptly forgot everything about the story.
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 16 The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien 18 Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger 19 The Time Traveller’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger 20 Middlemarch – George Eliot 22 The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald 23 Bleak House – Charles Dickens 24 War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy 27 Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky 28 Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck 29 Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll 30 The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame 32 David Copperfield – Charles Dickens 33 Chronicles of Narnia – CS Lewis 34 Emma – Jane Austen 36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – CS Lewis 40 Winnie the Pooh – AA Milne 41 Animal Farm – George Orwell 42 The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown 46 Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery 49 Lord of the Flies – William Golding 52 Dune – Frank Herbert 54 Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen 57 A Tale Of Two Cities – Charles Dickens 58 Brave New World – Aldous Huxley 61 Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck 65 Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas 70 Moby Dick – Herman Melville 71 Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens 72 Dracula – Bram Stoker 73 The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett 81 A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens 85 Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert 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 99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl 100 Les Miserables – Victor Hugo I got 49. If only I had read one more....
