One of our book store chains here did a survey recently to determine what Australia's favourite books are and these were the results. (The books I have read are italicised and the ones I own but haven't read yet are bolded)
1 The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer
2 The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling (5 out of 7)
3 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
4 The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
5 The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
6 The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
7 To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee
8 The Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson (2 out of 3)
9 My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
10 The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
11 The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons
12 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
13 Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
14 The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
15 Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
16 Magician by Raymond E. Feist
17 Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
18 The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
19 Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
20 The Host by Stephenie Meyer
21 Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin
22 Atonement by Ian McEwan
23 The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
24 Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
25 A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
26 Cross Stitch by Diana Gabaldon
27 Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
28 The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas
29 Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
30 Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
31 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
32 Tomorrow When the War Began by John Marsden
33 Obernewtyn by Isobelle Carmody
34 The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
35 The Inheritance Series by Christopher Paolini
36 The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
37 Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
38 The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
39 The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
40 Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
41 Ice Station by Matthew Reilly
42 The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
43 Persuasion by Jane Austen
44 Tully by Paullina Simons
45 Seven Ancient Wonders by Matthew Reilly
46 Breath by Tim Winton
47 The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare
48 Life of Pi by Yann Martel
49 A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
50 The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
51 Emma by Jane Austen
52 The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
53 The Bible
54 Six Sacred Stones by Matthew Reilly
55 A Fortunate Life by A.B. Facey
56 We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
57 The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
58 Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
59 The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
60 The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
61 People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
62 The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
63 The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
64 Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
65 Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
66 The Sookie Stackhouse Series by Charlaine Harris
67 Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
68 Five Greatest Warriors by Matthew Reilly
69 On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
70 The Princess Bride by William Goldman
71 The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
72 Wicked by Gregory Maguire
73 Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
74 Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
75 Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
76 Dewey by Vicki Myron
77 Dirt Music by Tim Winton
78 Marley and Me by John Grogan
79 Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
80 Dune by Frank Herbert
81 The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
82 The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
83 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
84 War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
85 The Road by Cormac McCarthy
86 Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
87 The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
88 The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
89 Possession by AS Byatt
90 Finnikin of The Rock by Melina Marchetta
91 No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
92 Graceling by Kristin Cashore
93 The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
94 The Secret History by Donna Tartt
95 Silent Country by Di Morrissey
96 Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
97 Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
98 The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
99 Still Alice by Lisa Genova
100 The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
101 Gallipoli by Les Carlyon
I am always pleased to see The Bronze Horseman poll so well. I am not sure why but Aussies seem to love Paullina's writing. I wish that she was more widely available in other markets, specifically in the US. I am also happy to see The Host, The Hunger Games and The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society on the list.
There were a few other books that I am glad to see on the list, but I was a little surprised by - Graceling by Kristin Cashore, the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare were books that I really enjoyed, but I can't say I have seen a lot of evidence around that the other books were that popular here.
I have posted a couple of these lists before, so it is interested to see which books are still on the list and which ones have disappeared!
A & R Top 100 2008
Dymocks Top 101 2008
We have Dymocks too. I'll have to go through the list - I can see one's I've read and a lot I haven't.
ReplyDeletePaullina Simons is very popular here .
Gosh, Twilight at #1?! That means it's not just us Americans who are sad and depressing! ;-)
ReplyDeleteI LOVE To Kill A Mockingbird so high on the list!
I love these lists. I always realize how many books I have yet to read!
ReplyDeleteHave read 49 of these and others are on my TBR. Interesting list!
ReplyDeleteMalvina
I'm one of your cheerleaders and wanted to be the first to wish you good luck!
ReplyDeleteHope you're ready for the Readathon! Let us know how you do!
ReplyDeleteHi Marg - I keep seeing a link to you on A Striped Armchair and finally got around to visiting and look! A fellow Aussie! Yay!
ReplyDeleteYou know what I always think when I see this list? (I looked it up a couple of years ago too) I feel disappointed that there's hardly anything Australian on it. The Book Thief of course - glad to see that there! - and Obernewtyn, which is very precious to me. Cloudstreet, which I loved, and The Slap which I haven't read yet 'cause it's a bit pricey still. The Power of One is technically Australian isn't it? And another Winton, Breath. Okay, 6 so far.
There's Matthew Reilly, I hear he's good, and a THIRD Winton! Go Winton! Finnikin of The Rock by Melina Marchetta made it - and a recent release too! Well done. Haven't read it yet 'cause the cover here is so ugly I can't bring myself to buy it! And finally, and it's wonderful to see it, Gallipoli - which I never had a chance to finish or restart, sadly.
10! 10 out of 101, unless I missed someone. What's that, 10%? Part of me is ashamed, and maybe a bit pissed.
Then I think, but on the other hand, look how diverse our reading is! Not insular, no - that's something to be proud of! It's quite a diverse list, really. And I'm pleased to say I've read a lot of it! Thanks for the post Marg :D