For the last few years one of our major bookstore chains, Angus and Robinson, have done an online survey asking what are Aussies favourite books as published in the Sydney Morning Herald a few days ago.
The results of this year's survey have just been released, and I think the results are quite interesting. I have bolded the books that I have read off of the list:
1 Harry Potter series - J.K. Rowling (some of them at least)
2 Twilight - Stephenie Meyer
3 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
4 The Obernewtyn Chronicles - Isobelle Carmody
5 My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult
6 To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee
7 The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
8 Breath - Tim Winton
9 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
10 Break No Bones - Kathy Reichs
11 The Power Of One - Bryce Courtenay
12 Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk
13 Magician - Raymond E. Feist
14 The Bronze Horseman - Paullina Simons
15 Mao's Last Dancer - Li Cunxin
16 Memoirs Of A Geisha - Arthur Golden
17 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
18 Cross - James Patterson
19 Persuasion - Jane Austen
20 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
21 The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
22 The Secret - Rhonda Byrne
23 Marley and Me - John Grogan
24 Antony and Cleopatra - Colleen McCullough
25 April Fools Day - Bryce Courtney
26 North & South - Elizabeth Gaskell
27 In My Skin - Kate Holden
28 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
29 A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini
30 The Other Boleyn Girl - Phillipa Gregory
31 Nineteen Minutes - Jodi Picoult
32 Atonement - Ian McEwan
33 Shantaram Gregory - David Roberts
34 Pillars Of The Earth - Ken Follett
35 The Pact - Jodi Picoult
36 Ice Station - Matthew Reilly
37 Cloudstreet - Tim Winton
38 Jessica - Bryce Courtenay
39 A New Earth - Eckhart Tolle
40 The Princess Bride - William Goldman
41 Running With Scissors - Augusten Burroughs
42 Anybody Out There? - Marian Keyes
43 Life Of Pi - Yann Martel
44 Seven Ancient Wonders - Matthew Reilly
45 People Of The Book - Geraldine Brooks
46 Six Sacred Stones - Matthew Reilly
47 Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards
48 Brother Odd - Dean Koontz
49 Tully - Paullina Simons
50 Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom
51 The Catcher in the Rye - J.D Salinger
52 Eragon - Christopher Paolini
53 Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert
54 It's Not About The Bike - Lance Armstrong
55 A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
56 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
57 The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
58 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
59 A Fortunate Life - A.B. Facey
60 The Mists of Avalon - Marion Zimmer Bradley
61 The Notebook -Nicholas Sparks
62 Water For Elephants - Sara Gruen
63 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
64 The Host - Stephenie Meyer
65 Dirt Music - Tim Winton
66 Eldest - Christopher Paolini
67 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
68 It - Stephen King
69 World Without End - Ken Follett
70 Emma - Jane Austen
71 Temple - Matthew Reilly
72 Little Women - Alcott Louisa May
73 Lean Mean Thirteen - Janet Evanovich
74 Scarecrow - Matthew Reilly
75 American Gods - Neil Gaiman
76 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
77 P.S, I Love You - Cecelia Ahern
78 All That Remains - Patricia Cornwell
79 The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch
80 Past Secrets - Cathy Kelly
81 The Persimmon Tree - Bryce Courtenay
82 Husband - Dean Koontz
83 Plain Truth - Jodi Picoult
84 Wicked - Gregory Maguire
85 Spot Of Bother - Mark Haddon
86 Always And Forever - Cathy Kelly
87 The Road - Cormac McCarthy
88 Cents & Sensibility - Maggie Alderson
89 Me Talk Pretty One Day - David Sedaris
90 The Shifting Fog - Kate Morton
91 We Need To Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver
92 Everyone Worth Knowing - Lauren Weisberger
93 Hour Game - David Baldacci
94 Darkly Dreaming Dexter - Jeff Lindsay
95 The Woods - Harlan Coben
96 Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
97 Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
98 Scar Tissue - Anthony Kiedis
99 Infidel - Ayaan Hirsi Ali
100 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
I was interested to see Twilight in number 2, and also Breathe at number 8. There were quite a few newer books in the list, but Breathe has only been released for a few months, so it is quite an achievement to end up on the list at all, let alone in the Top 10.
One noticable omission on the list is Outlander, which I am sure has been on the list for the last couple of years at least. Where is the Jamie love??
Thanks to Kat for the heads up!
I want to read Breath. It's probably not surprising that there are so many new books if the poll was done this year. People tend to vote for the books they remember.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that My Sister's Keeper is at #5. From what I hear, it's a wallbanger for some people because of the ending.
And is that right? You haven't read Pride and Prejudice? *bug-eyed*
I want to read Breath too. I guess it isn't that surprising, but then again for Favourite book ever?
ReplyDeleteI've read My Sister Keeper (review here, and was shocked by the ending, but don't know how else exactly she was going to be able to end the story any way. It will be interesting to see what they do with the movie ending.
As for the P&P question...shhhh! Don't tell anyone but I have never read any Jane Austen, or Bronte, or lots of other classics! I will get to the them eventually.
Are these the 100 most popular for all time Marg? Not a lot there for crime fic. readers. Interesting to see The Shifting Fog on the list.
ReplyDeleteAs voted this year apparently. There are some interesting choices aren't there, and no, not much crime!
ReplyDeleteFirst time viewer of your blog - and in looking at your reads from the 100 favs - I can see we like similar books. The whole Twilight series would've made it in my book.
ReplyDeleteWelcome reader 4 life. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment!
ReplyDeletehi! first time reader of your blog and first time blogger in blogger.com too.. hehe.. I looked through the list and found out I've only read 8 of those on the top 100. Guess, I need to catch up. I haven't read a book in a while because of work but I think this is motivation.
ReplyDeleteI found you through Blog of the Day. I'm impressed and surprised with myself at how many of these i've read or are sitting in my TBR pile. Happy reading!! :)
ReplyDeleteI saw this as a blog of note and was semi-disappointed not to see my name on your list of book blogs (though not surprised, really). Here is my link: http://bibliophagebookreviews.blogspot.com/.
ReplyDeletegood blogggggggggggggggg
ReplyDeleteOf the books on this list that you have not read, I HIGHLY recommend The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, it's very moving.
ReplyDeleteI can also recommend (with Lovely Bones):
ReplyDelete40 The Princess Bride - William Goldman
43 Life Of Pi - Yann Martel
48 Brother Odd - Dean Koontz
60 The Mists of Avalon - Marion Zimmer Bradley
68 It - Stephen King
75 American Gods - Neil Gaiman
84 Wicked - Gregory Maguire
I have 99 Infidel - Ayaan Hirsi Ali, just haven't cracked it open yet
great blog, glad I found ya
Thank you for this list! I'm totally adding you to my blogs to follow list. I am happy to find someone out there who loves to read as much as me!
ReplyDeletePS Have you read Atonement? Is it beter than the movie because the movie really sucked. Great concept, bad acting.
hey, this a cool blog. I am going to see if i can find some of the books to read
ReplyDelete