The Big Read

Varda Oiolosseo · 11-15-2003, 07:19 PM

ok i had absolutely no idea where to put this at all so i appologise if it's in the wrong forum.

The Big Read is basically the top 100 books in Britain, and it has been narrowed down to 21 and on TV there is a programme, each week in which they go into detail about 3 of the books. You also vote for which is your favourite and sometime in December they announce which book is Britains favourite.

Books which have made it into the final 21 are; Birdsong, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Catch-22, The Catcher in the Rye, Great Expectations, Gone with the Wind, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, His Dark Materials, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Jane Eyre, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Little Women, The Lord of the Rings, Nineteen Eighty-Four, To Kill a Mockingbird, Pride and Prejudice, Rebecca, War and Peace, The Wind in the Willows, Winnie the Pooh, Wuthering Heights.

I was just wondering which book do like best out of them all? which would be your number 1?

Katt_knome_hobbit · 11-16-2003, 05:06 AM

Damn! I want Brittish television!

Let's look at that list again.

Birdsong
Captain Corelli's Mandolin
Catch-22
The Catcher in the Rye
Great Expectations
Gone with the Wind
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
His Dark Materials
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Jane Eyre
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Little Women
The Lord of the Rings
Nineteen Eighty-Four
To Kill a Mockingbird
Pride and Prejudice
Rebecca
War and Peace
The Wind in the Willows
Winnie the Pooh
Wuthering Heights

Let's see, out of those 21 I've read 8:
Catch-22
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Lord of the Rings
Pride and Prejudice
The Wind in the Willows
Winnie the Pooh

Well that's not too bad. I need to catch up a bit on my cultural literacy.

I think that most people here will favour Lord of the Rings, but here's my order of the ones I've read.

1. Pride and Prejudice
2. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
3. The Lord of the Rings
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
5. Catch-22
6. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
7. Winnie the Pooh
8. The Wind in the Willows

And that's by no means to say that the Wind in the Willows is bad, but it is just not as good as the others.

The Gaffer · 11-16-2003, 07:59 AM

They're all so different, I don't know how to choose. Desert island book would have to be LOTR; most important book would be 1984; best read would be Catch-22,

Not read Birdsong, His Dark Materials, Jane Eyre, Little Women or Wuthering Heights

Did anyone see the LOTR prog last night? Was it any good? They had that Ray (here's how to survive in the wilderness by chewing moss) Mears bloke doing it, which seemed an odd choice.

zinnite · 11-16-2003, 08:46 AM

That's tough... I've read only slightly over half the books on the list. Like The Gaffer said, they're all so different, I can't easily pick a #1. Honestly, some of the ones I've read would end up in a tie for the top spot.

Catch-22
LOTR
1984
To Kill A Mockingbird
The Catcher in the Rye
Rebecca

I couldn't stand Gone With the Wind. P&P is good, but I didn't really get into it enough to love it. As for the others, which I won't mention, at least I can say I've read them

Tuor of Gondolin · 11-16-2003, 01:00 PM

Are any of the novels of Charles Williams on the list? I bought a set of all seven when in England and thought they were quite good and original.

As for the 21 listed, my top eight of them (had to read "The Catcher in the Rye" in college [BORING!!!], the book, that is:

1---The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

(I have all five books in the trilogy)
2---LOTR
3---Catch-22
4---War and Peace
5---Great Expectations
6---The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
7---Nineteen Eighty-Four
8---The Wind in the Willows

***Earniel*** · 11-16-2003, 02:06 PM

Let's see... for the books I have read...

1. The Lord of the Rings
2. His Dark Materials
3. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
4. Jane Eyre
5. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
6. Rebecca
7. Wuthering Heights
8. Great Expectations

(I've read 'The Catcher in the Rye' as well but I hated it so that I don't even want to put it in the list.)

BeardofPants · 11-16-2003, 02:39 PM

The Lord of the Rings
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Winnie the Pooh
Little Women
The Wind in the Willows
His Dark Materials
To Kill a Mockingbird
Jane Eyre
Wuthering Heights
Great Expectationsp

I *hated* Great Expectations, and Heathcliffe from Wuthering Heights was enough to incite violence.

Varda Oiolosseo · 11-16-2003, 04:13 PM

Katt_knome_hobbit i should have written them in a list originally lol thanks.

i havn't read many of these either but from what i have read...

1. Lord of the Rings,
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,
3. His Dark Materials,
4. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe,
5. Great Expectations,
6. Little Women,
7. Winnie the Pooh,
8. Wind in the Willows

Goldberry1 · 11-16-2003, 05:11 PM

the ones i have read...

1. Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy
1. LOTR
(i can't decide between these two so they're a tie for first!)
3. His Dark Material
4. Winnie the Pooh (it's classic!)
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
6. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
7. To Kill A Mockingbird

i really want to read 1984... and based upon what i know about it, it would probably make my list at number 5 or 6.

sun-star · 11-17-2003, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by The Gaffer
Did anyone see the LOTR prog last night? Was it any good? They had that Ray (here's how to survive in the wilderness by chewing moss) Mears bloke doing it, which seemed an odd choice.

It was all right, could have been worse. Some of the choices for "celebrity advocate" have been terrible. Ruby Wax on Catcher in the Rye is still making me shudder with horror

My list:

1. Pride and Prejudice
2. Great Expectations
3. LOTR
4. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
5. Harry Potter
6. 1984
7. The Catcher in the Rye
8. The Wind in the Willows
9. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
10. Winnie the Pooh
11. Little Women
12. Jane Eyre
13. Rebecca
14. Wuthering Heights
15. Birdsong

I expect LOTR is going to win. Just as well they didn't allow more than one book by each author, or Harry Potter would have been top 5

Here's the top 100 if anyone's interested (and you can vote too):

The Big Read

hectorberlioz · 11-17-2003, 05:07 PM

oh bother...(winnie the pooh

)
they're all so good.
Great expectations
lotr
lion,witch and the wardrobe
wind in the willows
winnie the pooh
war and peace...
lotr of course

but second fav is hard...
i'll let winnie the pooh and war and peace tie

The Gaffer · 11-17-2003, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sun-star
I expect LOTR is going to win.

Yeah, by a mile.

I think they did one of these things for the millenium and it came out top by a long way.

Motivated fan base including lots of hackers to script autmated polling bots would be the main reason.

Mercutio · 11-17-2003, 06:47 PM

I haven't read all the books on your list, but most of them.

In no specific order, I enjoyed Harry Potter, Jane Eyre, the Lion..., Little Women, LoTR, Mockingbird, and Pride and Prejudice. Not on the list, I also liked Anne of Green Gables, Dorothy Sayers (Lord Peter Wimsey), A. Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes) and Henry James novels.

Mercutio (Oh, I forgot to mention the obvious, Shakespeare)

Varda Oiolosseo · 11-18-2003, 05:58 PM

Quote:

I expect LOTR is going to win.

Well every week they also show the leader board and LOTR has been number 1 each week so far so they are doing well but it could change.

hectorberlioz · 11-18-2003, 07:16 PM

i wouldnt expect it to though.

Varda Oiolosseo · 12-01-2003, 05:06 PM

Lord of the Rings still number 1

The final results are in 2 weeks!

Attalus · 12-12-2003, 03:57 PM

Well, I voted for The Lord of the Rings, and obviously, so did a lot of other folks.

sun-star · 12-13-2003, 06:31 PM

Yep, LOTR won, followed by Pride and Prejudice.

Goldberry1 · 12-13-2003, 11:02 PM

as expected. the top five:

1. LOTR
2. Pride and Prejudice
3. His Dark Materials
4. Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Mercutio · 12-15-2003, 11:57 PM

I love LoTR (of course) but am so proud that Austen, a English spinister who lived 200 years ago, got #2. She has got to be one of my favorite authors.

Why can't there be Knightleys & Col. Brandons in the 21st century? Or why can't I live in her novels!

11-16-2003, 07:59 AM	#3
The Gaffer Elf Lord Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: In me taters Posts: 3,288	They're all so different, I don't know how to choose. Desert island book would have to be LOTR; most important book would be 1984; best read would be Catch-22, Not read Birdsong, His Dark Materials, Jane Eyre, Little Women or Wuthering Heights Did anyone see the LOTR prog last night? Was it any good? They had that Ray (here's how to survive in the wilderness by chewing moss) Mears bloke doing it, which seemed an odd choice. Last edited by The Gaffer : 11-16-2003 at 08:00 AM.

11-16-2003, 08:46 AM	#4
zinnite Elven Warrior Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Lawrence, Kansas, USA Posts: 195	That's tough... I've read only slightly over half the books on the list. Like The Gaffer said, they're all so different, I can't easily pick a #1. Honestly, some of the ones I've read would end up in a tie for the top spot. Catch-22 LOTR 1984 To Kill A Mockingbird The Catcher in the Rye Rebecca I couldn't stand Gone With the Wind. P&P is good, but I didn't really get into it enough to love it. As for the others, which I won't mention, at least I can say I've read them __________________ A citizen runs to the fire department yelling that he's spotted a roaring blaze from his car. "WHERE IS IT?" the fire department asks, pen ready. "It rises like some brooding , glaring trail of cosmic fury from- " "WHERE? WHERE?" "Oh. Well, it blazes up from a crimson-sheathed visage brooding darkly above the haunted towers of impotent indignity which, like melons hovering unhappily over lifetimes of empty meaning which-" "THE ADDRESS!" "Oh. Oh, I didn't notice. But look for a brooding, glaring trail of cosmic fury rising from a crimson-sheathed visage-" They lead him back to his car, and send him on. -- Philip K. Dick "Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest." -- Diderot

11-16-2003, 01:00 PM	#5
Tuor of Gondolin Elf Lord Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Southeastern Pennsylvania Posts: 1,215	Are any of the novels of Charles Williams on the list? I bought a set of all seven when in England and thought they were quite good and original. As for the 21 listed, my top eight of them (had to read "The Catcher in the Rye" in college [BORING!!!], the book, that is: 1---The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (I have all five books in the trilogy) 2---LOTR 3---Catch-22 4---War and Peace 5---Great Expectations 6---The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe 7---Nineteen Eighty-Four 8---The Wind in the Willows __________________ Democrat for Kerry-Edwards! Take Back America Aure entuluva! Last edited by Tuor of Gondolin : 11-16-2003 at 01:36 PM.

11-16-2003, 02:06 PM	#6
*Earniel* The Chocoholic Sea Elf Administrator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: N?n in Eilph (Belgium) Posts: 14,363	Let's see... for the books I have read... 1. The Lord of the Rings 2. His Dark Materials 3. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy 4. Jane Eyre 5. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe 6. Rebecca 7. Wuthering Heights 8. Great Expectations (I've read 'The Catcher in the Rye' as well but I hated it so that I don't even want to put it in the list.) __________________ We are not things.

11-16-2003, 02:39 PM	#7
BeardofPants the Shrike Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: San Francisco, CA <3 Posts: 10,647	The Lord of the Rings The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Nineteen Eighty-Four Winnie the Pooh Little Women The Wind in the Willows His Dark Materials To Kill a Mockingbird Jane Eyre Wuthering Heights Great Expectationsp I hated Great Expectations, and Heathcliffe from Wuthering Heights was enough to incite violence. __________________ "Binary solo! 0000001! 00000011! 0000001! 00000011!" ~ The Humans are Dead, Flight of the Conchords

11-15-2003, 07:19 PM	#1
Varda Oiolosseo Tea Bag Queen Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mirkwood Posts: 973	The Big Read ok i had absolutely no idea where to put this at all so i appologise if it's in the wrong forum. The Big Read is basically the top 100 books in Britain, and it has been narrowed down to 21 and on TV there is a programme, each week in which they go into detail about 3 of the books. You also vote for which is your favourite and sometime in December they announce which book is Britains favourite. Books which have made it into the final 21 are; Birdsong, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Catch-22, The Catcher in the Rye, Great Expectations, Gone with the Wind, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, His Dark Materials, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Jane Eyre, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Little Women, The Lord of the Rings, Nineteen Eighty-Four, To Kill a Mockingbird, Pride and Prejudice, Rebecca, War and Peace, The Wind in the Willows, Winnie the Pooh, Wuthering Heights. I was just wondering which book do like best out of them all? which would be your number 1?

11-16-2003, 05:06 AM	#2
Katt_knome_hobbit Dead Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: on the floor, under the table, just to your left, your other left Posts: 1,486	Damn! I want Brittish television! Let's look at that list again. Birdsong Captain Corelli's Mandolin Catch-22 The Catcher in the Rye Great Expectations Gone with the Wind Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire His Dark Materials The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Jane Eyre The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Little Women The Lord of the Rings Nineteen Eighty-Four To Kill a Mockingbird Pride and Prejudice Rebecca War and Peace The Wind in the Willows Winnie the Pooh Wuthering Heights Let's see, out of those 21 I've read 8: Catch-22 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe The Lord of the Rings Pride and Prejudice The Wind in the Willows Winnie the Pooh Well that's not too bad. I need to catch up a bit on my cultural literacy. I think that most people here will favour Lord of the Rings, but here's my order of the ones I've read. 1. Pride and Prejudice 2. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe 3. The Lord of the Rings 4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy 5. Catch-22 6. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 7. Winnie the Pooh 8. The Wind in the Willows And that's by no means to say that the Wind in the Willows is bad, but it is just not as good as the others. __________________ How to Survive the Sillmarillion I thought that Alcohol was just for those with nothing else to do. I thought that drinking just to get drunk was a waste of precious booze. But now I know that there's a time and there's a place where I can choose To walk the fine line between self control and self abuse. "Lacerations make complications, but welts go away in a day."

11-16-2003, 04:13 PM	#8
Varda Oiolosseo Tea Bag Queen Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mirkwood Posts: 973	Katt_knome_hobbit i should have written them in a list originally lol thanks. i havn't read many of these either but from what i have read... 1. Lord of the Rings, 2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, 3. His Dark Materials, 4. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, 5. Great Expectations, 6. Little Women, 7. Winnie the Pooh, 8. Wind in the Willows

11-16-2003, 05:11 PM	#9
Goldberry1 Elven Warrior Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: DC or Delaware, depending on the time of year Posts: 244	the ones i have read... 1. Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy 1. LOTR (i can't decide between these two so they're a tie for first!) 3. His Dark Material 4. Winnie the Pooh (it's classic!) 5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 6. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe 7. To Kill A Mockingbird i really want to read 1984... and based upon what i know about it, it would probably make my list at number 5 or 6. __________________ Oh, your collegiate grief has left you dowdy in sweatshirts, absolute horror!

11-17-2003, 05:07 PM	#11
hectorberlioz Master of Orchestration President Emeritus of Entmoot 2004-2008 Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Lost in the Opera House Posts: 9,328	oh bother...(winnie the pooh ) they're all so good. Great expectations lotr lion,witch and the wardrobe wind in the willows winnie the pooh war and peace... lotr of course but second fav is hard... i'll let winnie the pooh and war and peace tie __________________ ACALEWIA- President of Entmoot hectorberlioz- Vice President of Entmoot Acaly und Hektor fur Presidants fur EntMut fur life! Join the discussion at Entmoot Election 2010. "Stupidissimo!"~Toscanini The Da CINDY Code The Epic Poem Of The Balrog of Entmoot: Here ~NEW! ~ Thinking of summer vacation? AboutNewJersey.com - NJ Travel & Tourism Guide

11-17-2003, 06:47 PM	#13
Mercutio Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Narnia Posts: 1,656	Books I haven't read all the books on your list, but most of them. In no specific order, I enjoyed Harry Potter, Jane Eyre, the Lion..., Little Women, LoTR, Mockingbird, and Pride and Prejudice. Not on the list, I also liked Anne of Green Gables, Dorothy Sayers (Lord Peter Wimsey), A. Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes) and Henry James novels. Mercutio (Oh, I forgot to mention the obvious, Shakespeare) __________________ Mike nodded. A sombre nod. The nod Napoleon might have given if somebody had met him in 1812 and said, "So, you're back from Moscow, eh?". Interested in C.S. Lewis? Visit the forum dedicated to one of Tolkien's greatest contemporaries.

11-18-2003, 07:16 PM	#15
hectorberlioz Master of Orchestration President Emeritus of Entmoot 2004-2008 Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Lost in the Opera House Posts: 9,328	i wouldnt expect it to though. __________________ ACALEWIA- President of Entmoot hectorberlioz- Vice President of Entmoot Acaly und Hektor fur Presidants fur EntMut fur life! Join the discussion at Entmoot Election 2010. "Stupidissimo!"~Toscanini The Da CINDY Code The Epic Poem Of The Balrog of Entmoot: Here ~NEW! ~ Thinking of summer vacation? AboutNewJersey.com - NJ Travel & Tourism Guide

12-01-2003, 05:06 PM	#16
Varda Oiolosseo Tea Bag Queen Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mirkwood Posts: 973	Lord of the Rings still number 1 The final results are in 2 weeks!

12-12-2003, 03:57 PM	#17
Attalus Swan-Knight of Dol Amroth Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: On the Bay of Belfalas Posts: 1,125	Well, I voted for The Lord of the Rings, and obviously, so did a lot of other folks. __________________ "What song the Sirens sang, or what name Achilles assumed when he hid himself among women, though puzzling questions are not beyond conjecture." - Sir Thomas Browne, Urn Burial.

12-13-2003, 06:31 PM	#18
sun-star Lady of Letters Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Either Oxford or Kent, England Posts: 2,476	Yep, LOTR won, followed by Pride and Prejudice. __________________ And all the time the waves, the waves, the waves Chase, intersect and flatten on the sand As they have done for centuries, as they will For centuries to come, when not a soul Is left to picnic on the blazing rocks, When England is not England, when mankind Has blown himself to pieces. Still the sea, Consolingly disastrous, will return While the strange starfish, hugely magnified, Waits in the jewelled basin of a pool.

12-13-2003, 11:02 PM	#19
Goldberry1 Elven Warrior Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: DC or Delaware, depending on the time of year Posts: 244	as expected. the top five: 1. LOTR 2. Pride and Prejudice 3. His Dark Materials 4. Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy 5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire __________________ Oh, your collegiate grief has left you dowdy in sweatshirts, absolute horror!

12-15-2003, 11:57 PM	#20
Mercutio Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Narnia Posts: 1,656	I love LoTR (of course) but am so proud that Austen, a English spinister who lived 200 years ago, got #2. She has got to be one of my favorite authors. Why can't there be Knightleys & Col. Brandons in the 21st century? Or why can't I live in her novels! __________________ Mike nodded. A sombre nod. The nod Napoleon might have given if somebody had met him in 1812 and said, "So, you're back from Moscow, eh?". Interested in C.S. Lewis? Visit the forum dedicated to one of Tolkien's greatest contemporaries.

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