The UK voted Pride and Prejudice as the book they couldn't live without. Second on the list? The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Now.
I loved the LOTR trilogy. Loved. But can't live without? I don't know.
Here's the full list:
1. Pride and Prejudice
2. The Lord of the Rings
3. Jane Eyre
4. Harry Potter books
5. To Kill a Mockingbird
6. The Bible
7. Wuthering Heights
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four
9. His Dark Materials
10. Great Expectations
And then I read further: "The results were from an online survey of more than 2,000 book lovers."
A whole 2,000 people? Well, that explains it.
I mean, I love each and every one of those books, including the Bible, and a few might even be in my top ten, but this list is a bit too UK-centric (love the inclusion of Mockingbird, though).
Now if I were to do a top ten can't-live-without list, how would I justify the fun books? Would I have to include the scholarly books just so you people know that I am S-M-R-T (I mean S-M-A-R-T)? That would be a bit too "I care what people think," so I am going to shy away from it. There are very few books that I dislike, so I think that the ones that I've read over and over again are the ones that have stood my test of time.
So here we go: my favorite books.
Heather's Top Ten Can't-Live-Without Books
(subject to change)
1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
3. The Feast of Love by Charles Baxter
4. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
5. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
6. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
7. Anatomy of a Murder by Robert Traver
8. The Princess Bride by William Goldman
9. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
10. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
I think.
This is hard!
Seriously, try and figure out your own top ten can't-live-without books. Then list them here! (Amanda and K-10, I'm looking at you!). Be honest - don't list a book because it's considered a "classic." If you loved it, then sure, but don't try to impress me! And you don't have to think of ten - trust me, it's more difficult than you may think.
17 comments:
1) the Unbearable Lightness of Being
2) Atlas Shrugged
3) The Turn of the Screw
4) To Kill a Mockingbird
5) the Man Who Fell to Earth
6) Slaughterhouse Five
7) Soul Mountain
8) Lolita
9) Less Than Zero
10) Franny and Zooey
But if you ask me tomorrow it could be up to 40% different!
Ooo, this sounds fun! I'm torn because I feel like 1984 should be higher on the list, you know because we need to document Big Brother. On the other hand, could I personally live without it? Probably.
INPY - I completely agree. The list can change with the wind! Also? I love The Turn of the Screw - I just made my roommate read it!
Laurel - Exactly. And where's your list? ;)
Considering what I'm doing over the next 10 days, here are my top 10:
1)To Kill a Mockingbird (obviously)
2)Silent Warfare: Understanding the World of Intelligence
3)Intelligence Power in Peace & War
4)Dirty Tricks or Trump Cards: US Covert Action and Counterintelligence
5)Biological Warfare and Disarmament
6)Intelligence: From Secrets to Policy
7)The 9/11 Commission Report
8)Intelligence and Military Operations
9)Deterring America: Rogue States and the Proliferation of WMDs
10)The Origins of the Second World War
Who can top those? Actually, has anyone even READ any of those, except Mockingbird? Yeah....didn't think so. Gotta love grad school!
K-10, your list scares me.
A lot.
(Also - I call shenanigans, because those are SO NOT your favorite books, but I will give you a break because I know that your brain is completely fried.)
Those are the only books in my head right now, so those are my top GD 10! ;)
K-10, you crazy. I think I wanna have your baby.
Shoop!
Don't mess with the 32F or your ass will be sleeping outside my window with the homeless woman.
Yeah. London sounds... lovely.
1) Shibumi - Trevanian
2) Fantasyland - Sam Walker
3) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
4) My Side of the Mountain
5) To Kill a Mockingbird
Man that took a lot of thought. I think I will just stop there. This list changes pretty quickly though. Depending on what I'm reading. Shimbumi, My Side of the Mountain and TKAM were more "formative" books, but I still really like them.
Oh, My Side of the Mountain! I haven't read that since fourth grade. SO GOOD.
Also see: Where the Red Fern Grows. I totally didn't bawl my eyes out in sixth grade when Ms. Thomas read it to us.
Yay books! I love making lists.
1. The Bible
2. Mere Christianity
3. Jane Eyre
4. Chronicles of Narnia
5. Anne of Green Gables (the whole series)
6. Gone With the Wind
7. Little Women
8. The Scarlet Letter
9. Wuthering Heights
10. His Excellency
Wow, my list seems so "girly!" I have to add a #11 to offset it: National Pastime.
A Widow For One Year
a. I Know This Much is True
b. Middlesex
c. Perfume
d. Water for Elephants
e. The Book Thief
f. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
g. I'm a Stranger Here Myself
h. There Are No Children Here
i. Birth
Wow, that was hard. I know I'm forgetting some!
1. The Poisonwood Bible
2. Jigs & Reels
3. Slaughterhouse Five
4. A God in Ruins
5. His Excellency
6. Five Quarters of the Orange
7. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
8. Harry Potter series
9. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denosivitch
10. The Stand
okay, i know, i know, boo on me because only four come to mind so far, but it's so hard to narrow down favorites and furthermore my brain is totally fried right now. but as promised:
1. thomas hardy, jude the obscure
2. robert jordan, wheel of time series
3. mary shelley, frankenstein
4. lewis carroll, alice in wonderland
and apparently i need to read to kill a mockingbird again. i haven't read it since 9th grade, and i don't remember it being anything special. but then again, i always thought american lit was dull. :)
a - To Kill a Mockingbird didn't have as much power for me in 8th grade as it did later. Try it again!
I was just going to say the same thing. I haven't read To Kill a Mockingbird since 10th grade. I remember liking it, but as A said, it was nothing special. Guess I'll have to give it another read!
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