The Cactus Patch

Life isn’t lived in the fast lane, it’s lived in the oncoming traffic ….

Speaking of a man of one book . .. May 15, 2008

Filed under: Bits 'n bobs, Meme's — Parenthesis @ 2:03 pm

While spending my inheritance on a copy of “Careless in Red” over at Exclusive Books on line this morning, I came across their “101 Books to read before you die” list. Looks like I can just about punch out, because I’ve read almost all of them - have you?

The 101 best novels of all time, as voted for by Exclusive Books customers: [italics = read]

  1. The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien
  2. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
  3. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
  4. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
  5. The Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
  6. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
  7. The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
  8. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
  9. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
  10. The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy
  11. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
  12. Spud - John van de Ruit
  13. The Power of One - Bryce Courtenay
  14. The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
  15. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis de Bernieres
  16. Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts
  17. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
  18. Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
  19. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
  20. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
  21. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
  22. Disgrace - J. M. Coetzee
  23. My Sister’s Keeper - Jodi Picoult
  24. The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
  25. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
  26. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
  27. Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett
  28. Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
  29. Cry, the Beloved Country - Alan Paton
  30. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
  31. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
  32. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time - Mark Haddon
  33. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
  34. Atonement - Ian McEwan
  35. Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
  36. The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
  37. The English Patient - Michael Ondaatje
  38. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
  39. Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
  40. Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
  41. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
  42. I Know This Much is True - Wally Lamb
  43. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
  44. Nineteen Eighty-Four - George Orwell
  45. War And Peace - Leo Tolstoy
  46. Clan of the Cave Bear - Jean M. Auel
  47. The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera
  48. The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
  49. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
  50. Possession - A. S. Byatt
  51. Perfume - Patrick Suskind
  52. The House of the Spirits - Isabel Allende
  53. Chocolat - Joanne Harris
  54. The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith
  55. Q & A - Vikas Swarup
  56. Dune - Frank Herbert
  57. Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
  58. Fugitive Pieces - Anne Michaels
  59. River God - Wilbur Smith
  60. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
  61. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
  62. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis
  63. Mort - Terry Pratchett
  64. Crime and Punishment - Feodor Dostoyevsky
  65. The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood
  66. East of Eden - John Steinbeck
  67. The Name of the Rose - Umberto Eco
  68. The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory
  69. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - John Boyne
  70. The Prince of Tides - Pat Conroy
  71. Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier
  72. Bridget Jones’ Diary - Helen Fielding
  73. The Shipping News - E. Annie Proulx
  74. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
  75. Animal Farm - George Orwell
  76. The Red Tent - Anita Diamant
  77. Watership Down - Richard Adams
  78. Magician - Raymond E Feist
  79. Middlemarch - George Eliot
  80. The Day of the Jackal - Frederick Forsyth
  81. We Need to Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver
  82. The Magus - John Fowles
  83. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
  84. Agaat - Marlene van Niekerk
  85. The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
  86. The Shell Seekers - Rosamunde Pilcher
  87. The Colour Purple - Alice Walker
  88. The Beach House - James Patterson
  89. Doctor Zhivago - Boris Pasternak
  90. Kringe in ‘n Bos - Dalene Matthee
  91. The World according to Garp - John Irving
  92. Northen Lights - Phillip Pullman
  93. Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
  94. Shades - Marguerite Poland
  95. Kane and Abel - Jeffrey Archer
  96. Fiela se kind - Dalene Matthee
  97. Story of an African Farm - Olive Schreiner
  98. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
  99. The Magic Faraway Tree - Enid Blyton
  100. Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe
  101. Winnie-the-Pooh - A.A. Milne

What’s even more interesting is how many of these made it onto the BBC’s 101 Best Books of  all time list:

  1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
  2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
  3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
  4. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
  5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
  6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
  7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
  8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
  9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
  10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
  11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
  12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
  13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
  14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
  15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
  16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
  17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
  18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
  19. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
  20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
  21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
  22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone, JK Rowling
  23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
  24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
  25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
  26. Tess Of The D’Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
  27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
  28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
  29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
  30. Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
  31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
  32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
  33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
  34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
  35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
  36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
  37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
  38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
  39. Dune, Frank Herbert
  40. Emma, Jane Austen
  41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
  42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
  43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
  44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
  45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
  46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
  47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
  48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
  49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
  50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
  51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
  52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
  53. The Stand, Stephen King
  54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
  55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
  56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
  57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
  58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
  59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
  60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
  62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
  63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
  64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
  65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
  66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
  67. The Magus, John Fowles
  68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
  69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
  70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
  71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
  72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
  73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
  74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
  75. Bridget Jones’s Diary, Helen Fielding
  76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
  77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
  78. Ulysses, James Joyce
  79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
  80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
  81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
  82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
  83. Holes, Louis Sachar
  84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
  85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
  86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
  87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
  88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
  89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
  90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
  91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
  92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
  93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
  94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
  95. Katherine, Anya Seton
  96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
  97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
  98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
  99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
  100. Midnight’s Children, Salman Rushdie

Which of these books would make it onto your top 10 books to read before you die list?

 

9 Responses to “Speaking of a man of one book . ..”

  1. sonkind Says: May 15, 2008 at 3:10 pm

    My 10, although not THE 10 I would like to read before I turn to ashes, but 10 from your list - also, most I have already read :-)

    1. The Kite Runner
    2. Spud
    3. Disgrace
    4. My Sister’s Keeper
    5. Pillars of the Earth
    6. The English Patient
    7. River God
    8. The Beach House
    9. A Town like Alice
    10. Dune

  2. netjane Says: May 15, 2008 at 3:28 pm

    Not THE 10, not my Top 10, just 10 I’ve read, really enjoyed, could fully recall when I saw the titles here and would strongly recommend. (In no particular order… ;)

    1. Shantaram
    2. The Kite Runner
    3. The god of small things
    4. Pillars of the Earth
    5. The Blind Assassin
    6. Life according to Garp
    7. Life of Pi
    8. Curious incident of the dog in the night time
    9. I know this much is true
    10. Gone with the wind

  3. Stef Says: May 15, 2008 at 3:54 pm

    i’m quite relieved that i’ve actually read loads of those books!!!
    cool list tho :)

  4. MsBehavn Says: May 15, 2008 at 4:10 pm

    I’m thrilled to see so many of my favourite books on this list!

    1. Shantaram is a definite must read
    2. Q&A
    3. Marching Powder
    4. Spud
    5. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin
    6. Perfume
    7. Life of Pi
    8. Dances with Devils
    9. The Kite Runner
    20. The Hobbit

    Great List!

  5. Da Mario Says: May 15, 2008 at 5:57 pm

    Now I’ll have to spend my inheretence on the rest I havn’t read yet…
    Some of the one’s I’ve read and enjoyed the most: (no particular order)
    1.) Pride and prejudice - Jane Austen
    2.) The da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
    3.) Hitchikers guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
    4.) Great expectations - Charles Dickens
    5.) Clan of the Cave Bear - Jean M. Auel
    6.) Dune - Frank Herbert
    7.) David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
    8.) Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson

    I also saw the movie they made of “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin”. Penelope Cruz’s voice turns my knees to jelly!! ;)
    And then of course “Of mice and men” were brilliant to!

    Nice post girl!! :D

  6. Parenthesis Says: May 15, 2008 at 7:40 pm

    Sonkind: I loved My Sister’s Keeper - actually did a paper on it for one of my modules at UNISA last year, an analysis of the themes and the interplay in familial relationships. My copy of it is so dog eared, just not funny. I’ve read all of Jodi Picoult’s books, but this one was a favourite. River God and Pillars of the Earth are also particular favourites.

    Netjane: John Irving is a favourite of mine too. I must say that I enjoyed The Cider House Rules and Widow for one year more than the world according to Garp though.

    MsBehavn: Life of Pi landed in my Christmas stocking in 2006 - loved it, have read and re-read it. Currently reading “Self” - if you liked Life of Pi, look it up. As to the Hobbit and the LOTR - read them, can’t say I enjoyed them, Tolkien far to long winded for my liking.

    Da Mario: Charles Dickens, aye. Douglas Adams - brilliant. Jane Austen - classic. I far preferred the Da Da Da Da Code by Rob Rankin to the other Da code - I enjoy a good conspiracy as much as the next guy, but his characters are so flat and two dimensional :( As to Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, the film, I try to avoid watching movies made from books I have particularly enjoyed, because I am always disappointed. Thomas Harris’ Red Dragon was brilliant, but the movie was crap. Ditto various others, including the Bourne trilogy - no one who has read the books can possibly relate to Matt Damon mincing around in the role of Jason Bourne. Jason Bourne is a man, Matt Damon is a mouse :)

    My top 10 from these lists - in no particular order:

    1. Catch 22
    2. Jane Eyre
    3. The God of small things
    4. Wuthering Heights
    5. Wind in the Willows
    6. The Great Gatsby
    7. The Hitchhikers Trilogy
    8. Possession
    9. Lord of the Flies
    10. Animal Farm

    Question to you all: is which one book is missing from this list, in your perspective?

  7. Dan Brown | Speaking of a man of one book . .. Says: May 16, 2008 at 10:10 am

    [...] … The Harry Potter series - JK Rowling; The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver; The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho; Life of Pi - Yann Martel; The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown; The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy; Memoirs of a Geisha … Source: Speaking of a man of one book . .. [...]

  8. rosalindfranklin Says: May 16, 2008 at 4:27 pm

    Nice list, I have read quite a few on it. And hallo… ;)

  9. peterwalshmd Says: May 16, 2008 at 9:41 pm

    No Len Deighton? No Richard North Patterson? No Robert Goddard?
    Who can I complain to?

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