From a BBC survey
It is my favourite too(In case I hadn't said before!)
Thank goodness common sense prevails and the Brits know who writes best...

I love "Pride and Prejudice" a lot but I have to say I wouldn't put it first on my list.
Thanks for sharing that article Ren . It helped with my 'reader' self-esteem, seeing that from the Top 10 list, the only one I haven't read is #9 ("His Dark Materials" by Philip Pullman).

Oh, my! I could hardly finish that book (but nobody ever said I had the right dose of good taste, I guess ). In fact, not counting the Bible, I only liked three of the Top Ten! *Sigh* But I must say, based on folks I know and have talked to, that list seems to reflect the popular view of things, even over here.
Perhaps I need to give Miss Austen another look....

I am just thankful for small mercies:a) Stephen King came nowhere,b)The da Vinci Code was about 32nd!
(That sig of yours is just terrible,Gats!)
I havent read His Dark Materials either. I think that is the Youth Vote coming out.

Ooops! I am big fan of Stephen King . Hope that won't stop you from talking with me Ren.
The DaVinci Code I've read but didn't make any special impression on me. Neither did the movie.

And on that list...I was a bit amazed to see Harry Potter come before To Kill a Mockingbird. Between having/relying on 'special powers' to deal with the world, and meeting the complex and harsh reality as a 'simple' human, I will always choose the latter. It must be my old age showing .

Well, I've read one or two of the HP's, and have dipped into the Bible here and there, so I guess I can say I have read them all. Wouldn't have been my choice for top ten, though...

No, Ren, I wouldn't. Except maybe "The Green Mile", if I was allowed to take more than 10 books on that island.

Glad to see To Kill a Mockingbird did well among the Brits.

I read To Kill a Mockinbird as a child. I obviously wasn't young enough to have read HP as a child, but having read it as an adult, I'd say I would have ranked Mockingbird before it. I love my sci-fi and fantasy, and I've read a lot of it, and had as a child as well (I read LOTR for the first time at age 9) but I always knew that as far as greatness was concerned, those genres seldom produce real stars. I've always thought that to be considered a great book, it has to speak to a part of your soul, and while I'm almost always entertained by sci-fi and fantasy, I just don't think most of it does that. I think I was 10 when I read To Kill a Mockingbird, and I've loved it ever since. More than Harry Potter. Probably more than LOTR.

I have read some Stephen King too, and once again, Horror, as with my two favorite genres, might be entertaining, but it isn't destined for greatness most of the time. Or rather, pulp horror, which I think King qualifies as. Dracula might have made it onto my list, but Christine, much as I liked it, can't even catch a glance at the list.

I will also have to admit I can't read Austin. I've tried. My sister loves her. I just can't. I also think that Jane Eyre is far and away better than Wuthering Heights, which wouldn't have made it on my list at all, and that 1984 fully deserves it's place.

Still, the list as published is an interesting glance at society. I'm sure that if I were asked to make a list of top 10 books that were most beloved, I'd have to put some books on that list that I myself never liked very well, but I'm also an oddball, so that doesn't surprise me.

His Dark Materials is well worth a read - even for adults. It is fantasy, but with many layers of meaning. I enjoyed the series very much.

I think that the world could not live without "To Kill A MOckingbird" because it is a fantastic story with such great morals and themes that relate to daily life. I read this book last year and I was amazed at this story. I have never read Pride and Prejudice and I think that the world can live without Harry Potter (even though it is a good book series!)

Putting Harry Potter before To Kill A Mockingbitd is just plain silly.

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Putting Harry Potter before To Kill A Mockingbitd is just plain silly.

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Well yes, maybe, but that is how the voters voted. It is not the opinion of one person, but many . That's what happens with a poll.

HI all,
I was just re-reading this thread and thought that with only 2000 people questioned, that wasnt enough to really get to the bottom of what people like to read.
My reading taste is so varied, and I read several novels a week. I couldnt say what my favourite ten books were.

I think the reason that the Harry Potter books did so well is that they are in the collective concience now, and most teenagers have read them. its a good thing that people are getting back into reading through them.
But I have read many many other wonderful books, just cant put hand on heart and say what is the best.
sunday

I agree with sunday-- though the Harry Potter books are hardly just books. They're a world-wide (US/UK-centered) fad, and I don't know whether they would be nearly as highly regarded for the books alone. This morning I saw a girl wearing a polo shirt with the Hogwearts emblem on it...
The fact that only two thousand people participated in the poll is important: where do they live? How did they find out about the survey in the first place (through a fan site?)Nevertheless, I'm proud to say that I've read a good number of them (none of the New Testament, and not Great Expectations or 1984, but I'll get to those two sooner or later)

Assuming it was a fair sample population, I'm glad to see that so many people had actually read Pride and Prejudice (though understandibly the guys ranked it lower. The results were similar in my English class when we read it).

His Dark Materials is a GREAT series, but the Amber Spyglass was a bit too out there (and somewhat confusing) for me when I was reading it.

Philip Pullman is going to be the new JRR Tolkien. XD

With the exception of the To Kill A Mockingbird and the Bible (of which I've read most of it) I've read them all.
1. Pride and Prejudice - Enjoyable book but over-rated - would be in same category as Danielle Steele nowadays.
2. Lord of the Rings - Superb. First read it when I was about 12 and have re-read it several times since, Still can't get away with The Hobbit though for some reason.
3. Jane Eyre - Read this at school and hated it, but re-read a few years ago and was surprised by how good the quality of the writing and the story is.
4. Harry Potter - Have read the 1st four. Enjoyable reading but not classics.
5. To Kill A Mocking Bird - Not read as yet. Must make time.
6. The Bible - What can you say? The definitive tale - murder, adultery etc. it's all in that book.
7. Wuthering Heights - Again read at school and hated it. Re-read about the same time as I re-read Jane Eyre and still hated it. Melodramtic nonsense in my opinion.
8. 1984 - Bleak and brilliant
8. His Dark Materials - Darker than HP. Possibly too complicated for young children.
10. Great Expectations - Typical Dickens. The only book of his i dislike is Bleak House
Well that's me finished finally

"The results were from an online survey of more than 2,000 book lovers. "

That may not be the most meaningful poll ever.

Interesting list!

I have read most of the top 10 there.

To Kill a Mockingbird was an outstanding book. One of those books assigned in junior high school that I have continued to enjoy.

I had to read some Jane Austen and Bronte in high school but never found myself enjoying them too much. Then again, reading something for an assignment does take some of the luster out of it. Ditto Great Expectations.

1984, great book.

Lord of the Rings, my parents gave me the set when I was 5, tried to read it then, got stuck on the Shadow of the Past, picked it up again a couple years later, and have read it over 2 dozen times since. A great series and the movies more than did it justice aside from Bombadil and The Scouring of the Shire (which was my favorite part of the books, followed by Khazad-Dum).

Unfortunately (and I expect disagreement on this), I consider The Dark Tower to be even better than the Lord of the Rings. Strongly alludes to the difference between perception (or glammer, if you will) and reality, makes you realize that all the heebie-jeebies that are put upon us by our government and other entities are based on illusion and ignorance. Also, when it comes to character development, Stephen King isn't exactly shabby. Actually, I think it is the one thing that sets him apart from just about every other author I've read. You know the characters as if you have known them your whole life.

One GLARING omission on that list, in my opinion, is Catch-22. The greatest satire ever written. I had tears rolling down my cheeks at times, I was laughing so hard at some of the total absurdity!

Pride and prejudice is the best book I have ever read. It does deserve the position at Number 1.

I havn't read the book but I have seen the movie (the newer version)

I loved it and I expect the book will be better (that often being the case for me) but most guys I know absolutely hated the movie and thought it was over dramatic.

Maybe book and movies like that are mostly a girl thing?