BBC Top 100 discussion

BBC Top 100 Books List of 2011
1. The Lord of the Rings, (Trilogy) 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

I have requested the following books:

1.) Crime and Punishment(#66-2011, #27-2012, #8-2013 Classics, “C” for Read Your Name Challenge)

2.)Noughts and Crosses(#67, “N” for Read Your Name Challenge)

3.)The Remains of the Day (#84-2012, first “R” for Read Your Name Challenge)

4.)The Light Between Oceans towards my Book Buddy Challenge.

I'm currently reading Julius Caesar and Romeo and Juliet working my way through the Complete Works of William Shakespeare (#14) on the 2012 list.

All of these will fit neatly into the Read the Alphabet Challenge, and helps finish my 2013 Book Challenge and personal goals for 2013.

I have been without Internet for a couple of weeks. I finished Julius Caesar and Romeo and Juliet, as well as Crime and Punishment, Noughts & Crosses, and The Light Between Oceans.
have requested the following books:

1. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth. (#55 - 2011 & 2012, "A" for Read Your Name)

2. Black Beauty by Anna Sewell (#58-2011, #19 Classics Challenge)

3. Ulysses by James Joyce (#78-2011, #75-2012, #27-Classics Challenge)

4. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (#82-2011, "I" for the Read Your Name Challenge)
and

5. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (#82-2011, #29-Classics Challenge, "A" for the Read Your Name Challenge).

All fit the 2013 Personal Reading Challenge

Picked up the following from the library last night:

1. Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Giaman (#68 - 2011)

2. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White (#87 - 2012)

3. Holes by Louis Sachar (#83 - 2011)

and

4. Dracula by Bram Stoker (#72 - 2012)

So this week, I’ve finished Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Giaman, Charlotte's Web by E.B. White, and Holes by Louis Sachar. I’m starting on Dracula by Bram Stoker right now.

A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth, Ulysses by James Joyce, and I Capture the Castle have arrived from the library. Boy, A Suitable Boy is another huge one!

Just finished The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Not what I expected of it. Quaint is the only word I can describe it at this time.

Finished the review for Holes and Good Omens. Working on the reviews for Charlotte's Web and Dracula.

Going to Landstuhl today, and will be taking Ulysses to start on that one.

I had to take a break from Ulysses by James Joyce. OMG! I just want to choke the author! I had to print off chapter summaries just to understand what is being said in the first half of the book! So, I finished Black Beauty by Anna Sewell and am about halfway through I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. Then I will have to finish plowing through Ulysses.

Yeah...that's why I'm not a fan of James Joyce. I feel like he is just showing off and saying "look how smart I am". You are awesome for attempting/getting through that book.

Sandie wrote: "Yeah...that's why I'm not a fan of James Joyce. I feel like he is just showing off and saying "look how smart I am". You are awesome for attempting/getting through that book."

There are so many people on here that praise his work! To me, it seems like he is reading a bunch of different books while he is writing Ulysses, and mimics their writing styles. It is irritating. And you are right, it's like he is showing off.

Finally finished Ulysses... glad that hell is over with! On to A Suitable Boy.

Almost finished with The Stand, and picked up The Color of Magic and Lord of the Flies. Will keep you posted.

Finished The Stand earlier this evening. Will start on Lord of the Flies tonight. I have The Color of Magic and Love in the Time of Cholera on the table waiting.

Finished Lord of the Flies and Love in the Time of Cholera. Started The Color of Magic tonight.

So we moved to El Paso. And reviewing the books that I have left, out of the 21 that remain, they only have 7 of them.
2011
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl (READ)
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake (this is really a series, Titus Groan being the first)
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot

Raine - If you use an ereader get "The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists" for free at Project Gutenberg.

Thanks!

Magician is the start of a trilogy- Magician, Silverthorn, and A Darkness at Sethanon. Excellent fantasy reads.

Thanks, Sonia! They still don't have the first one (sighs).

So I finished The Woman in White. Loved it. Twisted plot. Picked up The Twits, The Godfather, The Princess Diaries, and The God of Small Things.

Finished The God of Small Things this evening. Odd style of writing, meaning the time line. I find myself forgetting the Indian style of writing until I pick an Indian book up, and am caught off guard a little each time! LOL!

Will finish The Princess Diaries while I'm at home (almost finished), and will start on The Godfather at work tomorrow.

I finished last week and this evening. Going to start in the morning.

I have finished The Kite Runner and The Magus. Working on some Shakespeare pieces.

I honestly didn't think I would ever complete A Suitable Boy. It just seemed to keep going on and on. I think I got carpal tunnel syndrome from keeping the book lifted up to read! He spent so much time building up the characters and setting the stage that it really didn't start getting good until the last 100 or so pages.

Next up? Mort, Kane and Abel, Atonement and The Shadow of the Wind.

Just ordered the following books from the Public Library:

The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome

Hope to get them soon.

I love The Thorn Birds. I have Swallows and Amazons on my 2016 reading list. Glad to see you back on goodreads.

Finished the Thorn Birds. It was pretty good until the end. It ended so abruptly, almost like she was suddenly running out of room. Gave a great insight into the life in Australia WWI, Great Depression, and WWII.

Picking up Swallows and Amazons tomorrow.

Would have enjoyed Swallows and Amazons more if I had read it when I was younger. Good book for the era it was written in and the age level it was written for. I liked the way the children used their imaginations and the way two of the adults let those imaginations soar. Won't tell which adults because I don't want to give a spoiler.

Just finished Mort....

Starting Swallows and Amazons.

Almost finished with Swallows and Amazons.

Ordered Bridget Jones' Diary and Guards!Guards!

Found that Swallows and Amazons would have been better had I been younger, just for the way it was written. Found the boating terms to be interesting.

Bridget Jones' Diary was tedious and irritating. Do young adults really think like that? I never worried about such things.

Reading Guards! Guards! now.

I've requested from the library:
Double Act by Jacqueline Wilson
Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake
and
Vicky Angel by Jacqueline Wilson

Finished "Guards!Guards!"
Absolutely love how Terry Pratchett writes. I've suggested Discworld series to my husband for when he's finished with The Sword of Truth Series by Terry Goodkind.

I've picked up "Vicky Angel" and "Double Act" by Jacqueline Wilson, "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, and "Cold Comfort Farms" by Stella Gibbons.

Finished "Vicky Angel". Except for the haunting part, some of it hit home. My best friend drowned when we were in 3rd grade. I got in trouble and couldn't go to the church picnic where she drowned. I blamed myself for a long time. Her parents moved away the following year, unable to look at me. (while I know it was a reminder of her, it felt like so much more at the time.

On to "The Little Prince".

Finished Cold Comfort Farm. Wasn't very impressed. The way she described the Starkadders reminded me of my ex-husband's family. All that torture of her manipulation and never do we hear about what the "rights" were, or what "nasty" was seen in the shed! I have a hard time when an artist writes quotes in dialect, and I'm sure that people in the waiting room were not thrilled when I was whisper-reading to make sure I understood what the characters were saying!

Reading "Kane and Abel" and "Double Act".

Finished Double Act. Cute. Whimsical.

Now I can focus on Kane and Abel, with Gormenghast waiting on the counter. While the list calls for just Book #2, I'm reading all three books in 1.

Finished Kane and Abel. Absolutely loved it. The plot itself was kind of predictable, but I love the entwining of true historical events and conspiracies. A prime example is when William Kane's father, a banker, died on "a" ship. There's a conspiracy that says JP Morgan (banker and financial backer of the Titanic) lowered standards on the Titanic as guided by the book "Futility, or the Wreck of the Titan (1898) to kill Benjamin Guggenheim, Isa Strauss (actual name Isidor Straus), and John Jacob Astor IV, all opposers of the creation of the Federal Reserve. Interestingly enough, less than a year later, the Federal Reserve was created by the Rothschilds, Rockefeller, and JP Morgan. They were known as the Federal Reserve Cartel. Also to fuel this conspiracy was the insurance scandal that involved the Titanic and its sinking. 'Conspiracies: Titanic, the ship that never sank' and The Titanic Conspiracy: The Great Deception are great videos to watch.

On to The Gormenghast Novels.

Oh my God!!! The Secret History just dragged on and on and on... I didn't think it would ever end. It just kept going and going. It was so dull that I had trouble keeping at it.

I tried to read The Gormenghast Novels, but couldn't renew it because someone else wanted it. I've re-requested it, but it hasn't come in yet.

I've started the Magician today.

I loved magician! It's the first in a trilogy.

I finally finished Katherine. I had read about half of it and then had to return it to the library because someone else had requested it. After about 5 months, finally got it back and finished it.

I also finished the Magician.

I'm going to hold off about 2 months for any other books, as I'm taking 4 classes this semester.

You are getting so close to finishing. Congratulations.

Raine wrote: "I finally finished Katherine. I had read about half of it and then had to return it to the library because someone else had requested it. After about 5 months, finally got it back and finished it.
..."

most of the remainder I have for top 100 are really long books, only hope when I finally get around to them no one else has reserved them. our libraries in Cambridgeshire reintroduced charges for reservations so they have gone down.

would love to read Magician again along with the sequels

Finished
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake