How many of the BBC top 100 books have you read?

[Bluemooninmyeyes1]

I came across this list yesterday and I’m ashamed to say I’ve only read about 15 and most of them are the Roald Dhal books and Harry Potter I’ve obviously read more than 15 books in my life but they just don’t appear on this list! I’m making a conscious effort to read more classics this year.

How many have you read?

www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100.shtml

70. I find Dickens really hard to read and I don't actually believe that anyone has ever finished Ulysses unless it was a set text for an English literature degree.

Yes, I clicked on the next page. There’s a few Jacqueline Wilson books that I’m unsure whether I read as a child- they were obviously that memorable! And there’s a few books that I’ve started and not finished ie Gone with the Wind which I’d like to try and re-read again as an adult.

80! Well 79 and a decent, but ultimately unsuccessful stab at Ulysses.

I did read widely and voraciously as a child/teen

Actually my 13 yo DD could tick off approaching half - chip off the old block.

@user686833 I think they were all nominated/voted on by members of the public. Which explains why there are so many childhood books on there (because most peoples favourites books were from childhood) as well as the same author several times and books that were set as class texts

41 I've read. My favourites were The Count of Monte Cristo, Gone with the Wind (obviously the politics are awful but Scarlett is a very compelling character even though she is thoroughly unpleasant), Cold Comfort Farm and Jane Eyre.
It made me read some books I would never have read otherwise.
As per a pp I can't get on with Dickens. I have only read A Christmas Carol though I have tried to read others but couldn't finish them.

That's a stupid list. Bridget Jones ! No thanks. I've only read 27

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@Aahotep The Count of Monte Christo is, I would argue, one of the best books ever written. I have the fondest memories of a month of lunchtimes in a cafe in Central London eating this weird roast dinner every day whilst I read it.

77 - I haven't read any of the Jacqueline Wilson books because I'm too old, and I've only read one Pratchett because it's not my things. There are a couple that I've tried to read and didn't finish too (Ghormenghast, Ulysses).

38 - and a half if you include Ulysses which I never finished while at uni!

28. It's an odd list. I've read other books by the same authors, but not the ones mentioned on some cases.

37, plus a few I've started and not finished like the lord of the rings. Also don't get why Lord of the Rings and His Dark Materials are listed as one, but the harry potter series are listed separately.

Ugh. Captain Corelli? Gosh, that takes me back. When was that? Summer of 2000? Everyone was reading it on the tube. I couldn’t finish it. Gave up about two-thirds of the way through.

22 mostly the children's books and Lord of the Rings, a couple of others I read at school.
I've tried reading classics but I've never been able to get into to them. I don't like the old fashioned style of writing.

Well 2 from the top 6 I stopped reading as quite boring and not what I would call gripping. It's a matter of taste. I don't want to read Lord of the Rings because it's not my cup of tea.
It's like telling someone they must sit through a 3 hour ACDC concert. Arguably one of the best bands in the world but not everyone's style.

I tried Captain Correlli because my dm kept saying she loved it but got bored and didn't finish it.
It seemed to be a lot of words but not much happening.

41 - but some more than once!! The Stand us my absolute favourite book ever!!

I’m surprised The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver isn’t on there. Stunning book.

I always suspect these lists have a lot of books we read at school because the people surveyed haven’t read anything “proper” since then so they offer up a GCSE text as a respectable read and claim it to be their favourite book.

I got 37 too, more than I expected as I've never really read anything just because it was a "classic". There's some real garbage in that list IMO, along with some great books of course. It should really be called "books that basic people like, plus some Joyce and Russian miserablists so we get to look intellectual". Not sure why Hilary Mantel isn't on the list as she seems to occupy the same middlebrow, leaden prose niche as Sebastian Faulks.

I've read 72 of them.
Started and given up on 6 of them including Lord of the Rings, I've tried so many times to read it, but I just can't follow it and had to keep going back and rereading parts to understand where I was.

That list is from 2003 and hasn't aged brilliantly - Memoirs of a Geisha and Bridget Jones .

Not sure how good that list really is....but I've read 42 of them

39 I think I read completely, especially the classic sci-fi and 19th century classics, another 15 or so I started but couldn't finish.

I would like publication dates on those... I think the most recent on my list might be Goblet of Fire (pub. in 2000; which I thought was mediocre but think I can say I still basically finished it).

Diverse mix bec They are favourite novels of respondents (who are mostly adults).

I'd rate The Illustrated Mum , Dustbin Baby or Lily Alone above the JW books listed here, just to demonstrate that this is a poll of most often read books, not necessarily the best by these authors.

I read 62.

Surprised to see so much fantasy on this list but no Earthsea books.

It is quite a random list but I suppose they all are

71, and yes, not a great list.

It's nice to see that greatest books of all time ages so badly!