BBC Top 100 discussion

My local library (Cambridgeshire) are putting back book reservation fees £1. Understandable really as they are so short of cash but could have an impact on how quickly I get through the list. Completed 100 / 100 :)

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

Do what you can :)

read a couple this month, slow progress
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton

read a couple more this month

59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith

Kinda felt sorry for Cassandra, was so well written

Agreed about Cassandra

resumed my accountancy course as a distance learning student has taken up a lot of my free time, but still found time for a couple more

61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins

I know Noughts And Crosses is a YA novel but if I live to 500 I won't get over some of the silliness in the writing.
I didn't realise when The Woman In White that Wilkie was a guy, and a contemporary of Dickens. Good story, though could have been 100+ pages shorter

It's been ages since i've updated this... and only managed to tick off 5 more: Emma, Wuthering Heights, Black Beauty, The BFG, and Holes, but only got a few more weeks of this course then hope to get some of the longer novels

I've done a few more in the final months of 2017 including 'The Magic Faraway Tree', 'Bridget Jones's Diary' and 'Mathilda' though still have 16 in top 50 and 27 in the latter part to read

I've read the first of the Harry Potters (which was quite an easy read, admit I was putting it off as an ex fantasy fiction fan) and the first part of The Lord of the Rings. Hoping I get through a few more this year

Another small dent in the numbers, only 12 more in top 50 and 23 in latter part to read. Still some proper doorstops in the list: Ulysses, War and Peace, and a couple of Dickens. Really enjoyed 'The Pillars of Earth' even though long and predictable in parts, has made me look at some of the old churches in Cambridge with more wonder

Just finished 'Kane and Abel'. Only 24 to go, but some long titles in those remaining, inc War and Peace and Ulysses, so chances of finishing the list by end of this year are slim (though not impossible).

Ugh, Ulysses!! Awful book. Here’s a synopsis: Man goes for a walk around Dublin, nothing happens, the end.
Hope you enjoy it more than I did!!!

Just finished 'Great Expectations', only David Copperfield left to complete the top 50, oh and War and Peace, oops. At a push I might get to 90/100 by the end of the year but I doubt I'll have read it. If I remember the last time it was the sheer number of characters and events that made it such a slow read. Next 'The Thorn Birds'

Only 6 to go, 3 long (War & Peace, The Stand, A Suitable Boy), and 3 short (Night Watch, Guards Guards and Perfume)

I've copied Janet's list for the second half of the top 200 since almost got there on the 100

101. Three Men In A Boat, Jerome K. Jerome
102. Small Gods, Terry Pratchett
103. The Beach, Alex Garland
104. Dracula, Bram Stoker
105. Point Blanc, Anthony Horowitz
106. The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens
107. Stormbreaker, Anthony Horowitz
108. The Wasp Factory, Iain Banks
109. The Day Of The Jackal, Frederick Forsyth
110. The Illustrated Mum, Jacqueline Wilson
111. Jude The Obscure, Thomas Hardy
112. The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾, Sue Townsend
113. The Cruel Sea, Nicholas Monsarrat
114. Les Misérables, Victor Hugo
115. The Mayor Of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy
116. The Dare Game, Jacqueline Wilson
117. Bad Girls, Jacqueline Wilson
118. The Picture Of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
119. Shogun, James Clavell
120. The Day Of The Triffids, John Wyndham
121. Lola Rose, Jacqueline Wilson
122. Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray
123. The Forsyte Saga, John Galsworthy
124. House Of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski
125. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver
126. Reaper Man, Terry Pratchett
127. Angus, Thongs And Full-Frontal Snogging, Louise Rennison
128. The Hound Of The Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle
129. Possession, A. S. Byatt
130. The Master And Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov
131. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood
132. Danny The Champion Of The World, Roald Dahl
133. East Of Eden, John Steinbeck
134. George's Marvellous Medicine, Roald Dahl
135. Wyrd Sisters, Terry Pratchett
136. The Color Purple, Alice Walker
137. Hogfather, Terry Pratchett
138. The Thirty-Nine Steps, John Buchan
139. Girls In Tears, Jacqueline Wilson
140. Sleepovers, Jacqueline Wilson
141. All Quiet On The Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque
142. Behind The Scenes At The Museum, Kate Atkinson
143. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby
144. It, Stephen King
145. James And The Giant Peach, Roald Dahl
146. The Green Mile, Stephen King
147. Papillon, Henri Charriere
148. Men At Arms, Terry Pratchett
149. Master And Commander, Patrick O'Brian
150. Skeleton Key, Anthony Horowitz
151. Soul Music, Terry Pratchett
152. Thief Of Time, Terry Pratchett
153. The Fifth Elephant, Terry Pratchett
154. Atonement, Ian McEwan
155. Secrets, Jacqueline Wilson
156. The Silver Sword, Ian Serraillier
157. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Ken Kesey
158. Heart Of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
159. Kim, Rudyard Kipling
160. Cross Stitch, Diana Gabaldon
161. Moby Dick, Herman Melville
162. River God, Wilbur Smith
163. Sunset Song, Lewis Grassic Gibbon
164. The Shipping News, Annie Proulx
165. The World According To Garp, John Irving
166. Lorna Doone, R. D. Blackmore
167. Girls Out Late, Jacqueline Wilson
168. The Far Pavilions, M. M. Kaye
169. The Witches, Roald Dahl
170. Charlotte's Web, E. B. White
171. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
172. They Used To Play On Grass, Terry Venables and Gordon Williams
173. The Old Man And The Sea, Ernest Hemingway
174. The Name Of The Rose, Umberto Eco
175. Sophie's World, Jostein Gaarder
176. Dustbin Baby, Jacqueline Wilson
177. Fantastic Mr Fox, Roald Dahl
178. Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
179. Jonathan Livingstone Seagull, Richard Bach
180. The Little Prince, Antoine De Saint-Exupery
181. The Suitcase Kid, Jacqueline Wilson
182. Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens
183. The Power Of One, Bryce Courtenay
184. Silas Marner, George Eliot
185. American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis
186. The Diary Of A Nobody, George and Weedon Grossmith
187. Trainspotting, Irvine Welsh
188. Goosebumps, R. L. Stine
189. Heidi, Johanna Spyri
190. Sons And Lovers, D. H. Lawrence
191. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
192. Man And Boy, Tony Parsons
193. The Truth, Terry Pratchett
194. The War Of The Worlds, H. G. Wells
195. The Horse Whisperer, Nicholas Evans
196. A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry
197. Witches Abroad, Terry Pratchett
198. The Once And Future King, T. H. White
199. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle
200. Flowers In The Attic, Virginia Andrews

Just finished the 1-100 today, with Stephen King 'The Stand'

Congratulations! I have finished 156 of the Top 200 but admittedly many of the larger tomes are still there waiting for me.

I'm now up to 136/200 but also have a few long titles like Les Miserables :)

reached 145/200 and currently reading The Horse Whisperer. its really good.

and 40 books to go. With libraries open again I should get closer to completing it, though will be a challenge to finish by the end of 2021 as there are some doorstops in this list.

now 35 to go

and 29 to go. i've got Les Mis on loan

175 complete, and currently reading The Cruel Sea.

just 20 to go, though some long ones in that list

16 to go - to be completed 2022

13 to go! Ooof that last one took it out of me. No more Whales please

Adele wrote: "13 to go! Ooof that last one took it out of me. No more Whales please"
It's nice to see someone still here and active!

Adele wrote: "13 to go! Ooof that last one took it out of me. No more Whales please"

What are you reading now? I just finished A Confederacy of Dunces and am starting The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan (2nd book in the Wheel of Time series)

I just finished The Name of The Rose at the beginning of the week. In a bit of a bookish weekend I found the only branch library with a copy of House of Leaves, so aiming to read that in May, between slightly lighter reading. Horror is not really my thing.

Just finished House of Leaves, with 8 books to go.

Found a copy of The Power of One last bank hol. Only 2 books I don't have a copy nor any in the library: Shogun, and The Used To Play On Grass.

Just started 'Master and Commander' earlier tonight, so hope to finish before end of month as another book group read-along starts in July.

As I couldn't find any copies in the various charity shops I bought a copy of Shogun recently. Its a mass market paperback from 1976, type is small, so I wont be keeping it and probably wont enjoy, better be a good story!

There is a very small chance I could finish this list in 2022 if I can find a copy of They Used To Play on Grass (that doesnt cost the earth)

Some of these are difficult to find. Keep up the good work!

Just finished Shogun earlier this evening. I must have miscounted as now in to the final 5:

123. The Forsyte Saga, John Galsworthy
144. It, Stephen King
168. The Far Pavilions, M. M. Kaye
172. They Used To Play On Grass, Terry Venables and Gordon Williams
198. The Once And Future King, T. H. White

Really taking my time on these last ones. Read 'The Far Pavillions' a couple of months back, and just finished 'The Once and Future King', only 3 to go.