Read all the books on the BBC Big Read Top 21

Coming back to this goal now after a bit of a break, so lets see where I am now

Have read To Kill a Mocking bird – resisted this for ages as I had a pre-concieved notion of what it was about. Turns out I was wrong, and absolutely loved it!
Catch 22 – was a difficult read. I can see why it’s on the list, lots of really clever bits and some sections really touching. But wouldn’t be my favourite. At all.
A Suitable Boy broke my heart, and cost me a fortune in overdue fees from my local library (I knew if I brought it back to renew it, I wouldn’t bring it home again). The librarian said I was the first person he knew who had actually finished it. Very nicely written, undoubtedly, but it goes on and on and I felt very disappointed that it just ended rather than came to a conclusion.
Crime and Punishment is another one I didn’t expect to like, but a friend was clearing out their bookshelves and more or less forced it on me….and it was really good. Powerful.

51 left to go, but quite a few of them are childrens books, so I hope to fly through them.

1. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
2. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
3.The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
4. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
5. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
6. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
7. Tess of the D’aubervilles, thomas Hardy
8. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
9. Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
10. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
11. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
12. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
13. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
14. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
15. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
16. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
17. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
18. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
19. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
20. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
21. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
22. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
23. The Stand, Stephen King
24 Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
25. The BFG, Roald Dahl
26. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
27. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
28. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
29. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
30. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
31. The Magus, John Fowles
32. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
33. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
34. Matilda, Roald Dahl
35. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
36. Ulysses, James Joyce
37. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
38. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
39. The Twits, Roald Dahl
40. Holes, Louis Sachar
41. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
42. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
43. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
44. Magician, Raymond E Feist
45. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
46. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
47. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
48. Katherine, Anya Seton
49. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
50. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
51. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot

Not at all what I expected, and one of my favourites from this list so far.

-deserve a medal, I’m tellin’ ye!!

its a Very weighty tome!

But the first book on this list I have borrowed from the library!

1. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
2. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
3. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
4. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
5. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
6. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
7. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
8. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
9. Tess of the D’aubervilles, thomas Hardy
10. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
11. Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
12. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
13. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
14. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
15. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
16. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
17. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
18. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
19. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
20. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
21. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
22. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
23. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
24. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
25. The Stand, Stephen King
26 Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
27. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
28. The BFG, Roald Dahl
29. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
30. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
31. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
32. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
33. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
34. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
35. The Magus, John Fowles
36. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
37. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
38. Matilda, Roald Dahl
39. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
40. Ulysses, James Joyce
41. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
42. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
43. The Twits, Roald Dahl
44. Holes, Louis Sachar
45. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
46. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
47. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
48. Magician, Raymond E Feist
49. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
50. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
51. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
52. Katherine, Anya Seton
53. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
54. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
55. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot

Lots of children’s books in there – after Midnight’s Children I can’t face another weighty tome for a while :-)

finished Midnights Children.

My opinion: amazing writing, layers of texture, beautiful poetic writing, senarios and stories that really grip the imagination…...but a terrible book to read.

Glad I read it, but won’t be reading it again. Off to bookcrossing it goes.

is really slowing me down on this goal.

Nearly there though…....

I have finally read Wurthering Heights. And it was great! Loved the dark brooding passion, the almost unbearable build up of athmosphere and the descriptions of the wind buffetted house itself. Rather surprised at Heathcliff – can’t see anything attractive in his character at all. But a great read.

Clan of the Cave Bear: I read this book years ago, when I was home sick from schoo. My mother had got it out of the library and very diplomatically spun me a yarn about being requested to return it urgently, to get me to skip over some of the ‘naughty’ bits. Second time around, it’s a great read, the build up of the daily life of the Clan, their work, relationships, social structures and religous beliefs is totally believable – only problem is that I now have to read Vally of Horses and the Mammouth hunters!

The Alchemist: Read this on a recent trip to Germany, without realising it was on my list. Easy read, enchanting story!

1. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
2. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
3. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
4. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
5. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
6. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
7. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
8. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
9. Tess of the D’aubervilles, thomas Hardy
10. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
11. Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
12. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
13. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
14. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
15. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
16. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
17. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
18. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
19. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
20. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
21. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
22. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
23. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
24. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
25. The Stand, Stephen King
26 Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
27. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
28. The BFG, Roald Dahl
29. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
30. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
31. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
32. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
33. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
34. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
35. The Magus, John Fowles
36. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
37. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
38. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
39. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
40. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
41. Matilda, Roald Dahl
42. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
43. Ulysses, James Joyce
44. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
45. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
46. The Twits, Roald Dahl
47. Holes, Louis Sachar
48. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
49. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
50. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
51. Magician, Raymond E Feist
52. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
53. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
54. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
55. Katherine, Anya Seton
56. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
57. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
58. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
59. Midnight’s Children, Salman Rushdie

but every Big Read book has sorta lead to a couple of others not on the list but by the same author. I have read some great stuff, but it is rather annoying me that the list isn’t decreasing.

So, my goal for 2006 will be to read 43 books from this list.

Just started Wurthering Heights.

just how good Terry Prachet is!

Guards, Guards is a wonderful, ridiculous romp which still, as always, manages to tug at the heartstrings. Lady Sybil is someone I would love to meet, but there are so many good characters in this one…..