How many of these 100 books

Enid Blyton. Sebastian Faulks. Frank Herbert. Richard Adams. Vikram Seth. Donna Tartt. Bill Bryson. James Joyce. Arthur Ransome. Iain Banks. John Kennedy Toole. Flagging a list will send it to the Goodreads Customer Care team for review. We take abuse seriously in our book lists. Only flag lists that clearly need our attention. As a general rule we do not censor any content on the site.

The only content we will consider removing is spam, slanderous attacks on other members, or extremely offensive content eg. We will not remove any content for bad language alone, or for being critical of a book. Patrick books friends. LVR books 9 friends.

Ben books 71 friends. Otis books friends. Lenka books 32 friends. Keriann books 9 friends. Brian books friends. Jenny books 55 friends. Post a comment ». Apr 29, PM. It looks like Pride and Prejudice is listed twice It was Emma! Ben wrote: "It looks like Pride and Prejudice is listed twice Dec 02, PM. This must be a dynamic list. I printed it several years ago and started reading them and checking them off. Comparing it with this list there are numerous differences.

I'm enjoying the reads anyway, up to Jan 12, PM. I'm at And a whole bunch more are already on my to-read list!

May 09, AM. May 29, PM. This isn't working. Anyway, I have read 51 of these books! Jul 31, AM. I have seen several versions of this list with each one having slightly different books. Sep 03, AM. Starting my 31st book according to this list Nov 08, PM. Ooh, this is annoying. It messes up the shelves by having to mark as read things I've already got shelved as part of collected editions.

That is, yet again, a shockingly low score for me. Although I hope these aren't in order by perceived quality What a strange list. Does any one know the rationale behind this particular grouping of novels and why the BBC compiled it?

Have a look at the link I posted above. It explains that this is an internet meme containing some books from an old BBC Big Read list, and some others. It's been doing the rounds on Facebook, in the UK at least, for several years; this is the third or fourth time I've responded to it in some form.

Antonomasia wrote: "Have a look at the link I posted above. It's been doing the rounds on Facebook, in I hadn't seen this on FB, but found the link interesting. Very interesting reading about the meme. I had never heard of that, helps me understand why I found a different list everytime I searched for it. Unfortunately they won't always be on people's shelves.

I've read 61 but have 10 shelved. That's bad for the stats. Nov 09, AM. Between my husband and I we have read probably 7 of the books. Pretty dismal but I am of the impression that you read what you want to, not what someone thinks you should be reading. Nov 10, AM. I liked them, though. Read 17 but not able to get the results without messing up my shelves Nov 11, AM. I've read 25, and I have about 20 more at home, and I'm slowly getting around to reading them. And some of them I've just never been interested in.

Nov 11, PM. Only ten, I shall have to remedy that. Nov 12, PM. I have read 14, but none were on my shelves. I didn't add any books to my shelf that I read before I joined goodreads. It's funny how long ago I read some of them, dating all the way back to high school, more than twenty years ago. Nov 27, AM. Sorry, Dan, but it's true. Nov 29, PM. That's very interesting.

I think I'll try to give a shot at half of that list, if I can. Some of them are in my room, waiting to be picked. Even though my read shelf doesn't reflect it, so far I've read Dec 22, AM. I've read 29 of the top ! Though I feel like I should get some partial credit for a few others for which I've "only seen the movie" sometimes multiple VERSIONS of the movie , a few that I've re-read a number of times, and a few that I've only partly read How many people have read many or most of the Shakespeare plays but not the full canon, the same goes for the Bible BTW why is Frank Herbert's first volume of the Dune chronicles on the list rather than the full series?

Philip Pullman got HIS full series on the list. Jan 03, AM. Jan 09, PM. I've read 39 so far. I guess I have a long way to go, but I'm only 24, so I think I have time.

Feb 15, PM. I have read 25 books, but this will soon improve, as many of the books are on my TBR pile already! Mar 07, PM. If I counted right, that's I must say, I haven't read them all in English, some I read in a Dutch translation. Ok, so I have read: D Not bad!

And at 26 I have plenty of time I hope to still get around to the others. Ooh how sad. Technically, I could get more for free, but 24 or so are on paper. Having said that I only read 6. Catcher in the Rye English class in H. The Da Vinci Code I wonder why some people hate this book I loved it! The others that I have, I started, but couldn't finish. If I can't get myself into the book after the first pages, then it's abandoned.

I'm working my way to just READ the damn books I feel I've only finished 10 out of !! And there are plenty more on that list that I own and are on my TBR pile! Not great, but I'm 17, so I at least have time to get around the ones that I really want to read! I try to make it a point to read books that are "classics". Most of the ones I haven't read are on my TBR list.

Am I the only one who noticed that this list is somewhat problematic? It's like the creators of the list just picked well-known titles at random without any knowledge of context.

Anyway, I've read about twenty of those, if you count 1 having read half a dozen of Shakespeare's plays and 2 Lord of the Rings, considering I only read Fellowship and part of Two Towers. I was in eight grade and it bored me to tears. One of these days I need to try it again; it's a serious strike against my geek cred. Judging by a quick count up you're about the 8th or 9th who has mentioned it and I'm sure many more have also noticed - but that's what you get when you ask a question like 'which book could you not live without' of such a random sample, many of whom may well be those people who have only read 6 from the list or even people who, for all we know, may only have read one book in their entre lifetime.

I have also seen either 17 or 22 of them as movies as well as having seen 15 of the titles in movie form only i. Just saying Who did they survey, anyway? I'm leaving the ones I haven't read. So I've read not quite half, but still, that's a lot more than 6, so pooh on the bbc. Hi Maggie and welcome!

Maybe the lists we're getting here aren't exactly representative either -this is, after all, a reading website. So allowing for the fact that many people on Facebook have possibly never read a book and that most people here will be way above the average, that probably suggests that the average person is somewhere in between, which isn't quite so bad afer all.

I'll come back later today and try and work out the LT average according to those who have contributed to this thread, anyway. Okay - I worked it out.

Just in case anyone's interested, I figured the proper average for the people who had added up and told us their totals. For the ones who have just listed but not added up I couldn't be othered to do that either so I just assumed they have read the average number. If any of those 24 think they should have been credited with more books they can sue me. So, the average books from that somewhat arbitrary list that have been read by LT members who could be bothered to join in this discussion is.

Well, And I am now going to spend the rest of the afternoon watching paint dry. I'm now at 61, having read Atonement in the fall. HEre's the post I did on it.

Four Jane Eyre Wuthering heights Oliver twist Catcher in the Rye I'm due to read Dracula next year, other than that I can't say the list is going to be appreciably tackled any time soon. Looks like 77 out of I have to wonder what criteria BBC used to make this list. I've read a few of Shakespeare's works and some Sherlock Holmes stories, but not all of them. Also I've seen a bunch of movie adaptions of others entries of the list. Can't list, but had to answer I break even I have read 50 or I write to comment on my split.

I've got a well worn copy of Joyce's Ulysses, piched it up many times, but I can't claim to have read it. Sadly most of them were for literature classes, and I would not have read them on my own. I had a hard time counting because a lot of them I started but never finished, and that confused me for a moment. I've read 18 of them, and have most of the classics in my TBR pile. Tried hard but couldn't get thru One Hundred Years of Solitude. There are a few I haven't heard of so will check them out and add them if they look like something I'd like.

I love these kinds of lists cause they turn me on to books I might otherwise miss. I haven't read too many books on this list, but I'm definately going to change that! Many of these books I am planning on reading but some are of no interest to me. In total I have read 35 of these books. I have been reading all my life and at 58 I have not read a lot of the classics. Not sure why but so be it.

There are so many great books in the world to read - old, new, and in between. Thanks for the list. So many books and so little time!!!!! Happy New Year to all! I've read 34, just over a third, and just turned 20, so I'm quite pleased with this effort from myself. I've read only 15 of these and a big part in English class in my last year in school , but added a lot to my wishlist. Read two more in '09, Rebecca and Captain Corelli's Mandolin , so that puts me at A good bit higher than my age, but that still makes me older than dirt.

It's been a great trip, and I'm looking forward to enjoying more of the scenery as it continues. I think some of the younger people's reading lists here are amazing. Probably about a tenth of mine were actually read before that age.

Just think of all the stuff you'll have got through by the time you get to my age not telling. Hi DeltaQueen Another computer novice. I've read 43, but most a long time ago and I don't think I've ever read the whole of the Bible! Not great. Not bad either. I'd love to know which are the six most popular if it is true that 'most people' have only read six of them.

I find that very hard to believe unless we are just polling the very young. There are more than six in that list that it would be hard to avoid just via a very average secondary school education. I guess I'm looking at it from a very middle-class and middle-aged perspective.

We all know there are parents who never read to their children and that is a heartbreaking thought, but I do suspect the list, as far as children's books are concerned, leans a little towards those of us born in the 50s and 60s. Surely there are other future classics children are having read to them now that should be in here for younger readers?

So now it's 25 read and 2 unfinished. My literary tastes are quite varied. I can be an impatient reader. The other 8 books I will try, I enjoy Byatt, not familiar with the other authors, so I'll try them and thanks for the suggestions. I should say there are a few books in the list that I read that I could have lived without reading! Wouldn't bother with it today. I was surprised how much less I enjoyed Catcher in the Rye at age 56 than at age 16!

Just my opinions, but most of the rest of the list ARE classics that I would recommend to everyone. So, I've read 87 of the , won't bother with 5 of the 13 unread books. Of the list of 87 books I have read, 33 have been read more than once, some more than two or three times: Moby Dick, at least 4 times, unabridged, Ulysses at least 6 times, and Les Miserables I re-read every years and have done so for most of my adult life, so at least 8 or 9 times.

Many of the others I would read again and have read at least three times already, Dostoevsky, Dickens, Steinbeck, Carroll, the Bible, all have been read at least three times. I started reading classics in high school just because I liked them. That was a long time ago. Only time will tell if they make it. So now it's 26 read and 2 unfinished. Do watching the movie versions count?

Oh, and YES, I have read them also. Some of these books I don't have a desire to read at all. So much Jane Austen. I have read 26, counting Brave New World , which I'm almost finished with now. For anyone who feels badly about their list, consider that no one puts their ages, and there are many books I read along time ago! Numbers 1,2,3,4,7,8,10,11,14,16,19,22,23,25,28,29,30,,40,41,41,46,49,50,54,57,60,61,64,65,71,72,73,76,81,83,85,87,88,89, I've only read 10 of the books, and parts of 4 of them.

I admit its not too impressive, however, I'm still only I think I have some time to catch up. This is pretty arbitrary, of course--I haven't read Jude the Obscure but have read a couple of other Hardy novels besides Tess ; haven't read The Kite Runner but have read and very much disliked A Thousand Splendid Suns ; haven't read Great Expectations but have read at least ten Dickens' novels.

I haven't read Heart of Darkness , but after trying and failing three times with Lord Jim , it's safe to say I'm never going to try it.

It was a while ago. So, just over half of the list read. Looking at the partials, magic realism doesn't seem to be my thing. Hope I don't offend anybody, but I love thinking of the Bible as "magic realism". I used to have a boss who insisted on shelving copies of the Bible in the "mythology" section of the company's library--made the devout Greek Orthodox woman I worked with crazy.

On the other hand, she objected to defining Mormons as Christians. Kinda in the name, isn't it? Emphatically not trying to start an inappropriate discussion of religion.

Bull Edited: Jul 12, , am. I have no idea how to bold on this forum. Anyway, here's the list of the ones I've read: 1. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte 3. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee 4. The Bible 5. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte 6. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens 7. Complete Works of Shakespeare - read some, but not others Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier 9.

Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis Lord of the Flies - William Golding Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas Moby Dick - Herman Melville A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas Hamlet - William Shakespeare Les Miserables - Victor Hugo I can't figure out what the criteria of this list was.

Most of the books are classics or were the first novel to introduce a new style of story telling but some were just pop culture hits that really didn't contribute to literature in anyway. The list is also very British-centric not surprising as it was created by the BBC. I mean, Charles Dickens and Jane Austen were very skilled authors, but do they really deserve to take up 9 spaces on the list? Even Shakespeare only has one individual title. And if you don't like Victorian literature, you're already down to 82 out of a possible before you even start.

And if you read poetry, you're really in trouble: not a single collection of poetry on the whole list. Probably any such list would have flaws, but these do seem to be very obvious ones. In order to make things bold or italic , do what you did, only use angle brackets instead of square ones.

I really can't resist a list. Embarrassed that most of my authors are male, white and dead, but that's a reflection on reading habits over more than half a century.

And, yes, I read the Dan Brown to see what the fuss was about but haven't got a copy, only two non-fictions critiquing it. Many of the books not on my "read" list I've seen as TV or film adaptations, but that doesn't count -- does it?

Great list to use to fill in some gaps in my culture. But its an odd list. A large number of them I read before I was 20, plus there are a number of books on the list that I'd never read. I have read 20 of these This was very interesting, the average person has read only 6? Are you having a laugh? I have read 37, started but not finished 7, and I own 1, but have not got round to reading it yet. I'd say that was fairly respectable, no? I was fretting today about not having done anything in my life so I couldn't resist a list.

Turns out that I've read a lot of books, including 54 that are on the BBC's peculiar list. What about Virginia Woolf, just for instance? Clearly, I am a literary geek. The way I look at it, with every book I read, I'm visiting another world. I'd guess that the "most people have read only six of these" statistic comes from all those people who read only the six of these they were assigned in school and never voluntarily read anything else.

Or they just read Danielle Steel or similar. Yes, I'm a bit of a snob about reading. I think it's better to read than not to--how many people on this site are going to argue with me?! Well, Well, Well. Surprised myself somewhat! Books I've read or started: BTW, how do you make things bold? I am making good progress although I still have a long way to go.

Also, I read a lot of these books in school. There is a possible researched dissertation waiting to be done here, isn't there, with all these lists; it'll be tough though because it may not be possible to access all the variables on gender, age, social class etc.

Whose going to do it, hmm? Or would you rather be reading or re-reading? I'm quite proud of myself. I can't demonstrate exactly because when you use them they disappear, leaving only the formatting. That's what is supposed to happen! By my count, I've read 42 and have another 5 "partial reads" including the book I'm currently reading, Moby Dick.

I keep losing count. Four of them I intend to try again later. I doubt I'll try that one again. Wow you have read so many but not A Fine Balance. Please treat yourself and read it!!! A Fine Balance is a good one.

This list can be a helpful reminder in that way. I had read a lot of books on it, but now have also read Rebecca , Shadow of the Wind , and Dracula , and I'm in the middle of Little Women. I have that one in my TBR list. I have it in my library. I've read all those books for two reasons: I went through a classical literature phase when I was living at Camp LeJeune The base library had a fully stocked classics library and not much new stuff. I started with The Three Musketeers and went from there and I started as an English major later on when I attended college.

Classics are my special fondness. This is my list. I've read 49, and one not completely the bible. Thanks to this thread I've added A Fine Balance to my wishlist. Well it looks like I can say I have read and finished Now the Bible is never finished. Looks like 55 read. OK so I've read or partially read the following.

The kind of person I am I now need to read the rest! Winnie The Pooh - A. I have them on my bookshelves , so that's just over half the list. Obviously, I did not get the original list here - but on Facebook which has a few substitutions I have also read The Bell Jar. I have virtually all of the books I have read - some of them are very old. Quite a number of books have been read numerous times since their impact changes throughout your life!

I enjoyed reading the comments on this thread, after this posting reached me on Facebook--enough to join Library Thing and post my somewhat average results for this site , I question some of the books on this list, but it's as good as many I've seen. I put my approximate age when I read them next to the books.

I think I'll read some Dickens while on vacation. Well I had 12 in Oct and now Im up to 24 so I am well on my way. Will com back and see in another 6 mnths or so. I was also having trouble with formating so I divided the list, first, books that I've read, those I've started but not finished and then those I haven't read.

Some I haven't even heard of! I've got some work to do, obviously! I've read 36 of them and have 9 in my TBR pile. Need to update my pile. Some of the rest I have no intention of reading. Since I don't have time to formulate a list, my reads were mostly what are considered classic literature. I've read ALL of the books. And all of Doyle's books, really.

I usually read books to the end, but this was just so horrible that I couldn't stand it. SO much. I don't like anything contemporary, I'm sort of old-fashioned Besides, I have way, WAY more books that are more awesome that are not on this list. Like Farenheit Oh god.

SO good. And the Cat's Cradle. Much as it pains me to do other than encourage reading Austen. She's well worth reading - and should be a pleasure to read. Will finish the others when I clear the ever increasing list of new finds. Now the question is, What does this say about me? I didn't finish Atonement and I've only read about half of Shakespeare's plays. Confederacy of dunces and Ulysses. Town like Alice but not On the beach?

Named my son Holden after main character! One of the variables that I think might be interesting is the age of us all--someone who has read half or more of the list while still in their 20s or 30s, for example, to my mind is "ahead" of me, given that I'm in my 50s.

My reading time is shrinking along with my remaining years. I've read 59 of these books. A few of those I started and didn't finish because I did not like them. A few on the list I know I won't read. I also have started but not yet finished The Lord of the Rings, Great Expectations, and The catcher in the Rye not my fault on this one- started my husbands copy only to realize it's missing pages!!

I think I need to step it up with reading some classics in between all my science fiction and fantasy things. I can't figure out how to paste it. But I'm seventeen and have read 32 of the books. Some of my favorites were by Leo Tolstoy, and the Bronte sisters. Rachel, to paste: Use your mouse to highlight the list from the first post. Then you can edit the list as you like. I can understand how BBC would think this, but I'm only 19 years old and I'm a fourth through this list.

I can easily get through another fourth by the end of this year, possibly even get to have read up to 70 of the books on here if I try hard enough. I'm not sure why these would be lumped together. The Chrysalids. By John Wyndham. City of Thieves. By David Benioff. Clockwork Orange. By Anthony Burgess. Crime and Punishment. By Fyodor Dostoevsky. Don Quixote. By Cervantes. Doomsday Book.

By Connie Willis. The Fault in Our Stars. By John Green. By Bram Stoker. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. By Stieg Larsson. The God of Small Things. By Arundhati Roy. Gone With the Wind. By Margaret Mitchell.

Grapes of Wrath. By John Steinbeck. Great Expectations. By Charles Dickens. The Great Gatsby. Scott Fitzgerald. Their Eyes Were Watching God. By Zora Neale Hurston. Gulliver's Travels. By Jonathan Swift. Ham on Rye. By Charles Bukowski. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

The Help. By Kathryn Stockett. The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy. By Douglas Adams. The Hobbit. R Tolkien. The Hunger Games. By Suzanne Collins. If Tomorrow Comes. By Sidney Sheldon. Invisible Man. By Ralph Ellison. By Octavia Butler. The Kite Runner. By Khaled Hosseini. Les Miserables. By Victor Hugo. By Jonas Jonasson. Life of Pi. By Yann Martel. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The Little Prince. By Vladimir Nabokov. Love in the Time of Cholera.

By Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The Master and Margarita. By Mikhail Bulgakov. By Art Spiegelman. By George Eliot. Midnight's Children.