World Book Night are compiling a list of the top 100 books. I'm always a sucker for a list. I guess this one is maybe still evolving as people vote. But as I have a few minutes, I thought I'd go through and pass comment. So…
To Kill A Mockingbird: Love it. An all-time classic and treat to read
Pride and Prejudice: Same as above
The Book Thief: Did this for book club. Mostly we hated it.
Lord of the Rings: First read this when I was 13, and loved it. Got me into reading things about orcs and dragons for years. I'm maybe over it now, though.
American Gods (Neil Gaiman): Never read. Never even heard of it.
Jane Eyre: Did it in school. I think I quite liked it, but I've never reread it.
Hitchikers Guide: Haven't read this in years, but is one of my much-loved books
The Time Traveller's Wife: Loved this. Stayed on a plane after everyone else had got off because I was near the end and couldn't bear to stop reading
Good Omens (Terry Pratchett): Never really got into Terry Pratchett, so haven't read this
Wuthering Heights: Never read. Sort of feel like I have, though. Heathcliff, oh Heathcliff…
Harry Potter: Yep. Check. I loved these – though I thought they got less and less good towards the end, and the one where they just spend the whole time camping out in the woods was dreadful.
1984: Liked this. George Orwell is a great writer.
Rebecca: Read this a few months ago. I didn't love it, but I was quite glad to have read it, just to check it off.
Shadow of the Wind: I have a feeling I do have a copy of this on my shelf. Just not got around to it yet.
The Hobbit: Another childhood classic, though I preferred LOTR
A Thousand Splendid Suns: A very enjoyable read.
The Help: Haven't read this, but I've heard it's good
Birdsong (Sebastian Faulks): Loved this. Made me cry and cry.
His Dark Materials: An amazing trilogy. The Northern Lights is the best of the three, though. Gets into a boring metaphysical muddle at the end of book three, although the characters are still mesmerising.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo: Why anyone likes these books is beyond me. Might as well read the Ikea catalogue.
The Handmaid's Tale: Never read this, but I will.
The Kite Runner: Loved this when I read it, although I thought it got a bit too cinematic at the end. Sure enough, they did make it into a film. Khaled Hosseini is a great page-turning writer, though.
One Day: Ah, remember this very fondly. I stayed up till 3 in the morning to finish it. A good holiday read.
Neverwhere (Neil Gaiman): Another Neil Gaiman. I've never read him, but I'm starting to think perhaps I should.
Atonement: I loved this. I think Ian McEwan's a bit hit and miss, but with Atonement I think he really did write a truly great novel.
We Need to Talk About Kevin: Haven't read it, although I suspect it's good. I was just put off by the subject-matter, to be honest. Not really my thing.
Catch 22: Another much-loved book from my teens. Everyone should read it.
The Catcher in the Rye: I only discovered how much I love Salinger quite recently. He's now one of my very favourite writers.
Memoirs of a Geisha: Loved this. Another one to curl up with as it takes you into another world, and classic revenge story with a brilliant heroine.
Room: Got a couple of chapters into this and stopped – too claustrophobic. But I hear it picks up so I'll probably try to finish it.
The Lovely Bones: Not so very much to this, but I did enjoy reading it.
The Great Gatsby: Not my favourite Fitzgerald (Tender is the Night is that), but I reread this one every few years or so.
One Hundred Years of Solitude: I struggled through this some years ago and now can't remember one word. Should I read it again? I feel like I ought to, but can't really be bothered.
Never Let Me Go: I think Ishiguro is quite a difficult writer to enjoy, but I liked this one more than his others. The film, which wasn't a critical success, is actually I think an excellent adaptation of this book that perfectly captures the tone.
Captain Corelli's Mandolin: Louis de Bernieres was kind of a victim of the sheer success of this novel, it became so popular there was a bit of a backlash. But that doesn't change the fact that he's a completely brilliant writer and this is a wonderful story, vividly told with wit, humour and passion. Red Bird, his latest, is even better, I thought.
The Stand (Stephen King): I do think Stephen King is a good writer, but for some reason I don't really like his books very much.
How many's that – 3o or so? I'll maybe finish this tomorrow.