Happy World Book Day 2007

The BBC reports that Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice has been voted the one book without which the British nation cannot live. A survey to mark World Book Day puts Tolkien's Lord of the Ringsin second place, followed by Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. The Bible is ranked sixth in the list, two places above Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy - considered by many to carry an anti-religious theme. The results are from an online survey of more than 2,000 book lovers. J K Rowling's Harry Potter books came fourth, ahead of Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird. Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights was voted seventh, whilst "His Dark Materials" and George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty Four tied in eighth place. The top 10 is completed by Charles Dickens' Great Expectations. The voting came out thus:

The Top Ten Books

1. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen (20%)
2. Lord of the Rings, J R R Tolkien (17%)
3. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte (14%)
4. "Harry Potter" books, JK Rowling (12%)
5. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee (9.5%)
6. The Bible (9%)
7. Wuthering Heights , Emily Bronte (8.5%)
8. "His Dark Materials" series, Philip Pullman (6%)
8. Nineteen Eighty Four, George Orwell (6%)
10. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens (5.5%)