Eight years ago (in 2003), BBC held a search for their nation’s most beloved books of all time. Once the reader-contributed titles were tabulated, they formed a Top 21, Top 100, and Top 200. Over the past (almost) decade, these lists have been republished, discussed and argued about on literary sites and blogs across the world. As far as the book world is concerned, it is still one of the most searched for lists in Google. After eight years! Some would say that a list like this does not need to be updated frequently, especially when many of the books listed were more than 10 (or even 20) years old anyway. However, readers’ tastes change and grow as they do, and some of the huge publishing advances in the past eight years might effect a list like the the BBC’s. Take a gander at the lists:
Top 21 Top 100 Top 200
If we were making the list today*, what would you put on it? Would you keep it as is, or did they miss some important titles (either those written before or since the list was made)? *By list I am referring to it in its entirety. The Top 21 and Top 100 were taken from the top of the entire list of 200 titles, though usually people just refer to the list as the BBC Top 100.