• To Kill a Mockingbird tops WBN poll

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    To Kill a Mockingbird tops WBN poll

    Graeme Neill

    The Book Seller  13.09.11

     

    Readers have nominated Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird as the book they would most like to see given away as part of next year’s World Book Night.

    During the past two months, more than 6,000 book lovers have nominated the titles they would like to see included in next year’s event with more than 8,000 individual titles put forward. The top 100 most voted-for books  has been compiled, with Lee’s 50-year-old classic topping the list.

    Three classics make the top 10—Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (number two), Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre (four) and Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights (eight). Neil Gaiman has the most titles in the top 100 with American Gods (11), Neverwhere (35), The Graveyard Book (76) and Stardust (86) all receiving votes.

    Julia Kingsford, c.e.o. of World Book Night, said: “It’s wonderful to see the passionate choices of so many people and, above all, the diversity of those choices. We had always expected there to be a wide range of books nominated but to have so many titles chosen is a great reminder of the power and passion of individual readers.

    “And though many ‘old favourites’ from previous top 100s are present, it’s a really fresh, dynamic and fascinating snapshot of the books people love with some genuine surprises.”

    The selection will be used to inform the choice of WBN’s editorial selection committee. Chaired by Tracy Chevalier, the committee will reveal the 25 books chosen for World Book Night 2012 on 12th October at Frankfurt Book Fair.

    The top 10 voted-for books are:

    1   To Kill a Mockingbird   Harper Lee
    2   Pride and Prejudice   Jane Austen
    3   The Book Thief   Markus Zusak
    4   Jane Eyre   Charlotte Bronte
    5   The Time Traveler’s Wife   Audrey Niffenegger
    6   The Lord of the Rings   J R R Tolkien
    7   The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy   Douglas Adams
    8   Wuthering Heights   Emily Bronte
    9   Rebecca   Daphne Du Maurier
    10 The Kite Runner   Khaled Hosseini

    Categories: Volume 3