100 best books of century by Waterstone books shop

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In an attempt to get more customers into their bookstores Waterstone’s, one of the three chains which dominate the British retail book trade, came up with a brilliant plan. Customers in their bookstores and viewers of TV Channel 4’s Book Watch programme were invited to fill in a questionnaire with ‘the titles of the five books you consider the greatest of the century’ and return it to Waterstone’s. If they wished they could also leave a comment of 50 words or less on their favorite title. The questionnaire was very clearly a marketing device where respondents were asked for their names, addresses and were offered prizes for the 5 most persuasive comments. Over 25,000 people replied nominating over 5,000 titles and the names and authors of the 100 most-nominated books were published in ‘W’, Waterstone’s own magazine, in January 1997 together with a leaflet giving further facts about the survey.

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  1. 51.
    Dune
    by Frank Herbert

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  2. 52.
    A Prayer for Owen Meany (Modern Library)
    by John Irving

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  3. 53.
    Perfume (MTI)
    by Patrick Suskind

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  4. 54.
    Doctor Zhivago
    by Boris Pasternak

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  5. 55.
    The Gormenghast Novels
    by Mervyn Peake

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  6. 56.
    Cider with Rosie
    by Laurie Lee

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  7. 57.
    Bell Jar (P.S.)
    by Sylvia Plath

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  8. 58.
    The Handmaid's Tale
    by Margaret Atwood

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  9. 59.
    Testament of Youth (Penguin Classics)
    by Vera Brittain

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  10. 60.
    The Magus
    by John Fowles

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  11. 61.
    Brighton Rock (Vintage Classics)
    by Graham Greene

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  12. 62.
    The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists
    by Robert Tressell

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  13. 63.
    The Master and Margarita
    by Mikhail Bulgakov

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  14. 64.
    ?
    Tales from the City
    by Armistead Maupin

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  15. 65.
    ?
    The French Lieutenant's Woman
    by John Fowles

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  16. 66.
    Captain Corelli's Mandolin
    by Louis de Bernieres

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  17. 67.
    Slaughterhouse 5
    by Kurt Vonnegut

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  18. 68.
    Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintainance
    by Robert M. Pirsig

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  19. 69.
    A Room With a View
    by E. M. Forster

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  20. 70.
    Lucky Jim (Penguin Classics)
    by Kingsley Amis

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  21. 71.
    ?
    It
    by Stephen King

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  22. 72.

  23. 73.
    The Stand
    by Stephen King

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  24. 74.
    All Quiet on the Western Front
    by Erich Maria Remarque

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  25. 75.
    Paddy Clarke ha ha ha: Roman
    by Doyle/Roddy

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  26. 76.
    Matilda (Puffin Modern Classics)
    by Roald Dahl

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  27. 77.
    ?
    American Psycho
    by Easton Ellis

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  28. 79.
    ?
    A Brief History of Time
    by Stephen Hawking

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  29. 80.
    James and the Giant Peach
    by Roald Dahl

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  30. 81.
    Lady Chatterley's Lover (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)
    by D.H. Lawrence

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  31. 82.
    The Bonfire of the Vanities
    by Tom Wolfe

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  32. 83.
    Delia Smith's Complete Cookery Course
    by Delia Smith

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  33. 84.
    AN EVIL CRADLING
    by Brian Keenan

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  34. 85.
    The Rainbow
    by D.H. Lawrence

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  35. 86.
    Down and Out in Paris and London
    by George Orwell

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  36. 87.
    2001: A Space Odyssey
    by Arthur C. Clarke

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  37. 88.
    The Tin Drum
    by Gunter Grass

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  38. 89.
    One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich: A Novel
    by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

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  39. 90.
    Long Walk to Freedom
    by Nelson Mandela

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  40. 91.
    The Selfish Gene
    by Richard Dawkins

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  41. 92.
    Jurassic Park
    by Michael Crichton

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  42. 93.
    The Alexandria Quartet
    by Lawrence Durrell

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  43. 94.
    Cry, the Beloved Country
    by Alan Paton

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  44. 95.
    High Fidelity: A Novel
    by Nick Hornby

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  45. 96.
    ?
    The Van
    by Roddy Doyle

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  46. 97.
    The Bfg (Big Friendly Giant) (Play)
    by David Wood

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  47. 98.
    Earthly Powers
    by Anthony Burgess

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  48. 99.
    I Claudius
    by Robert Graves

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  49. 100.
    The Horse Whisperer (Penguin Readers, Level 3)
    by Evans

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Created by bwings on Aug 05, 2007.
 

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