h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I notice that I'm not the only one to have just the hobbit from Mr Tolkien's list, I think this may be because it's slightly less tedious than the others and I did actually enjoy it. I found myself wading through LOTR and only continued because a) I wanted to finish the books before I saw the films and b)I can't stand leaving books unfinished.

I would agree that Pratchett's latest addition isn't his best but I did enjoy it, he took us away from the usual characters and only let them play small roles. Though I stick with my fave as that I managed to re-read almost as soon as I'd finished it the first time.

I decided not to omit non-fiction as much of the non-fiction I read has a lighter side to it. Plus it did say 'books' so they are covered.

I think this list will probably change as I read my way through an ever growing list of books. I'm glad to see that Catch 22 is there as I currently have it sitting on my bookshelf waiting to be read.

Mel

1.Everything by Him, by Douglas Adams
2. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkeen
3. Everything by Him, by Alexandre Dumas
4. A Short History of Nearly Everything/the Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson
5. His Dark Materials Trilogy, by Philip Pullman
6. Sherlock Holmes storys by Arthur Doyle
7. The Foundation Trilogy, by Issac Asimov
8. Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Vern
9. Johnathan Livingston Seagull, by Richare Bach
10. Flatland, by Edwin Abbot

1. Only Forward, by Michael Marshall Smith
2. Rowan, by Anne McCaffery
3. Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card
4. The Silver Chair, by C.S.Lewis
5. Bridget Jones's Diary, by Helen Fielding
6. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
7. Hardwired, by Walter Jon Willams
8. Crash Course, by Wilhemina Baird
9. Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
10. Around Ireland with a Fridge, by Tony Hawk

1. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective agency, by Douglas Adams
2. Night Watch, by Terry Prathett
3. The Long dark Teatime of the Soul, by Douglas Adams
4. Rainbow Six, by Tom Clancy
5. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
6. Lord of the Rings, by JRR Tolkien
7. Jingo, by Terry Pratchett
8. Good Omens, by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
9. Artemis Fowl, by Eion Colfer
10. Harry Potter, by JK Rowling

I'd like to remove the Book of Fours from my list and replace it with Misery by Stephen King, which is so much better than the film, are most of the S.K novel-into-movies and add 2nd Chance by John ? Although once Ive read the 'Wicked Willow' triloy, they could definately be in there too....

1. Catcher in the Rye, by JD Salinger
2. Breakfast of Champions, Mother Night and The Sirens of Titan (OK, I'm cheating.), by Kurt Vonnegut.
3. I Capture The Castle, by Dodie Smith
4. The War Against The Newts, by Karel Capek (excuse the absence of the little hat over the letter C)
5. The Tin Drum, by Gunter Grass (excuse the absence of the Umlaut over the letter u. ASCI = Anglo Saxon Cultural Imperialism)
6. The Corrections, by Jonathan Frantzen
7. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, by Dave Eggars
8. Earthly Powers, by Anthony Burgess
9. Catch 22, by Joseph Heller
10. Voltaire, by Candide. Or versa vice.

Take 2, having looked down the list and been reminded of some others that I simply HAD to include:
1. East of Eden, by John Steinbeck (also, The Grapes of Wrath, Cannery Row, Sweet Thursday, Tortilla Flat, In Dubious Battle)
2. The Man In The High Castle, by Philip K Dick (also The Man Whose Teeth Were All Exactly Alike and Puttering About in a Small Land)
3. Dandelion Wine, by Ray Bradbury (also The Martion Chronicles, Golden Apples of the Sun, The Day it Rained Forever)
4. Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov
5. The Comedians, by Graham Greene (also, The Human Factor, The End of the Affair, Our Man in Havana, The Quiet Man)
6. The Good Terrorist, by Doris Lessing (also, The Grass is Singing)
7. To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
8. American Tabloid, by James Elroy
9. Breakfast at Tiffany's, by Truman Capote
10. Middle Eastern Cookery, by Claudia Roden

1. THE CHRONICLES OF THOMAS COVENANT. STEPHEN DONALDSON,
2.AS ABOVE. PART TWO.
3.AS ABOVE. PART THREE.
4.THE SECOND CHRONICLES OF THOMAS COVENANT. STEPHEN DONALDSON.
5.AS ABOVE. PART TWO.
6.AS ABOVE. PART THREE.
7. Book Name, by Author
8. Book Name, by Author
9. Book Name, by Author
10. Book Name, by Author

One day the owner of this page is going to update it with all the researcher's selections of their favourite books.

* looks disapprovingly in Number Six's direction *

And finally can I say - Tarkadhal, respect due to your reading selection

I refer the honourable gentleman to posts 135 and 143

Then I humbly suggest that you pull your bloody finger out, and get on with it then

Also in no particular order

1. Guns Germs and Steel, by Jared Diamond
2. The Dinosaur Hunters, by Deborah Cadbury
3. Longitude, by Dava Sobel
4. Reading the Irish Landscape, by Frank Mitchell
5. Men on the Moon, by Andrew Chaikin
6. The Lord of the Rings, by JRRT
7. Fatherland, by Robert Harris
8. The Blind Watchmaker, by Richard Dawkins
9. Watership Down, by Richard Adams
10. Catch 22, by Joseph Heller

1. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert M. Pirsig
2. Dune, by Frank Herbert
3. The Lord of the Rings, by JRR Tolkien
4. Bored of the Rings, by The Harvard Lampoon
5. Foundation's Edge, by Isaac Asimov
6. All the Weyrs of Pern, by Anne McCaffrey
7. The Dragon Reborn, by Robert Jordan
8. At the Mountains of Madness, by HP Lovecraft
9. The Ring of Ritornel, by Charles L Harnas
10. Macrolife, by George Zebrowski

1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkein
2. The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco
3. Baudolino, Umberto Eco
4. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie
5. Animal Farm, George Orwell
6. The Hound of the Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle
7. Wild Swans, Jung Chang
8. One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
9. Days Without Number, Robert Goddard
10. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks

1. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
2. Catch-22, by Joseph Heller
3. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
4. The Diary of a Nobody, by George and Weedon Grossmith
5. One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
6. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, by Douglas Adams
7. Three Men in a Boat, by Jerome K Jerome
8. Scoop, by Evelyn Waugh
9. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, by Hunter S Thompson
10. All Quiet on the Western Front, by EM Remarque

1. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman
2. The Very Persistant Gappers of Frip, by George Saunders
3. Last Chance to See, by Douglas Adams
4. Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens
5. Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte
6. The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde
7. The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver
8. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (et al.), by J.K. Rowling
9. The Thief of Always, by Clive Barker
10. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger

No. 7. DORIS CLAIBOURNE. STEPHEN KING
No. 8. THE DUNE TRILOGY. FRANK HERBERT.

1. The Amber Chronicles, by Roger Zelazny
2. Hitchhikers Guide 1-5 and Dirk Gently series, by Douglas Adams
3. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, by JRR Tolkien
4. Discworld series or Good Omens, by Terry Pratchett
5. The Harry Potter series, by JK Rowling
6. Belgariad series, by David and Leigh Eddings
7. Zanth series, by Piers Anthony
8. Complete Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
9. Nero Wolfe series, by Rex Stout
10. Dragonrider series, by Anne McCaffrey

1: Lord of the Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien
2: Dreamcatcher, by Stephen King
3: The DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown
4: Wild Seed, by Octavia E. Butler
5: The Harry Potter Series, by J.K. Rowling
6: Don Quixote, by Miguel something something Cervantes
7: The Black Rose, by... uh... some dude
8: Band of Brothers, by Stephen Ambrose
9: Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens
10: The Phone Book

I suspect Researcher Steed is either a serial reader or is trying to set a record. His list contains the greatest number of entries in a "Top Ten" that I ever expect to see:

1. The Amber Chronicles, by Roger Zelazny -- (10 books)
2. Hitchhikers Guide (5) and Dirk Gently series, by Douglas Adams (2, or 3 including the unfinished Salmon of Doubt)
3. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, by JRR Tolkien (3)
4. Discworld series or Good Omens, by Terry Pratchett (26 + 1)
5. The Harry Potter series, by JK Rowling (6)
6. Belgariad series, by David and Leigh Eddings (5)
7. Xanth series, by Piers Anthony (28)
8. Complete Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (9 books)
9. Nero Wolfe series, by Rex Stout (47 or possibly 91)
10. Dragonrider series, by Anne McCaffrey (21)

Total 164 books (or possibly 208, if Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe series is really 91 books).

Life is too short!