Indigo readers choose Brown
The Da Vinci Code tops list of 100 best books of all time; beats out Austen, Tolkien, Lee
In a triumph of youth over age, Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code has defeated some of literature’s most venerable titles to be named the “best book of all time” by Canadian readers. Rounding out the top 5 are Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind and J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
The online poll, which drew responses from 7,000 readers, was conducted by Indigo Books over the summer. Selections include everything from children’s novels to coffee-table books, adding up to a top100 list experts predict will spark sales among Canadian book lovers.
“It’s sort of like the Oprah effect,” says Rowland Lorimer, director of the master of publishing program at Simon Fraser University. “People think, ‘ If everyone else is reading this book, maybe I should be reading it, too.’ ”
Other favourites on Indigo’s list include the remaining two titles in Tolkien’s Rings trilogy ( The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers), L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables, Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander and Rohinton Mistry’s A Fine Balance, all of which land in the top 10.
Sorya Gaulin, spokeswoman for Indigo, admits the timing of the survey had a significant influence on Canadians’ choices.
“If you run this survey five years from now, perhaps The Da Vinci Code would not be on top,” she says. “Same thing with The Lord of the Rings
— it was a really big story lately with the movies and the resurgence of the trilogy.”
With that in mind, J.K. Rowling secured five spots in the top 100 with her red-hot Harry Potter series — the strongest showing by any author on the list. Her latest effort, The Half-Blood Prince, hit the shelves during the time of the survey.
“I think a hell of a lot of kids have made their parents read Harry Potter,” observes Gaulin, laughing.
Canadian authors didn’t prove as popular: Just 13 titles in the top 100 were written by someone born in Canada or who spent the better part of their life here.
“One Atwood and one Ondaatje? Zero Richlers? It’s hard to believe there’s no room on a list like this for Duddy Kravitz,” laments Tate Young, a producer with BookTelevision.
He notes the difference between a reader-driven list and one compiled by critics is most evident in the placement of classic titles.
“On this list, Joyce’s Ulysses is 100. On the Modern Library’s Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century list, it was No. 1,” says Young. “Here, instead of Ulysses at No. 1, we get The Da Vinci Code.”