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101 Books That Are Classics To Me

I caught up with a few of my favourite blogs this week and saw that a couple of people had been listing which books they had read out of a supposed (according to whom?) "Top 100 Classics".  I will be totally honest and say that I have probably read less than a third of any "Top 100" list and a few of those - like The Bible and Of Mice and Men and Far From The Madding Crowd and Macbeth (ok, I'm stopping now) is only because I was forced to at school!

I have a special bookshelf in my house which houses all my favourite books and when I counted them there was 101.  These books will never be swapped, sold or donated and have been kept for many different reasons.  These reasons don't really matter, but you can ask about specific books in the comments section if you like.  Yes, there will be some crossover between my list and the "classic" list, but not many.  There are a few 'extra's on the shelf but they are not as important as the ones listed.  I could sit here analysing this list for days on end but never come to a conclusion.

I also have boxes and boxes of other books - some in the loft, some in the spare room - from when I was strict with myself and had a really good sort out.  Some were given to the local charity shop, some are still dotted around the house.  Maybe the 'hangers-on' will make it to The Shelf one day?


The List.  In no particular order.  Just that they look nice on the shelf arranged like this.

  1. Maggie and the Roundabout - Jane Hollowood
  2. The Children's Book of Comic Verse
  3. George, Don't Do That - Joyce Grenfell
  4. Children of the Dust - Louise Lawrence
  5. The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tyler - Gene Kemp
  6. Forever - Judy Blume
  7. Stories of Grandmother Oma - Ilse Kleberger
  8. Lanky Twang
  9. Flat Stanley - Jeff Brown
  10. Barmy - Victoria Wood
  11. Sandgrown - Kathleen Eyre
  12. The Tent, The Bucket and Me - Emma Kennedy
  13. Classic 80s Pop
  14. Life's Little Mysteries
  15. Down The Pan
  16. Complete Snooker - Joe Davis
  17. History of Freckleton
  18. It's A Fact!
  19. Eats Shoots and Leaves - Lynne Truss
  20. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - JK Rowling
  21. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - JK Rowling
  22. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - JK Rowling
  23. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - JK Rowling
  24. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - JK Rowling
  25. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - JK Rowling
  26. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - JK Rowling
  27. How Was It For You - Maureen Lipman
  28. You Got An Ology? - Maureen Lipman
  29. Nothing Lasts Forever - Sidney Sheldon
  30. Vendetta, Lucky's Revenge - Jackie Collins
  31. Lethal Seduction - Jackie Collins
  32. Lady Boss - Jackie Collins
  33. Chances - Jackie Collins
  34. Scarlet Feather - Maeve Binchy
  35. Tara Road - Maeve Binchy
  36. Do You Remember The First Time - Jenny Colgan
  37. The Sharp End - Gabriella Lord
  38. Strip Jack - Ian Rankin
  39. Quentins - Maeve Binchy
  40. Digital Fortress - Dan Brown
  41. Angels and Demons - Dan Brown
  42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
  43. The Hanging Garden - Ian Rankin
  44. Lucky - Jackie Collins
  45. Hannibal - Thomas Harris
  46. Memoirs of a Geisha
  47. Anthology of Short Stories by Famous Authors
  48. Gathering Lies - Meg O'Brien
  49. The Fourth Estate - Jeffrey Archer
  50. Light A Penny Candle - Maeve Binchy
  51. Dublin 4 - Maeve Binchy
  52. Insomnia - Stephen King
  53. Trans Am - Rob Ryan
  54. Trust No-one - Christine Haggen
  55. The Traveller - John Twelve Hawks
  56. Secret Admirer - Amanda Lees
  57. Changing Babies - Deborah Moggach
  58. Unveiled - Mary Loundon
  59. A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian
  60. How Long Have You Got? - Katie Pearson
  61. The Minerva Book of Shot Stories
  62. The Memory Keepers Daughter - Kim Edwards
  63. A Place Called Here - Cecelia Aherne
  64. Double Vision - Pat Barker
  65. British Hit Singles - 1952-2000
  66. Creepers - David Morrell
  67. Twelve Red Herrings - Jeffrey Archer
  68. A Twist in the Tale - Jeffrey Archer
  69. Mistaken Identity - Van Ryn, Cerak, Tabb
  70. The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett
  71. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold 
  72. The Wedding - Danielle Steel
  73. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time - Mark Haddon
  74. Heaven - Virginia Andrews
  75. Dark Angel - Virginia Andrews
  76. Fallen Hearts - Virginia Andrews
  77. Gates of Paradise - Virginia Andrews
  78. Web of Dreams - Virginia Andrews
  79. The Adventures of the Wishing Chair - Enid Blyton
  80. Where Rainbows End - Cecelia Aherne
  81. Echoes - Maeve Binchy
  82. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
  83. Seaview - Chris Barlas
  84. Pompeii - Robert Harris
  85. Hollywood Wives - Jackie Collins
  86. Hollywood Husbands - Jackie Collins
  87. Hollywood Kids - Jackie Collins
  88. WOW - Claudia Patterson
  89. The Other Woman - Jane Green
  90. Dinnerladies, First Helping - Victoria Wood
  91. The Fylde Story
  92. A Man in Full - Tom Wolfe
  93. Thrill - Jackie Collins
  94. Wicked - Women's Wit and Humour
  95. Humorous Stories, Vol 1
  96. Humorous Stories, Vol 2
  97. Science Explained
  98. The Fylde As It Was
  99. Jo Verso's Complete Cross-Stitch Course
  100. The Way To Play
  101. Readers Digest Repair Manual 

So, is that what you expected?  Do you have any of the same in your own list of "Classics"?



(First published : December 2010. Republished : March 2015)
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