When you think of the greatest books out there, you tend to focus on authors like Charles Dickens and Jane Austen. However, a new survey has ranked Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L James and Being Jordan by Katie Price as two of the most ‘essential’ books out there right now.
A team of researchers looked up literary forums and websites in order to compile a list of the best-loved books in the world. We think it goes without saying that their investigation threw up a few random results.
The research, which was commissioned by Bookmarkyourlibrary.org.uk, found that Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K Rowling was the most-owned book but more than one in ten of us regularly lie about what titles we’ve read.
Katie Price’s autobiography made the cut
“No doubt literary aficionados will object to the likes of titles by Katie Price and Russell Brand appearing in the list. But our view is that as long as people are picking up books and reading that has to be a positive thing,” said Elisabeth Robinson, a spokeswoman for Bookmarkyourlibrary.
So what made the cut? Here are 20 of the 100 most popular books in the world right now…
1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K Rowling
2. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
3. The Bible
4. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K Rowling
6. The Official Highway Code by the Department of Transport
7. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S Lewis
8. Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L James
9. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
10. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkein
11. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
12. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkein
13. Jamie’s 15 Minute Meals by Jamie Oliver
14. The BFG by Roald Dahl
15. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
16. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
17. Animal Farm by Gorge Orwell
18. 1984 by George Orwell
19. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson
20. Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding
