Ian's a Rankin outsider as readers pick 100 favourites

Published on Monday 28 December 2009 09:42

IT is known around the world as the city of literature, and is home to bestselling authors such as JK Rowling and Ian Rankin.

Now, a search for Edinburgh's top 100 reads has revealed a taste for more traditional books, with Dickens and Shakespeare topping the list.

The Central Library decided to launch its own city-wide search for residents' favourite books, following a poll of authors around the globe.

Hundreds of people have already submitted their top five books, with the final list of books going on display in February.

The favourites so far are Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov, and Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

Also in the running are a wide variety of Shakespeare plays, ranging from Hamlet to "the whole of Shakespeare".

Councillor Deidre Brock, the city's culture leader said she hoped the project would inspire people to try new books, as well as rediscover old favourites.

She said: "Reading is a hugely rewarding pastime – it gives you time away from the frantic pace of modern life, introducing you to new worlds and ideas and stimulating your imagination.

"While I love discovering new authors, there are some books I come back to time and time again, either because they remind me of a certain point in my life, or because I get something new out of them in each reading.

"Among these are Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry, Michel Faber's The Crimon Petal and the White, and Lincoln by Gore Vidal."

Other popular nominations in the poll include Dee Brown's Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, Tom Sharpe's Riotous Assembly, and Churchill, Roy Jenkins' biography of Britain's wartime leader. The library is already displaying the top 100 books gathered from a poll of city book clubs, but it will replace these in February with the books chosen by readers and staff.

Liz McGettigan, the library and information services manager, said she was pleased with the response to the survey, although she was surprised there were few nominations for local authors.

Her personal favourites included The Woods by Harlan Coben, and The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins.

&#149 Readers who would like to take part in the survey can submit their favourite five books by either filling in a form at the Central Library or by e-mailing them to [e-mail] with "Top Five Reads" in the subject line.

CHART-TOPPERS

THE top five reads so far . . .

&#149 Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien

&#149 Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

&#149 Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

&#149 Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

&#149 Various works by William Shakespeare.