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KIWIS’ favourite books have undergone a dramatic change in the latest Whitcoulls Top 100 announced this week.
Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, which has been in the top four since the biennial list began 12 years ago, has lost its number one spot to Stieg Larsson’s blockbuster Millennium trilogy.
“New Zealanders just can’t get enough of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” says Whitcoulls managing director Peter Kalan. “The Millennium trilogy, which is a new entrant on the Top 100, absolutely romped in, seeing off the competition by thousands of votes.”
Another series, Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight saga, was second while Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveller’s Wife leapt from No 14 to No 3.
Several New Zealand authors are on the list, including award winner Alison Wong whose As the Earth Turns Silver debuts at No 42 and Nicky Pellegrino, whose latest novel Recipe For Life is another new entrant at No 62.
“It’s fantastic to be on the Whitcoulls’ Top 100 list among such illustrious company,” says Pellegrino. “New Zealand is a nation of book lovers and the list really helps foster reading as one of the nation’s favourite hobbies.”
Lloyd Jones’ Mister Pip is back on at No 73 and, with a movie version due out in 2010, it’s likely to be placed higher in the next list.
“In the previous six top 100 lists, there’s been a strong relationship between much-loved books and the films that are made of them,” says Kalan. “This year is no exception as, along with Millennium, Twilight and Lord Of The Rings, we have Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones at No 10 and J K Rowling’s Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows at No 11.
“It’ll be interesting to see how many of these titles also feature on our new DVD Top 50 list when it’s released in October.”
Rowling is the most prolific author on the 2010 Top 100 with five of her Harry Potter series featured. The 2006 winner, Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, is down to No 14 while the very first winner, Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes, is still on the list - as it has been since 1998 – at No 56.
“A quarter of the books on the 2010 Whitcoulls Top 100 are new but there’s plenty of old favourites that have made it on to every list,” says Kalan.
They include classics such as Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird (No 9), Jung Chang’s Wild Swans (No 58), J D Salinger’s Catcher In The Rye (No 59) and Sebastian Faulks’ Birdsong (No 68).
The Bible is down from No 15 to 23 while enduring romances haven’t lost their charm with Jane Austen’s Pride And Prejudice at No 7, Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights at No 53 and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre at No 72.
“As New Zealand’s favourite bookstore, we’ve been selling these titles throughout our entire 127 year history,” says Kalan.
New arrivals on the Top 100 include Jamie Oliver’s Jamie Does... at No 13, Justin Cronin’s recent blockbuster The Passage (No 15) and Andre Agassi’s autobiography Open at No 18.
Exiting the list after 10 years are the Edmonds Cookery Book, The God Of Small Things and The Shipping News.
As well as re-launching the Top 100 today, Whitcoulls will announce the all-new Kids Top 50 just before the school holidays on September 20, with the new DVD Top 50 to follow in October.
“With 40% of books bought as gifts, our highly-regarded Whitcoulls lists are a great way to get ideas for birthdays, Christmas and other special occasions,” says Kalan.
The new Whitcoulls Top 100 can be viewed – and purchased – at www.whitcoulls.co.nz