I can live without food as much as I can live with out HDM. :laughing:

November 30, 1999 12:00 am | link

"All these top 10 books have a timeless quality, whenever they were written." - Sue Horner, QCA

i like that.

November 30, 1999 12:00 am | link

organised-religion message?

please.

November 30, 1999 12:00 am | link

Jimi: Do you not read HDM as saying organised religion is 'bad'?

November 30, 1999 12:00 am | link

his dark materials and harry potter deserves to be top 2 positions

November 30, 1999 12:00 am | link

hey…i've read 4 of those books plus some of the Bible. yeah, that's right, i DO feel special.

and no, i simply cannot live without HDM.

November 30, 1999 12:00 am | link

… Harry Potter? Higher than HDM?

Bloody fanboy/fangirls. They clearly haven't read HDM.

November 30, 1999 12:00 am | link

Actually, I would place His Dark Materials along with The Lord of the Rings for first.

November 30, 1999 12:00 am | link

I have to agree with Jimi and say that the books are far too complicated to sum them up simply as having an anti-organized religion message. Pullman is an athetist, but he has described himself as a "Christian atheist" and is very grateful for the memories and influences he has from growing up in the Church. He deeply disagrees with many common Christian teachings, but I have yet to find a quote by him saying that organized religion is the bane of the world (that's author Daniel Quinn's expertise).

November 30, 1999 12:00 am | link

I think #1 on my list would be a thesaurus : )

November 30, 1999 12:00 am | link

Yeah, I've just…never been at all into the HP series. :wassat: They're far too childish.

November 30, 1999 12:00 am | link

interesting to note that 3 out of the top 4 were recent movies…

November 30, 1999 12:00 am | link

witch-girl: I don't think it's right to call any book too childish. Harry Potter has many important universal themes that any age can relate to. Although it is okay not to like the books, to call it childish is truly degrading.

And as far as the list goes, HDM definitely should have been closer to the top. But then again it is tied with 1984, a classic in its own right (as much as I hate the book).

November 30, 1999 12:00 am | link

In fact, phantom, Jane Eyre was recently produced as a TV series in the UK (where the poll was taken) too!

I don't know that childish as an attribute has to be degrading… but the prose is written in a very, um, youthful style, however adult the themes. And lots of children's stories contain important universal themes that any age can relate to; they are still best suited to and/or aimed at children.

November 30, 1999 12:00 am | link

I read those books 8 years ago, if I still loving them, that should answer your question

November 30, 1999 12:00 am | link

HDM in my personal top is in the 1th Place! of course.

and i cant believe HP got a higher place than HDM

come on

November 30, 1999 12:00 am | link

Well, yeah, Jammer, I definitely see what you mean–you're perfectly right about how HP does, in fact, tackle a lot of very important themes for all ages. I understand that well. It's just that…well, I don't know: maybe what I really wanted to say back there was just that the HP series isn't all that I normally look for in books that I "can't live without". Do you see what I mean? I wish I were more articulate. I can almost never word myself exactly the way I want to…

November 30, 1999 12:00 am | link

mr Anderson is a moron. the only reason they like HP because they made movies. I bet half of them didn't even read the book. Sheesh

November 30, 1999 12:00 am | link

mmm …

November 30, 1999 12:00 am | link

Hear, hear Reedie_Belaqua!!!

November 30, 1999 12:00 am | link

Call me a moron then strengthen my point with yours? Interesting.

Please refrain from personal insults here. Sweeping generalisations are fine.

November 30, 1999 12:00 am | link

I agree with putting many of these on the list, they all have a righful place except for LOTR which i found tedious, boring and overcomplicated… HDM is the number one i couldn't live without, i'd put HP in the top 10 too because it's easy to read, 1984 is my seond favourite of all times after HDM and Jane Eyre and to Kill a Mockingbird are two of my favourites, also. Yay

November 30, 1999 12:00 am | link

Really, I could live without HDM. Despite the cool name (His Dark Materials.. wish I’d though of it. LOL) its not that great of a book. In all honesty, to the person who said that Harry Potter was too ‘childish’ I don’t know *how* you go through this book. Harry Potter has depth (i.e. based in Alchemy, various mythology, various religions, other literary must reads (Wuthering Heights, ect.) While HDM is simply another ‘little girl must save world’ story. Don’t get me wrong, except for the blantant anti-Christian message in this book I like it, but it is definetly over-hyped.

Lyra is the reason I tend to think of it negativly, in fandom terms, she is very Mary-Sue like. Even her flaws are her good qualities, and too me it is the sign of a weak writer when your characters don’t have realistic flaws.

March 26, 2007 7:57 am | link

I wouldn’t even put HDM on that list. Its caused so many problems. Angry remarks and such. I would have to put Stephen King’s The Dark Tower as #1 and Stephen King’s It at #2 then Salem’s Lot at #3. And finally I’d put Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman at #4. Everything else would go down the same, excluding HDM.

March 27, 2007 6:45 pm | link