Peter M Howard ::

wintermute.com.au

My Favourite Book

06December2004 [myth]
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So the results of ABC’s My Favourite Book poll are in. Lord of the Rings came in first - my pick if I had to name one (which I prefer not to do). The Bible made third place which actually surprised me - it’s not the kind of thing that comes to mind when trying to pick a favourite. Was a bit ridiculous when they went around the panel and Fr Edmund Campion voted for LOTR over the Bible and they reacted (whoa, controversial) - he saved it by reminding them that LOTR was written by a Catholic, and that he does, after all, read the Bible every day. Being the ABC, they were trying their best to stir things up - mentioning the Christian opposition to Harry Potter (although only 100 complaints to school libraries in the US sounds trivial!) and the Da Vinci code controversies - funny to hear everyone in the studio groan when its name was called out.

They cheated by having 11 books in the top 10, of which I’ve only read 6-7 (not having read the Bible cover to cover)

Da Vinci Code in equal ninth; seems to be the flavour of the moment (granted, it’s been a rather long moment); similarly Harry Potter 5 in sixth.

Pride and Prejudice came in second, although I suspect it’s because there’s a bigger range of (stereotypical) “guy’s books” to split the vote. And a couple Aussies - Cloudstreet, which I haven’t read, and A Fortunate Life which I was forced to read at school. No interest in either - they strike me (based on the way they were talked about last night) as terribly parochial - part of some myth of an Australia that no longer exists, and probably never really did.

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