What’s Your Magic Number? The Excitement of Counting Reads on the Top 100

Well before I came to work at Better Reading, I’d eagerly await to annual Top 100 book list. For the past few years I have enjoyed hanging out a Big W and staring down the list of books that made it on those shelves. I love confirming by book worm status by counting more and more titles read each year. But I also love seeing the trends. The list is always incredibly diverse, showcasing an eclectic mix of classic books and modern fiction.

Over the past couple of years we’ve also seen the rise of the debut author. We’ve had The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan, The Nowhere Child by Christian White, Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton, The Lace Weaver by Lauren Chater, and Scrublands by Chris Hammer, all of which have taken Australian readers by storm and made last year’s Better Reading Top 100 list.

Also, Australian readers love Australian authors and Australian stories. As in previous Better Reading polls, Australian icons Tim Winton, Tom Keneally, Judy Nunn and Bryce Courtenay rank in the Top 100.

Last year over 9,000 people voted for the Top 100. The Top 10 books on the list were:

1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
2. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
3. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
4. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
5. Cloudstreet by Tim Winton
6. The Bronze Horseman by Paulina Simons
7. The Trip of a Lifetime by Monica McInerney
8. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
9. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
10. The Dry by Jane Harper

You can view the rest of the list here.

I now know I’m not the only book nerd in the country who counts how many titles on the list that they’ve read. Many of you like to cross off the books you’ve read, either mentally or now on one of the posters. We often receive emails and messages from readers letting us know the magic number.

What’s your magic number? Have you voted before? What book would you like to see on the list, or even better, at number 1?

Vote for your favourite book here.