Big Read (German)

The Big Read initiative was launched in Germany by the public television broadcaster ZDF in 2004, under the name "Das große Lesen". Based on the BBC version of Big Read, it was designed as a game show to determine the top 50 books read and liked by the German people.

An initial list of 200 books was sent to more than 10,000 bookshops to start the survey. Supported by the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels and Stiftung Lesen 60,000 votes were already cast within the first week. Four weeks later the list had grown to 12,615 book nominations, and after the casting of 250,000 votes the 'winners' were determined.

Results

The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien

The Bible

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

Perfume by Patrick Süskind

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann

The Physician by Noah Gordon

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling

Pope Joan by Donna Cross

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

Outlander a.k.a. Cross Stitch by Diana Gabaldon

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

Angels & Demons by Dan Brown

Effi Briest by Theodor Fontane

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling

The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

The Discovery of Heaven by Harry Mulisch

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

References

External links

BBC Big Read website

German literature

Lists of novels