To compile their Top 100 List for 2014, Whitcoulls again asked New
Zealanders to vote for their favourite books and authors. And while classic
novels continue to appeal to Kiwi readers, 2014 marks a significant new trend –
the increasing popularity of novels for young adults.
Whitcoulls Head Book Buyer, Joan Mackenzie, believes that the reason
young adult novels are becoming more widely read is that many parents are now reading
the same books as their teens. Mackenzie says that this is “possibly
driven by film versions of those books (The Hunger Games, Divergent series,
for example) and of course, the John Green phenomenon with his mega bestselling
novel, The Fault in Our Stars.”
Green’s novel claims the number one
spot in this year’s Top 100 and Mackenzie believes that “the popular enthusiasm
for it, combined with a wide-age range readership – and then the recent film –
have propelled it into the top spot. Green’s first book Looking for Alaska
also features strongly in the Top 100, coming in at number 28.
In second place is perennial
favourite, Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief and in third position is
Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings series. Tolkien’s series remains the single most popular book since
Whitcoulls started compiling their Top 100 Books in 1996 and has now appeared
in the top ten of that list for the eighteenth time; Tolkien ranks as New
Zealanders tenth favourite author.
Another milestone in 2014 is the
fact that it is the first time in the history of the Whitcoulls Top 100 that a
New Zealand novel has made it into the top ten, with Eleanor Catton’s
award-winning novel The Luminaries, storming on to the list to claim the
number six spot.
”Almost 30 percent of the 2014 Top 100 List is different from
2013”, says Mackenzie, “which goes to show that the most loved books have
hugely enduring appeal and resonate with readers for a very long time.” She
went on to say that it is “interesting to see the classics feature so strongly
– though Pride and Prejudice has been bumped out of the Top 10, coming
in at number 11, which is down five places since last year.”
And while Catton’s novel has won
approval with Kiwis, a number of books have dropped out of the Top 100 altogether,
significantly The Edmonds Cookbook. This is the first time New Zealand’s
‘food bible’ has not made it in to the Whitcoulls Top 100 List.
Other interesting facts about the Top 100 List for 2014 include:
·
The distinct lack of
non-fiction spread across the Top 100; the top ranked non-fiction title is the
Bible, which didn’t make it in to the top 20, positioned at number 23.
·
The 50 Shades of Grey series has slumped from 21st to 53rd
place since 2013.
·
Two New Zealand health
specialists have made it in to the Top 100; Dr Libby Weaver with her book Beauty
from the Inside Out at number 35 and Jason Shon Bennett’s Eat Less Live
Long at number 87.
Mackenzie says that “overall, it is
a really interesting mix of books and tells us that people are reading as much
– and as well – as ever. And wonderful new books which really capture the
public’s imagination can find a place alongside others which have been around
for years.”
2 comments:
'THE BONE PEOPLE' made into the top 10 for a long time
"the bone people" made that 'top 10' many many times
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