.jpg)
Margaret talks about the quest to write a best seller
The dictionary definite of Quest is ‘The act of seeking something.’
So what is it that writers
seek?
A plot no-one has ever used before?
Perfection?
Perhaps all three?
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to write
a book like Gone With The Wind? A story that has stood the test of time and
been read by millions worldwide. I Googled Best
selling books of all time and this is the top ten of the 101 that came up:
A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
The Lord of the Rings – J.R.R.Tolkien
The Hobbit – J.R.R.Tolkien
Dream of the Red Chamber – Tsao Hsueh-Chin
And Then There None – Agatha Christie
The Lion, the Witch and the
Wardrobe – C.S.Lewis
She – H.Rider Haggard
The Little Prince – Antoine de Saint-Exupery
The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown
The Catcher in the Rye – J.D.Salinger
Interesting? What would you add to that list?
That's quite a varied list with a mix of literature and popular fiction.
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed, Jennifer. I've never heard of Dream of the Red Chamber.
ReplyDeleteMe neither. But now I'm curious...
DeleteJust looked it up on Amazon. Unabridged version is 2,000 pages. Abridged version leaves a lot out, according to reviews. It's compared to Romeo & Juliet.
Delete2000 pages? I wonder how long it took to write. And of course it would have all been written by hand.
DeleteAn interesting - and quite surprising - list. I would have expected Harry Potter and even 50 Shades to be in the list.
ReplyDeleteExactly, Paula. It surprised me.
DeleteI'm surprised Gone with the Wind isn't on there. Harry Potter, too. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteI've read only two books on that list.
I have read 7 of these top ten.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of Dream of the Red Chamber. I want to find that one!
I've only read two (and a half - never finished the only Tolkien I started)!
DeleteCatcher in the Rye is required reading in most US high schools. In mine, Dickens and Lewis were, too. JRR was my find.
ReplyDeleteAn uncle who sent books every Christmas gave me the Little Prince when I was young, and I adored it.