BookLore Book Review Site

BookLore Big Read Reviews

Detailed below are the books in the Top 21 and Top 100 Big Read lists that also have a BookLore review. More will be added over time until we have done them all. (Who are we trying to kid? Ed.) Alright, the fun ones anyway, unless you want to review War and Peace...
Reviews for books in the Top 21
	The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame Average Rating [9/10] (1 Review) Geoff Ward has sent in a review for The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. One of the most celebrated works of classic literature for children, The Wind In The Willows follows Mole, Rat, Toad and Badger from one adventure to the next - in gipsy caravans, stolen sports cars, to prison and back to the Wild Wood. A story of animal cunning and human camaraderie, this remains a timeless tale nearly 100 years after its publication. When Mole goes boating with the Water Rat instead of spring-cleaning, he discovers a new world. As well as the river and the Wild Wood, there is Toad's craze for fast travel: which leads him and his friends on a whirl of trains, barges, gipsy caravans and motor cars, and into a lot of trouble... more»» Geoff Ward 5th September 2010 [9/10]
	Catch-22 by Joseph Heller Average Rating [7/10] (1 Review) Nadine has sent in a review for Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, a book that came within the Top 21 of The Big Read. At the heart of Joseph Heller's bestselling novel, first published in 1961, is a satirical indictment of military madness and stupidity, and the desire of the ordinary man to survive it. It is the tale of the dangerously sane Captain Yossarian, who spends his time in Italy plotting to survive... more»» Nadine 26th June 2005 [7/10]
	The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien Average Rating [8/10] (1 Review) Vex has come to the rescue and we finally have a review for the 'Big Read' winner The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. If there is anyone out there, even in the depths of Borneo, who actually needs this book describing I will eat my hat... or alternatively read War and Peace... more»» Vex 26th February 2004 [8/10]
	Northern Lights by Philip Pullman Average Rating [9/10] (2 Reviews) Philip Pullman's Northern Lights deserves its place in the Big Read Top 21 according to Chrissi. When Lyra's friend Roger disappear, she and her daemon, Pantalaimon, determine to find him. The ensuing quest leads them to the bleak splendour of the North, where armoured bears rule the ice and witch-queens fly through the frozen skies - and where a team of scientists is conducting experiments too horrible to be spoken about... more»» Nadine 18th February 2007 [9/10] Chrissi 17th November 2003 [9/10]
	Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J K Rowling Average Rating [8/10] (3 Reviews) Have a wild guess. No, OK, Book Four... more»» Nadine 7th February 2007 [9/10] Nigel 1st November 2001 [8/10] Chrissi 31st May 2001 [7/10]
	The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams Average Rating [9/10] (3 Reviews) A humoristic si-fi novel The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams has got to be one of the great cult novels of the 80's. Who hasn't read it? You haven't!! Well, put it this way, it's a Big Read Top 100 title. It's a BookLore 10/10 star book and it is very funny. What more do you need to know? more»» William Longinetti 19th April 2010 [8/10] Chrissi 19th November 2000 [8/10] Nigel 19th November 2000 [10/10]
Reviews for books in the Top 100
	The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Average Rating [9/10] (1 Review) The Great Gatsby is a consummate summary of the "roaring twenties", and a devastating expose of the "Jazz Age". Through the narration of Nick Carraway, the reader is taken into the superficially glittering world of the mansions which lined the Long Island shore in the 1920s, to encounter Nick's cousin Daisy, her brash but wealthy husband Tom Buchanan, Jay Gatsby and the mystery that surrounds him... more»» Chloe Lizotte 30th September 2011 [9/10]
	Middlemarch by George Eliot Average Rating [9/10] (1 Review) George Eliot's most ambitious novel is a masterly evocation of diverse lives and changing fortunes in a provincial community. Peopling its landscape are Dorothea Brooke, a young idealist whose search for intellectual fulfillment leads her into a disastrous marriage to the pedantic scholar Casaubon; the charming but tactless Dr Lydgate, whose marriage to the spendthrift beauty Rosamund and pioneering medical methods threaten to undermine his career; and the religious hypocrite Bulstrode, hiding scandalous crimes from his past... more»» Shannon 9th January 2011 [9/10]
	A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens Average Rating [9/10] (1 Review) After eighteen years as a political prisoner in the Bastille the aging Dr Manette is finally released and reunited with his daughter in England. There two very different men, Charles Darnay, an exiled French aristocrat, and Sydney Carton, a disreputable but brilliant English lawyer, become enmeshed through their love for Lucie Manette. From the tranquil lanes of London, they are all drawn against their will to the vengeful, bloodstained streets of Paris at the height of the Reign of Terror... more»» Shannon 9th October 2010 [9/10]
	Perfume by Patrick Suskind Average Rating [7/10] (1 Review) An acclaimed bestseller and international sensation, Patrick Suskind's classic novel Perfume provokes a terrifying examination of what happens when one man's indulgence in his greatest passion - his sense of smell - leads to murder... more»» Chrissi 19th December 2003 [7/10]
	Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman Average Rating [10/10] (4 Reviews) Not only is Good Omens by Terry Pratchett in the top 100 but it also has two BookLore 10/10 star reviews as well as two 9/10. Quite simply one of the funniest books ever written... in our opinion. Apparently the Pratchett books are causing quite a stir with book critics taking a look at The Big Read... 'cause it aint proper literature init?' It is, however, a bloody fine read... more»» Nadine 30th March 2007 [9/10] Victim 27th July 2003 [9/10] Nigel 9th March 2000 [10/10] Chrissi 3rd February 2000 [10/10]
	Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone by J K Rowling Average Rating [8/10] (6 Reviews) Surprise, surprise... Harry Potter. At the time of the voting book 5 wasn't out or it would also have been here, ho hum. This is Book One in the series everyone has heard about and whatever you think you will have to agree Ms Rowling has had an impact on reading... more»» Nadine 23 July 2006 [8/10] Paul 1st February 2002 [9/10] Nigel 1st September 2001 [8/10] Vex 31st July 2001 [7/10] Chrissi 31st May [9/10] Ray 28th February 2001 [7/10]
	Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J K Rowling Average Rating [8/10] (4 Reviews) Book Two sees Harry return to Hogwarts for his second year... more»» Nadine 23 July 2006 [9/10] Nigel 1st October 2001 [7/10] Chrissi 31st May 2001 [8/10] Ray 28th February 2001 [7/10]
	Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J K Rowling Average Rating [8/10] (5 Reviews) Book Three. Harry Potter, along with his friends, Ron and Hermione, is about to start his third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry can't wait to get back to school after the summer holidays... more»» Nadine 23 July 2006 [10/10] Vex 1st December 2001 [8/10] Nigel 1st October 2001 [8/10] Chrissi 31st May 2001 [7/10] Ray 28th February 2001 [8/10]
	The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett Average Rating [8/10] (1 Review) The first book in the hugely successful Discworld series. Be warned, meet Rincewind and the Luggage for the first and you will be hooked for life... more»» Chrissi 19th January 2001 [8/10]
	Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett Average Rating [8/10] (1 Review) A Discworld novel about the Ankh-Morpork city watch. A finer assortment of, err, things, you would be hard pressed to meet... more»» Chrissi 31st March 2001 [8/10]
	Night Watch by Terry Pratchett Average Rating [8/10] (2 Reviews) Another City Watch story, still going strong even though this is the 27th book in the Discworld series (not all Watch stories btw)... more»» Ray 22nd January 2003 [8/10] Nigel 1st December 2002 [8/10]
	Mort by Terry Pratchett Average Rating [7/10] (1 Review) Ever wondered about your career choice? So has Mort, he is Death's apprentice... more»» Chrissi 28th February 2001 [7/10]

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