Monday, October 30, 2006

Top 1,000 lists

From the Christian Science Monitor:
Lovers of both books and lists will enjoy the "Top 1,000" lists assembled by the Online Computer Library Center. The site provides lists of the top 1,000 holdings of member libraries across the United States, offering a unique perspective on what constitutes "culture" today in the US. (Musical recordings - mostly classical and opera - are included.) There's a general list and then categories like the Top 1,000 travel books ("Travels of Marco Polo," No.2), the Top 1,000 poetry volumes ("Mother Goose," No.1), and the Top 1,000 banned books (the Bible, No. 1.) Bibliophiles will relish noting the creation of new classics ("The DaVinci Code," No. 469; "Dilbert," No. 399.) It's also interesting to see how great books stack up against one another ("Gulliver's Travels," No. 20 versus "Moby Dick," No. 34) or to see writers compete with siblings ("Wuthering Heights" by Emily Brontë, No. 28, versus. "Jane Eyre" by sister Charlotte, No. 30) And don't miss the nifty mix of factoids connected to the main list.
For a list of the best books about listing, click here.

--Marshal Zeringue