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", with the support of the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels and Stiftung 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. 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.^[1][2][3]

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 Woolfolk 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