[Mithalwen]

I have to say I am a little surprised - but then the giants of German literature are poets rather than novelists in the main. And if it has the same criteria as "The Big Read " then it it is a vote for the "favourite " book rather than finest novel - which at the risk of being flamed again - is not quite the same thing. That said, it would be my desert island choice over Middlemarch, say...

WIth the English competition, I got so annoyed at the people who said that it won only because of the film. Yes, many people probably read it (or in my case reread it for the first time in years) because of the film but LOTR won the Book of the Century poll in 1999/2000 - long before the film was released. Having said that Delia Smith's complete cookery course ranked pretty hightly too, so quite what that says about my compatriots I wouldn't like to say. Just have to be grateful that Rosemary Conley's Hip and THight diet didn't make the cut.