'Best Book' TV Quest Boosts Library Lending Figures
A TV search to find Britain’s best book was today credited with sparking an upsurge in library lending.
New figures for The Big Read show that library lending of the top 21 titles increased by 123%.
The Lord of the Rings was voted the nation’s favourite book on the BBC2 show, but sales of the top 21 titles increased by 575%, according to official statistics.
Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice came second in the viewers’ poll, followed by His Dark Materials, by Philip Pullman; The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams; and JK Rowling’s Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire.
BBC2 controller Jane Root said: “I am thrilled that as a direct result of the Big Read more people in the UK are now reading books, visiting libraries, joining book groups and engaging with literature on all levels.”
[© Scotsman.com, 11/05/04]
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