SAN DIEGO, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Results are in! The BBC announced on Saturday 13 December that J. R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" was the favorite book of the Britlish public. The others are, in order:
2. "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austin
3. "His Dark Materials" by Philip Pullman, a children's fantasy trilogy
4. "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Adams
5. "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
The competition which began in April had the whole nation busy reading and voting. After the top 100, the list was narrowed to the top 20, and then shortlisted to the top 5, with "The Lord of the Rings" finally beating the competition.
To British booksellers' delight, this competition, coming after the release of the movies, has been a tremendous boost to the sale of the Tolkien books, as well as many of the other books on the list.
