This is an interesting list of "The 100 Best Novels" written in the English language. I will make a few observations.

1. The Board's List is not too bad, but they have callously neglected Science Fiction and Fantasy. Which is a shame, a black mark on the credibility of this list. Tolkien, Peake, Heinlein, Lewis, Zelazny (heh) and many others deserve to be on that list. So does Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, actually.

2. Apparently, the board could only fully agree on 1. and 2. The inclusion of Brave New World among the Top Five is a bit puzzling, since Orwell's 1984, is, to me, the better work. Also, Huxley has indeed written better.

3. The Reader's List has a problem: a lot of the voting was done by Scientologist and Objectivist nutjobs. Other than that, it is more inclusive in terms of willingness to embrace Science Fiction & Fantasy. Pity about the nutjobbery, though.

4. Lists are lists. I like how Bob Dylan responded to the Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs list:

His fellow musicians paid tribute to him when he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, joining him in a rousing rendition of his most famous song, "Like a Rolling Stone." That song was recently named by Rolling Stone magazine as the No. 1 song of all time. And he has 12 other songs on their list of the Top 500.

"That must be good to have as part of your legacy," says Bradley.

"Oh, maybe this week. But you know, the list, they change names, and you know, quite frequently, really. I don't really pay much attention to that," says Dylan.

"But it's a pat on the back," says Bradley.

"This week it is," Dylan replies. "But who's to say how long that's gonna last?"

Taken from: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/12/02/60minutes/main658799_page2.shtml