No. 41 in our running order but No. 1 in our hearts, Patrick Hamilton’s Hangover Square reigns as the top choice from our first 10 years — our ‘Favourite Book’, as voted by all LBG members.
It marks a strong showing from 2007, the only year to feature two titles in the top five of our voting. Jonathan Coe joins Hamilton with his book, What a Carve Up!, selected from the same year.
Charles Dickens is the only author who enjoyed two titles in the top 20 on our favourites list, with Great Expectations and David Copperfield.
Our Favourite Titles (2003 – 2013)
| Title | Owner | |
| 1 | Hangover Square | Anthony |
| 2 | One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest | EmmaJ |
| 3 | Great Expectations | Anthony |
| What a Carve Up! | EmmaJ | |
| 5 | All Quiet on the Western Front | Catherine |
| 6 | Christie Malry’s Own Double-entry | John |
| 7 | Bonfire of the Vanities | Kay |
| Brideshead Revisited | John | |
| David Copperfield | John | |
| Never Let Me Go | DKB | |
| Tender is the Night | John | |
| The White Tiger | Baljit | |
| 13 | The Sense of an Ending | Sue |
| Alone in Berlin | EmmaT | |
| 15 | Brighton Rock | John |
| If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller | DKB | |
| The Sisters Brothers | EmmaJ | |
| 18 | Black Swan Green | Miranda |
| In Cold Blood | John | |
| One Hundred Years of Solitude | John | |
| The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle | Nate | |
| 22 | Death and the Penguin | John |
| Ethan Frome | EmmaT | |
| Lolita | EmmaT | |
| The Big Sleep | Anthony |
Our Least Favourite Titles
Italo Calvino’s If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller is named our ‘Least Favourite’ title from our first decade, a book read by the group in 2003.
Joining Calvino in the bottom three is The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon and, intruigingly, Hard Times by Charles Dickens, the author whose books feature twice in the list of favourite titles and who tops our Favourite Authors list. The four-way tie for No. 3 also includes John Updike’s Rabbit, Run, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, and Ways of Hearing: A User’s Guide to the Pop Psyche from Elvis to Eminem by Ben Thompson.
Our Least Favourite Titles (2003 – 2013)
| Title | Owner | |
| 1 | If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller | DKB |
| 2 | The Crying of Lot 49 | DKB |
| 3 | Hard Times | Catherine |
| Rabbit, Run | Anthony | |
| The Alchemist | Kay | |
| Ways Of Hearing: A User’s Guide To The Pop Psyche From Elvis to Eminem | John | |
| 7 | One Hundred Years of Solitude | John |
| 7 Habits of Highly Effective People | Kay | |
| A Canticle for Leibowitz | EmmaT | |
| The Invention Of Morel | John | |
| We Need To Talk About Kevin | DKB | |
| 12 | Blink | Kay |
| Diary | Nate | |
| Neuromancer | Nate | |
| Quantity Theory of Insanity | Kay | |
| 16 | Letters from the Earth | Nate |
You can also see the full list of books we’ve read and the author league table.