Radcliffe Class Writes Favorite Books List

Students in the Radcliffe Publishing Course presented a list of their Top 10 favorite books Wednesday, showcasing a collection of titles ranging from modern classics to old favorites.

According to Lindy Hess, director of the course, the selection process was an informal one. "I asked members of this class to write down their favorite book and why they loved it," Hess said. "It is a good way to get a sense of who they are, by what books they like."

Last summer, the course released a list of their choices of the top 100 novels of the 20th century concurrently with the Random House Books publication of a similar list.

"Last year, Random House put together a list of the top 100 novels of the 20th century," Hess explained. "They asked the Radcliffe course to also put together a hundred, they were kind of competitive. This year, we just asked the students to pick their top ten favorite books."

Last year's list was published in over 150 newspapers. Hess said that she did not expect the same result this year.

"I don't think it will get as much publicity," Hess said. "Last year was the big story. We did our own list using the same 500 books that the random house modern library used, and so there were 2 lists out there and they were so different that a lot of people found it fascinating."

Hess said that the differences between last year's lists created a great amount of publicity for the course.

"[The course] took on a life of its own. Once the lists were released we had calls from newspapers all over the world."

Though this year's list was not as controversial, Hess said that the focus on classics makes it unique. "It's an interesting list because it could have been written 15 years ago, with the exception of Toni Morrison, who is the one modern day writer."

The list's top five includes Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Lolita by Vladmir Nabokov, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Where the Side-walk Ends by Shel Silverstein, Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, Beloved by Toni Morrison and The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand rounded out the list.

The six-week Radcliffe Publishing Course that produced the list is intended for those eyeing a career in publishing.

Radcliffe spokesperson Michael A. Armini said that the course gives students valuable connections with powerful people in the publishing world.

"In addition to teaching the craft of publishing, it also teaches people how to network. Every year they have a list of speakers that reads like a Who's Who from the New Yorker Magazine," Armini said.