It’s been said on the Internet that the BBC believes that most people will have read only six of the 100 books below. Extraordinary, but you have to believe it because everyone knows that everything on the Internet is absolutely true.
Actually, List Challenges reports, the BBC never claimed that, and the list of books isn’t really their list. It was created by an unknown individual and spread around the internet as a meme called “The BBC Book List Challenge.” It was probably loosely based on another list of books that was the result of a survey carried out in 2003 by the BBC in which three quarters of a million people voted to find the nation’s best-loved novels of all time.
The “only six” was an unlikely stretch from the start but it’s fun to keep score. I’ve read 71 of the 100 myself. How about you?
“The BBC Book List Challenge” HERE
~~~~~
10 Captivating Short Stories Everyone Should Read
A fascinating list, although personally I’d add two more, both by Arthur C. Clarke – “The Star“, and “The Nine Billion Names of God.” Both are unforgettable.
Number 1 on johnnylists is:
1. The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell — The story of a big game hunter finding himself stranded on an island and becoming the hunted.
Read the list HERE
~~~~~
17 Tremendous Terraced Rice FieldsTerrace-rice-fields-in-Yunnan-ProvinceLike an abstract painting: Terrace rice fields in Yunnan Province, China – Photo by JialiangGao
Terraced paddy fields are very common in rice farming where the land is hilly or mountainous. Terraced rice fields helps to decrease erosion and work well for rice crops which need to be grown in a flooded area. Terraced paddy fields are built into steep hillsides by intense physical labor.
See all the photos HERE
~~~~~
Den of Geek offers us
15 under-appreciated books: sci-fi, fantasy, horror fiction
For example:
Humans – Matt HaigHumans – Matt Haig
This was the first book I finished after losing my dad, a bereavement that temporarily drained all the flavour out of fiction. Funny, clever and meaningful without being sentimental, Humans restored me.
Matt Haig writes about life and love and death with heart-singing clarity. That’s why, even if this book’s rave reviews and in-store promotions should probably discount it from a list like this, I can’t stop recommending it.
It’s about the arrival on Earth of an alien with a mission, and the chaotic ways that human life gets in his way. It’s something any Douglas Adams fan should enjoy with a story that barrels along, making you laugh and leaving you punch-drunk with fellow-feeling at the end. Towards that end is a short chapter in the form of a list of aphoristic advice from a father to a son. Read it, and see what I mean. ~ By Louisa Mellor
Check out the others HERE
~~~~~
A Library That Plummets into an Abysslibrary artPhoto by Claire Voon for Hyperallergic
For her entry into the biannual Sculpture by the Sea in Denmark, Swedish artist Susanna Hesselberg installed this ominous library that plumments into the ground like a mining shaft.
Titled “When My Father Died It Was Like a Whole Library Had Burned Down,” the artwork makes reference to lyrics from Laurie Anderson’s song World Without End. The piece joins an additional 55 sculptures on display right now at the 2015 Sculpture by the Sea.
Read the whole story HERE
~~~~~
Haunted Art Gallery for Kids
In an attempt to better engage the youngest visitors to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, Torafu Architects created a special art gallery just for kids called Haunted House. On entering the exhibition a few familiar artworks appear hung in frames around a large white cube, but something is clearly amiss as everything appears to be moving.haunted libraryPhotos by Yoshitsugu Fuminari.
The eyes in a portrait dart back and forth, a pair of hands emerges from Mona Lisa’s face and begins to manipulate the painting, the head of a portrait turns around in loops. A secret passageway leads to the cube’s interior where almost every artwork can be manipulated or altered from behind, a place where the art can be touched and kids are free to laugh, run and play while interacting directly with some of the world’s most famous paintings. A killer idea.
See more photos HERE
~~~~~
THIS n THATSpock $5Bank of Canada urges ‘Star Trek’ fans to stop ‘Spocking’ their fivers”
~~~
Whether it’s The Burrow or Gatsby’s mansion, fictional homes are pretty amazing
Quiz: Which Fictional Home Is For You?
~~~~~
Quote of the DayQUOTE Real life~~~~~
Alma Alexander      My books      Email me
If you found this blog post interesting, amusing or helpful, then please use the icons below to share it with other writers, readers or the guy next to you on the subway.