Why I hate ‘top 100’ book lists (and can’t stop reading them)

September 18, 2026 — 10:12am

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What is it about these Top 100 book lists? They are absurd. If critics choose them, they reflect only the critics’ tastes. If chosen by the public, they reflect only what people interested in voting have read and liked. You can’t say these are the best books of all time; you can only say they represent something about readers’ choices at a particular moment.

And yet like many others, I find these lists compulsive reading. I want to see if my favourites are on it, or if a book I hate is high on the list. Then I moan and groan and avidly wait for the next list to appear.

The latest poll is from an ABC Radio National drive to find the 100 best Australian books of all time. This is a welcome antidote to international lists, which heavily favour American and British titles and rarely mention Australian books. You can nominate a shortlist of........

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