NARNIA TOPS WITH READERS AGAIN

A British survey earlier this month showed people picking C. S. Lewis’ THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE, the first of his CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, as the most popular book in the land.  Last year it was chosen as the one book adults would most like to read again.  Lewis’ work topped 49 other books in popularity.  The fantasy novel beat out Dan Brown’s THE DAVINCI CODE as well as The Harry Potter series which rolled in at #3.  In a time when young adult fiction is very dystopian (i.e. with pessimistic views of the future, past, or present), the Chronicles of Narnia with their easily recognized Christianity shine out rather suprisingly.

A clear moral view, a recognizable god-figure, a land awash with beauty in the midst of sin, THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE surely must be a thorn in the side of the ruling elite who prefer their novels pastey oatmeal gray with perhaps a little dash of sugar but surely no fruit to give it any color or taste.  And the god-thing–well that’s intolerable made all the more so because Lewis was into the Christ Thing, clearly telling his readers that Aslan was someone they knew from their own land.  Here’s the full article:

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is Britain’s favourite

Belfast Telegraph Digital

August 10, 2019

The children’s fantasy novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has been revealed as Britain’s most popular book.

The book by the Belfast-born author CS Lewis tops a list of 50 must-read books.

A third of adults also revealed that they enjoyed the tale, which tells the story of four siblings and their trips to the land of Narnia, which is populated by talking animals and other mythical creatures including its ruler, the evil White Witch.

The novel was first published in 1950 and is the first in seven stories that make up The Chronicles of Narnia series.

Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci code was the nation’s second favourite, with 30% of those surveyed by OnePoll for eBay UK.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was third on 29%.

When it came to favourite authors, JK Rowling was the favourite, closely followed by Stephen King and Charles Dickens.

The survey found that, on average, the British reader consumes 696 books over a lifetime.

It revealed a divide between the sexes, with women choosing The Girl on the Train (34%), Bridget Jones’s Diary (30%), Fifty Shades of Grey (28%) and Gone Girl (26%) as their favourite novels.

Meanwhile, men chose older titles such as Nineteen Eighty-Four (28%), Treasure Island (28%) and Lord of the Flies (23%) as their favourites.

Although the poll revealed almost half of British people say they’re too busy to read as much as they’d like, crime is the most popular genre for 42% of those surveyed, while thrillers (38%) and drama (35%) are also popular.

The average adult in Britain owns ten books they haven’t read.

Over the holiday season is the best time to get lost in a book and it’s a time when we finish at least two novels a week.

“It is really heartwarming to see that reading books is still a hobby Brits love to take part in, especially in the days of box sets and instant viewing,” said Rob Johnson of Wordery, eBay UK’s online bookstore.

Belfast Telegraph Digital