You voted in your scores (well, a score to be exact) and I can now reveal the results of the Books, Time, and Silence greatest literary achievement of the last decade poll:
In first place, with a whopping 7 (yes seven!) votes is JK Rowling for not only getting people reading, but inspiring fun launch evenings the world over. Given the pressure she was under, just completing the series has to be seen as a pretty big achievement in itself. So congratulations to JK, I'm sure this award will mean just as much to her as the giant cheques she routinely receives from Bloomsbury.
In second place – and my own choice despite holding mixed opinions on A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius – comes Dave Eggers. Eggers was shortlisted not just for his writing, but the contributions he has made to literature in a wider context. McSweeneys has established itself at the forefront of literary journals while 826 Valencia is an inspirational model for how to engage young people in writing activities. On their own each of these is a great achievement. Put together they are nothing short of remarkable.
Finally, tied for the bronze medal (there are no medals) we have one of my favourite books of the decade, The Road by Cormac McCarthy, and Carol Ann Duffy becoming the first female Poet Laureate. I'm still more impressed by her popularity than gender, but since they are so linked in her poetry it is difficult to separate one from the other.
Congratulations all. They are achievements worthy of a doffing of the cap.
The full results are:
In first place, with a whopping 7 (yes seven!) votes is JK Rowling for not only getting people reading, but inspiring fun launch evenings the world over. Given the pressure she was under, just completing the series has to be seen as a pretty big achievement in itself. So congratulations to JK, I'm sure this award will mean just as much to her as the giant cheques she routinely receives from Bloomsbury.
In second place – and my own choice despite holding mixed opinions on A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius – comes Dave Eggers. Eggers was shortlisted not just for his writing, but the contributions he has made to literature in a wider context. McSweeneys has established itself at the forefront of literary journals while 826 Valencia is an inspirational model for how to engage young people in writing activities. On their own each of these is a great achievement. Put together they are nothing short of remarkable.
Finally, tied for the bronze medal (there are no medals) we have one of my favourite books of the decade, The Road by Cormac McCarthy, and Carol Ann Duffy becoming the first female Poet Laureate. I'm still more impressed by her popularity than gender, but since they are so linked in her poetry it is difficult to separate one from the other.
Congratulations all. They are achievements worthy of a doffing of the cap.
The full results are:
- JK Rowling - 7 Votes
- Dave Eggers - 4 Votes
- Cormac McCarthy - 3 Votes
- Carol Ann Duffy - 3 Votes
- Naomi Klein - 2 Votes
- Jonathan Safran Foer - 2 Votes
- Yann Martel - 1 Vote
- The person who designed the jacket for The Da Vinci Code - 0 Votes
- Richard Dawkins - 0 Votes
- David Peace - 0 Votes
A huge thank you to all who voted. 22 votes may not sound a lot, but I treasure each and every one. And if you disagree with the outcome, please comment below. It is always a pleasure to see what other people think.
To summarise: Bill Gates joins Twitter and within 14 hours has 150,000 followers. I get 22 votes spread over one week (and 50 hits in a day!) on my utterly pointless blog. I ask you: which one of us is the richer man?
