Australian readers have again voted Markus Zusak's smash-hit The Book Thief the best book of all time.
More than 15,000 votes were cast to determine book retailer Dymocks' annual list of the best 101 books.
This is the second year running that former shire resident Zusak's bestseller, set during World War II and narrated from the perspective of death, has topped the list.
It has ranked highly for four consecutive years and is the only Australian book to have reached No.1 in the eight years the national survey has been conducted.
Zusak wrote The Book Thief while living at Gymea. He commented in a Leader article last year:
‘‘Riding my bike to Cronulla, going for a swim and then going home and writing is one of the happiest moments of my life. I wrote 200 pages without really thinking,’’ he said.
Books that have been made into films dominate the list. All but one of the top 10 books have a silver screen companion and more than a third of the books have been made into movies or television shows.
A strong increase in young adult fiction sales is reflected on the list, with books including Sarah J. Maas' Throne of Glass, Lauren Kate's Fallen and Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush, Hush books one and two among the new entries.
Dymocks national buying manager, Sophie Higgins said it was striking to see how passionate young people were about books.
"To see this many young adults engaged and voting for their favourite books is really positive," Ms Higgins said.
"I don't think anyone is arguing that they are the best books of all time in terms of literary quality but it's wonderful they are enjoying them."
[Graeme Simsion's The Rosie Project jumped from No.92 to No.25 on this year’s list.]
Graeme Simsion's The Rosie Project jumped fromNo.92 to No.25 on this year’s list.
There were 28 new additions to the list including classics like John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, C.S Lewis' The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and Antoine de Saint-Exupery's The Little Prince. Seven authors – including Matthew Reilly, Khaled Hosseini and John Green – have multiple entries on the list.
International authors once again asserted their dominance in the top 101, with only 17 Australian authors making the cut.
However, two Australians have made huge leaps up the list. The late Bryce Courtenay's The Power of One soared from No. 98 to No. 21 and Graeme Simsion's debut novel The Rosie Project jumped from No. 92 to No. 25.
[Australian Richard Flanagan's The Narrow Road to the Deep North came in at No.32.]
Australian Richard Flanagan's The Narrow Road to the Deep North came in at No.32.
Richard Flanagan's Man Booker Prize-winning novel The Narrow Road to the Deep North came in at No. 32. Kate Forsyth also made her debut at No. 27 with Bitter Greens.
The two biographies on the list are both Australian: A.B. Facey's A Fortunate Life and Anh Do's The Happiest Refugee.
Ms Higgins said the number of Australian books on the list was "not bad" considering they were up against well known classics and that strong, contemporary Australian fiction was represented.
There are 42 books by women on the list, with Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen the highest ranked at No. 2 followed by Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird at No. 3.
The annual survey is the largest of its kind in Australia. There was a 1500 per cent increase in the number of votes cast this year compared with last year, according to Dymocks.
"There's been a bit said lately about books being back and it really does feel that way," Ms Higgins said.
"The list has extraordinary diversity. I love that it reflects people's favourite books rather than the books they feel they should be voting for. You have Fifty Shades of Grey alongside Man Booker winners."
Dymocks 101 best books list - top 10:
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Magician by Raymond Feist
The Lord of the Rings (Books 1-3) by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling