Library Archive

Contact Details

Christchurch City Libraries
work PO Box 73045,
Christchurch 8154,
New Zealand.
workp: +64-3-941-7923

Festival LogoChristchurch Writers’ Festival 2006

The Press Christchurch Writers' Festival 2006 ran from 8 to 10 September. The festival website www.chchwritersfest.co.nz displays the full programme.

Read our report of the 2006 festival.

What's your Favourite Book winners

The following people won copies of 1001 books you must read before you die for entering our What's Your Favourite competition:

  • Helen McAlister
  • Dan Gao
  • Trish Dalrymple
  • Philip Taylor
  • Josh Bright
  • Christine Kirkwood
  • Chong Hsin Wang
  • Ian Burn
  • Vickie Winn
  • Harriet Field
  • S Gooman
  • D Shaw
  • Simone White
  • Cait Hamilton
  • Gloria Miller
  • Heather Barnes
  • Andrew Corner
  • Juliette Darnley
  • Rhondda Bergman
  • William Moot

Canterbury’s favourite book has been found

The Lion The Witch & The WardrobeAs part of the Festival, Christchurch City Libraries has been proud to support 'What's Your Favourite', the search for Canterbury’s favourite book of all-time. After two months and thousands of votes, Cantabrians have voted C.S. Lewis’ The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe as their favourite book. It was tailed closely by The Bible and Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code.

Canterbury’s love affair with the C.S. Lewis classic was not unexpected after much of the film adaptation of the book was filmed in the Castle Hill area.

With the top 20 books in Canterbury found in early August after the first round of voting, the public were then given another opportunity to vote again for their favourite book from the updated list.

The What’s Your Favourite? initiative, a joint effort between Christchurch City Libraries, The Press and the Christchurch Book Festival Trust, evolved into a Canterbury-wide event, with Christchurch City Libraries working to get its library colleagues in Waimakariri, Selwyn, Ashburton and Timaru districts and their customers to participate.

The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe is the tale of four English school children who find their way through the back of a wardrobe into the magical land of Narnia. While there they assist Aslan, the golden lion, to triumph over the White Witch who has cursed the land with eternal winter.

Canterbury's Top 20

Here is the full top 20 - click the cover or link to go to the book in our catalogue and place a hold on it.

The Lion The Witch & The Wardrobe1st
The Lion The Witch & The Wardrobe

by C.S. Lewis

Da Vinci Code3rd
The Da Vinci Code

by Dan Brown

Pride and Prejudice5th
Pride and Prejudice

by Jane Austen

To Kill a Mocking Bird7th
To Kill a Mockingbird

by Harper Lee

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire9th
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

by J.K. Rowling

Hobbit 11th
The Hobbit

by J.R.R. Tolkien

Angela's Ashes13th
Angela's Ashes

by Frank McCourt

The Time Traveler's Wife15th
The Time Traveler's Wife

by Audrey Niffenegger

Bronze Horseman 17th
The Bronze Horseman

by Paullina Simons

Order of the Phoenix19th
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

by J.K. Rowling

Bible2nd
The Bible

The Lord of the Rings4th
The Lord of the Rings

by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Power of One6th
The Power of One

by Bryce Courtenay

Half Blood Prince8th
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

by J.K. Rowling

Cross Stitch10th
Cross Stitch aka Outlander

by Diana Gabaldon

Goat Hunter12th
The Goat Hunter

by Billy Barnz

Pillars of the Earth14th
Pillars of the Earth

by Ken Follett

Jane Eyre16th
Jane Eyre

by Charlotte Bronte

Wuthering Heights18th
Wuthering Heights

by Emily Bronte

Prisoner of Azkaban20th
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

by J.K. Rowling

More Favourites

Favourites from celebrities, newscasters, librarians and more suggestions.

Sponsored by

The Christchurch Press logo Newstalk ZB
Christchurch City Libraries logo Christchurch City Libraries Logo University Bookshop