Tonight at a live ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall, The Lord of the Rings was announced as the winner of the BBC’s Big Read and is officially Britain’s Best Loved Book. With 23% of the public’s vote or 174 thousand votes, LotR was a clear winner with 39 thousand more votes than second-placed Pride and Prejudice and more than His Dark Materials, The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Harry Potter combined. Simon Tolkien, who attended the event, was visibly pleased with the result. [More]