George Orwell’s 1984 was published on June 8, 1949 – sixty years ago today – and Robert Harris told The Independent he thinks it’s the most influential book ever written.
On the other hand, Terry Pratchett reserves the hightest praise for Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows:
Orwell was ruined for me by being a set text. The Wind in the Willows had, by far, the most influence.
[Thanks to Andrew Porter for the link.]
Oddly, your post is dated “June 9th, 2009 ”
“Let’s do the time warp again!”