ShowbizRevealing the EnglishMetro Reporter11 April 2012When it comes to the English stereoptype, we are so predictable it seems we can be read like an open book. We are slaves of big business, hate the French and are obsessed with DJs and football.We have hang-ups about sex, do not talk to strangers on trains and despise all that happened in the 1980s. The findings come in a poll of book readers to discover which work of literature best defines the English and what it means to live in this country.Included in the shortlist are George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch and Bill Bryson's Notes From A Small Island. The winner is revealed on March 6, World Book Day.The Shortlist: Bill Bryson, Notes From A Small Island Paul Burston, Shameless Jonathan Coe, What A Carve Up! Nick Hornby, Fever Pitch George Monbiot, Captive State George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four Dave Haslam, Manchester, England Jeremy Paxman, The English Leone Ross & Yvonne Brissett(editors), Whispers In The Walls Zadie Smith, White Teeth MORE ABOUTGeorge OrwellJeremy PaxmanNick Hornby
