It's taken three years and a Pulitzer Prize for fiction to find a place in Australian readers' hearts but finally Anthony Doerr's All the Light We Cannot See has been voted the best book of all time.

For the first time in three years, Marcus Zusak's bestseller, The Book Thief, set during World War II and narrated from the perspective of death, has been relegated to bridesmaid in Dymocks' national annual survey of its best 101 books.

Both Zusak's and Doerr's books are powerful stories of wartime resistance, which seem to resonate with today's readers, Ali Hammond, Dymocks' national category manager, says. "Both these books are word of mouth bestsellers and their popularity continues to grow. They are unique in that they appeal to such a wide range of readers and that you won't hesitate in recommending them."

In its 10th year, 141,485 votes were cast to create a snapshot of readers' favourites. The list is dominated by film tie-ins and homegrown writers.

Twenty-nine Australian books make the list, an increase of 31 per cent on last year. "Half of the top 10 and nearly two thirds of the top 20 books are by Australian authors. It's a real testament to the talent of our local writers," Ms Hammond said.

Highest ranking of the Australian books was The Book Thief, then followed M.L. Stedman's The Light Between the Oceans, Hannah Kent's Burial Rites and Graeme Simsion's The Rosie Project. Anh Do's The Happiest Refugee completes those Australian books in the top 10.

Queen of kitchen sink dramas, Liane Moriarty, came in at No.17 with Big Little Lies, which has been turned into a successful TV mini-series, starring Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon, and she has another two books on the list. Paula Hawkin's Girl on the Train jumped to No.3, buoyed by its Hollywood movie treatment.

A surge in sales for the dystopian classic Nineteen Eighty-Four saw the George Orwell thriller come in at No.10 after regaining cultural currency in the wake of the inauguration of Donald Trump.

The list is split fairly evenly between male (54 books) and female authors (47 books) and adult titles make up 88 per cent of the list.

Poetry made its list debut with Milk and Honey by Instagram sensation Rupi Kaur voted No.84.