The Great American Read - How many have you read?

jazz lady

~*~ Rara Avis ~*~
PREMO Member

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
I got 42 and agree that a large number of those books shouldn't be on a list of "great" reads. 50 Shades of Gray being probably the biggest offender, followed closely by the freaking Flowers in the Attic series. :rolleyes:
 

Kyle

ULTRA-F###ING-MAGA!
PREMO Member
Only 21 unless I can count each time I reread Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

Then it's over 30.
 

Kyle

ULTRA-F###ING-MAGA!
PREMO Member
Hey, I got the Faulkner book you recommended so I could read "A Rose for Emily". :yay:

Not sure I "recommended" it. :lol:

Its a twisted story line that keeps your attention.

I've spent the last couples of years reading technical or reference books. No where near as enjoyable at some Mark Twain or Hemingway.
 

jazz lady

~*~ Rara Avis ~*~
PREMO Member
I got 42 and agree that a large number of those books shouldn't be on a list of "great" reads. 50 Shades of Gray being probably the biggest offender, followed closely by the freaking Flowers in the Attic series. :rolleyes:

Agree with both so I have no idea how some of these wound up on their list. And some authors I loved their other books much better, such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Love in the Time of Cholera rather than One Hundred Years of Solitude. To each their own. :cheers:
 

jazz lady

~*~ Rara Avis ~*~
PREMO Member
So how they were selected:

How were the top 100 books chosen?
PBS and the producers worked with the public opinion polling service “YouGov” to conduct a demographically and statistically representative survey asking Americans to name their most-loved novel. Approximately 7,200 people participated.

How did you narrow that list to the top 100?
The results were tallied and organized based on our selection criteria and overseen by an advisory panel of 13 literary industry professionals. The criteria for inclusion on the top 100 list were as follows:

  • Each author was limited to one title on the list (to keep the list varied).
  • Books published in series or featuring ongoing characters counted as one eligible entry on the list (e.g. the Harry Potter series or Lord of the Rings)to increase variety.
  • Books could be from anywhere in the world as long as they were published in English.
  • Only fiction could be included in the poll.
  • Each advisory panel member was permitted to select one book for discussion and possible inclusion on the top 100 list from the longer list of survey results.
  • What books are included on the list?
  • The list contains a broad range of fictional titles, authors, time periods, countries, genres and subject matter. The list includes books from as far back as the 1600s and as recent as 2016. From beloved world literature to contemporary best sellers, many categories are represented: 20th century American classics, thrillers, young adult novels, sci-fi/fantasy, adventure, historical fiction, romantic stories, and books that represent the human experience told from a diverse range of perspectives.

Why are there only fiction books included? Why aren't religious works included?
THE GREAT AMERICAN READ is searching for the country’s best-loved novel. While we recognize the broad categories of books available, we chose to narrow our focus to works of fiction because it would be impossible to cover them all over the course of an eight-part series.

http://www.pbs.org/the-great-american-read/about/show/
 

jazz lady

~*~ Rara Avis ~*~
PREMO Member
The Top 40 Books in The Great American Read

The Great American Read has reached TWO MILLION votes in the search for America’s best-loved novel. But it’s still anyone’s game! Below are the TOP 40 BOOKS from the list of 100 that are currently leading the pack. If you don’t see your book, there is still time to change that. You can vote for your favorites each day until Thursday, October 18, 2018 at midnight PT, when voting closes. Click here to vote now.

TOP 40 BOOKS
(LISTED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER, NOT BY VOTE RANKING)

1984
A Prayer for Owen Meany
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
And Then There Were None
Anne of Green Gables
Atlas Shrugged
The Book Thief
The Catcher in the Rye
Charlotte's Web
The Chronicles of Narnia (Series)
The Clan of the Cave Bear
The Color Purple
The Count of Monte Cristo
The Da Vinci Code
Dune
Gone with the Wind
The Grapes of Wrath
Great Expectations
The Great Gatsby
The Handmaid's Tale
Harry Potter (Series)
The Help
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hunger Games (Series)
Jane Eyre
The Little Prince
Little Women
Lonesome Dove
The Lord of the Rings (Series)
Outlander (Series)
The Outsiders
The Pillars of the Earth
Pride and Prejudice
Rebecca
The Stand
To Kill a Mockingbird
Where the Red Fern Grows
Wuthering Heights

http://www.pbs.org/the-great-americ...tm_medium=tgar&utm_campaign=americanread_2018

I have read over two-thirds of them. :yay:
 

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
25.

The Help, Gone With the Wind, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Lonesome Dove are some of my favorite books ever that I come back to periodically.
 

black dog

Free America
Not sure I "recommended" it. :lol:

Its a twisted story line that keeps your attention.

I've spent the last couples of years reading technical or reference books. No where near as enjoyable at some Mark Twain or Hemingway.

I'm the opposite, I would rather read the tidy bowl label & instructions than Twain, Hemingway or Dirk Pitts exploits.

Full disclosure, I'm just over half.. most were read when I was younger.
 

jazz lady

~*~ Rara Avis ~*~
PREMO Member
The results are in!

To Kill a Mockingbird was voted by viewers as America’s #1 best-loved novel in The Great American Read.

One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than forty million copies worldwide, served as the basis for an enormously popular motion picture, and voted one of the best novels of the twentieth century by librarians across the country. A gripping, heart-wrenching, and wholly remarkable tale of coming-of-age in a South poisoned by virulent prejudice, it views a world of great beauty and savage inequities through the eyes of a young girl, as her father—a crusading local lawyer—risks everything to defend a black man unjustly accused of a terrible crime.

To Kill a Mockingbird led The Great American Read voting from the first week, and kept the lead for the entire five months of voting, despite strong competition from the rest of our five finalists. It also topped the list of votes in every state except North Carolina (who went for Outlander) and Wyoming (who preferred Lord of The Rings). Such widespread support from readers across the country make To Kill a Mockingbird a worthy winner of The Great American Read.

The Top 100:

  1. To Kill a Mockingbird
  2. Outlander (Series)
  3. Harry Potter (Series)
  4. Pride and Prejudice
  5. Lord of the Rings
  6. Gone with the Wind
  7. Charlotte's Web
  8. Little Women
  9. Chronicles of Narnia
  10. Jane Eyre
  11. Anne of Green Gables
  12. Grapes of Wrath
  13. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
  14. Book Thief
  15. Great Gatsby
  16. The Help
  17. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
  18. 1984
  19. And Then There Were None
  20. Atlas Shrugged
  21. Wuthering Heights
  22. Lonesome Dove
  23. Pillars of the Earth
  24. Stand
  25. Rebecca
  26. A Prayer for Owen Meany
  27. Color Purple
  28. Alice in Wonderland
  29. Great Expectations
  30. Catcher in the Rye
  31. Where the Red Fern Grows
  32. Outsiders
  33. The Da Vinci Code
  34. The Handmaid's Tale
  35. Dune
  36. The Little Prince
  37. Call of the Wild
  38. The Clan of the Cave Bear
  39. The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy
  40. The Hunger Games
  41. The Count of Monte Cristo
  42. The Joy Luck Club
  43. Frankenstein
  44. The Giver
  45. Memoirs of a Geisha
  46. Moby Dick
  47. Catch 22
  48. Game of Thrones (series)
  49. Foundation (series)
  50. War and Peace
  51. Their Eyes Were Watching God
  52. Jurassic Park
  53. The Godfather
  54. One Hundred Years of Solitude
  55. The Picture of Dorian Gray
  56. The Notebook
  57. The Shack
  58. A Confederacy of Dunces
  59. The Hunt for Red October
  60. Beloved
  61. The Martian
  62. The Wheel of Time (series)
  63. Siddhartha
  64. Crime and Punishment
  65. The Sun Also Rises
  66. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
  67. A Separate Peace
  68. Don Quixote
  69. The Lovely Bones
  70. The Alchemist
  71. Hatchet (series)
  72. Invisible Man
  73. The Twilight Saga (series)
  74. Tales of the City (series)
  75. Gulliver's Travels
  76. Ready Player One
  77. Left Behind (series)
  78. Gone Girl
  79. Watchers
  80. The Pilgrim's Progress
  81. Alex Cross Mysteries (series)
  82. Things Fall Apart
  83. Heart of Darkness
  84. Gilead
  85. Flowers in the Attic
  86. Fifty Shades of Grey
  87. The Sirens of Titan
  88. This Present Darkness
  89. Americanah
  90. Another Country
  91. Bless Me, Ultima
  92. Looking for Alaska
  93. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
  94. Swan Song
  95. Mind Invaders
  96. White Teeth
  97. Ghost
  98. The Coldest Winter Ever
  99. The Intuitionist
  100. Doña Bárbára

https://www.pbs.org/the-great-american-read/results/
 
1984
A Prayer for Owen Meany--- OMG... I forgot how much I loved this book!
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
And Then There Were None
Anne of Green Gables
Atlas Shrugged--- couldn't finish it :yawn:
The Catcher in the Rye--- forced to read it for a summer project, hated it so much I threw it across the room when done.
Charlotte's Web
The Chronicles of Narnia (Series)----- at least 10 times each! :starcat:
The Color Purple
The Count of Monte Cristo
Dune
Gone with the Wind
The Grapes of Wrath---- loved to book so much I couldn't get into the movie.
Great Expectations
The Great Gatsby
The Handmaid's Tale
Harry Potter (Series)---- started book 1 then :yawn:
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy--- after my brother looked at me and said "the answer is 42" I refused to read it... :mad:
Jane Eyre
Little Women
Lonesome Dove
The Outsiders
Pride and Prejudice---- loved it
The Stand
To Kill a Mockingbird
Where the Red Fern Grows
Wuthering Heights



:yeahthat: These are the ones I read from the top 40 list... except for the two I couldn't get into... :yawn:

I must find my Owen Meany book!
 

jazz lady

~*~ Rara Avis ~*~
PREMO Member
The Chronicles of Narnia (Series)----- at least 10 times each! :starcat:

At least! :lol:

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy--- after my brother looked at me and said "the answer is 42" I refused to read it... :mad:

:roflmao: One of my favorites! :nerd:

I must find my Owen Meany book!

I think that was the first John Irving books I read. So good! :yay: Then "The World According To Garp," "The Hotel New Hampshire," and "The Cider House Rules." Probably a few others if I think about it.
 

Kyle

ULTRA-F###ING-MAGA!
PREMO Member
1. To Kill a Mockingbird
4. Pride and Prejudice
13. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
15. Great Gatsby
17. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
18. 1984Should be renamed "Marxist Paradise"
20. Atlas Shrugged
22. Lonesome DoveWatched the movie instead
29. Great ExpectationsDo you mean "Grate Expectation" by Edmund Wells?
30. Catcher in the Rye
33. The Da Vinci Code
37. Call of the Wild
39. The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy:yay: :yay: :yay: :yay:
41. The Count of Monte Cristo
43. Frankenstein
46. Moby Dick
49. Foundation (series)
52. Jurassic ParkWatched the movie instead
53. The GodfatherWatched the movie instead
55. The Picture of Dorian Gray
59. The Hunt for Red October
65. The Sun Also Rises
75. Gulliver's Travels
 
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